There is no fee for AF membership, but a $5 charge for each subrogation demand, Mr. Engert said. Subrogation claims are made by a carrier against a third party after an insured is paid for damages for which the third party is responsible.

“The E-Subro Hub will transform a slow, cumbersome, paper-driven subrogation process into a seamless, highly efficient electronic system that produces rapid settlements and reduces costs,” promised D. Kay Smith, AF president and chief executive officer.

Users of the new subrogation technology will be able to send and receive subrogation demands electronically, attach supporting documents (estimates, bills, photos, police reports, etc), automatically route demands to file handlers, negotiate online, and view and download online reports, AF said.

The E-Subro Hub requires no software to purchase or download. The technology enables users to interactively manage both subrogation demands and responses, access online reports that provide important management information, improve recovery, and enhance loss reduction opportunities.

Firms that need scanning of documents will be charged a fee by AF.

E-Subro Hub, AF said, is scalable to a company's current level of automation, enabling it to be quickly and inexpensively integrated into a user's current systems. The Hub features security technology to ensure information is kept secure.

Ms. Smith added that while the E-Subro Hub will encourage settlement, if necessary, filing arbitration will be as simple as clicking a button, as the E-Subro Hub will share the same Web-based platform as AF's arbitration services.

Mr. Engert said the system should result in insureds obtaining their deductible claims payment faster. Subrogation “on the auto insurance side amounts to millions of transactions every year,” he noted.