Lowering costs and improving efficiency in auto accident claims
Insurers face myriad challenges throughout the auto accident claims process. Streamlined, digital tools can help.
No one ever plans for an accident to happen. The damage, injury and stress that accompany these unexpected events can add further complications to an already difficult situation. As an insurer, you face the challenging task of getting accurate information as quickly as possible, so you can manage loss costs and additional expenses while also supporting policyholders in their moment of need. As such, accident scene management is a complex yet critical piece of the accident claims process puzzle.
This claims process presents a number of key challenges, which include obtaining accident details and data, safely transporting the vehicle, and ensuring the vehicle is delivered to the preferred location. What’s more, for about half of accidents, coordinating the recovery of non-drivable vehicles must be completed first from the accident scene and then again from the storage facility.
Let’s take a look at each of these challenges in more detail:
- Obtaining accident details and data at the scene — The scene of an accident is where the First Notice of Loss (FNOL) starts, yet it can be maddingly difficult to get relevant details and data until days later. This makes it difficult if not impossible to get an accurate assessment of the vehicle condition immediately following the incident, an assessment that could otherwise help streamline appraisal and claims adjudication.
- Transporting the vehicle from the scene — If details, data and FNOL are not captured at the accident scene, the vehicle is captured by a tow that is usually arranged by the police and delivered to a storage yard. This results in unnecessary loss costs due to the typical five or six days of accumulated storage, fees, space rental and secondary tow that can add up to as much as $1,050 per accident.
- Delivering the vehicle to the preferred location — By not receiving details from the accident scene, you also lose control over the vehicle storage location. What’s more, because nearly half of accidents occur outside of a repair shop’s normal business hours, these vehicles need to be secured for a period of time before they can be delivered to a preferred repair shop. As much as one week can pass before the vehicle is finally released and transported to the appropriate location.
- Coordinating the recovery of non-drivable vehicles — The process of recovering a non-drivable vehicle from an accident scene or storage facility can also be complex and time-consuming. Arranging primary and secondary tows, collecting and completing all paperwork necessary to release vehicles from storage, reviewing and validating storage charges, and authorizing cash payments for vehicle release requires constant communication with tow companies, storage facilities and policyholders.
Streamlining the claims process
An accurate assessment of a vehicle’s condition at the accident scene is crucial to streamlining appraisal processes, determining losses, and properly routing the vehicle. At this critical moment, two small process changes can make a world of difference. First, actionable digital photographs must be captured at the scene of the accident. High-quality photos that meet desktop appraisal inspection standards provide a clear, time-stamped record of vehicle damage. Second, those photos must be rapidly and efficiently ingested into your digital claims management process to expedite the assessment. In fact, these two simple steps can enable you to save time and money across tens of thousands of annual accident claims.
Indeed, when your claims processor can inspect photos captured at the accident scene — rather than at the repair shop, salvage yard or other location — he or she can make an immediate total loss determination far more quickly and get the vehicle routed to the right drop-off location. This streamlined digital workflow and having useable evidence earlier in the claims process can result in a potential three to four times return on impacted loss costs and expenses. In addition, the ability to leverage photos when the claims case is first initiated creates transparency and accountability throughout the claim assessment, documentation and recovery process.
Capabilities to consider
To maximize the impact that digital photos provide in addressing some of the top auto accident claims challenges, consider the following:
- Digitally route the photos. Make digital photos accessible as shareable links and available to be downloaded or attached to other investigation files to simplify claim documentation and recovery. Allowing claims handlers to access the vehicle’s condition based on the photos can help avoid shop rerouting, delays and other added expenses.
- Integrate and extend. Confirm that photos can be integrated or shared with your chosen method of inspection or claim system to provide even more benefits, such as reducing cycle times by accelerating the appraisal process. These integrations could also include use in desk appraisal, follow-up field inspection or artificial intelligence inspection models.
You face myriad challenges throughout the auto accident claims process. Fortunately, claims organizations have levers available to help them save time, frustration and money. When high-quality, sharable photos from the accident scene are incorporated into the digital claims process, claims agents can quickly assess the vehicle’s condition to determine total loss.
Digitally ingesting photos early in the claims cycle can help you avoid shop rerouting, delays and other added costs such as superfluous storage days. Further, in the event of a fraudulent damage claim, photos can enable a quick and clear resolution.
This is one time a photo is not only worth a thousand words but potentially hundreds of dollars and multiple days saved per auto accident claim.
Steve Medeiros (smedeiros@agero.com) is vice president of Accident Management at Agero.
See also: