San Diego, California — December 12, 2017 — The adoption of technology on newly-designed vehicles is having a “pronounced impact” on their repair costs, according to one of the highlighted studies in the latest Industry Trends Report (ITR) from Mitchell International for the fourth quarter of 2017.
Technology such as parking assist sensors, wave radar systems, front-end and rear-end cameras, as well as more elaborate front lamp systems is adding, on a simple average vehicle, 23% to the repair cost compared to the prior generation of vehicles, claims the report. It went on to suggest that underwriters may want to consider this additional potential repair cost information in determining how to more accurately price policies for the latest generation of vehicles.
The ITR includes a report from Debbi Day, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Mitchell’s Auto Physical Damage business unit, on how information is key to a proper and safe vehicle repair. Day also writes that the John Eagle court case is a “watershed” moment for the collision repair industry.
Day reiterates the importance of following OEM procedures, but goes on to say that accessing this data is “time consuming, complex and potentially error prone.” She comments: “Here’s what’s needed: an open, secure, and cloud-based system that allows the most up-to-date repair procedures to be accessed by collision repairers so that they can quickly and accurately access just the information they need from within the estimating system.”
The report also includes tips for engaging with claims consultants; reasons repairers should move to cloud estimating; how video chat is enabling new types of interactions in the claims process; and more information about Mitchell’s transition to a cloud-based system.
You can see the full report here.
