Toronto, Ontario — September 26, 2019 — The United Services Automobile Association plans on cutting its estimation times by partnering with Google Cloud. The two companies are developing a custom machine capable of analyzing vehicle damage in seconds just from digital photos.
In traditional estimation, a vehicle needs to be inspected manually via a claims adjuster, who must determine which parts need to be repaired or replaced as well as the cost of replacement and labour. Before the estimate is released to both the driver and shop, it must first be approved — a process that can last up to a few weeks.
Using A.I. powered technology, USAA is striving to use these machines to significantly reduce claim times. It predicts that within minutes a claims adjuster will be able to take photos of the appraised vehicle, upload the images to the Google Cloud platform and let the A.I. software complete the claim.
USAA states that aside from damage analyzation, the software can also search for necessary parts to deliver an accurate reading as to the total repair cost. So far, it can accurately recognize “high-level damage” in the vehicles tested and is already being used to conduct more minor claims.
In addition to the machine’s analytical capabilities, USAA plans to build on the design to eventually aim for touchless assessments of all “low-complexity” claims in the future.
