Toronto, Ontario — Telematics based FNOL (first notice of loss) will change the way the automotive industry is done.
On Sept. 17, Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) produced a webinar discussing collision industry disruptions, what they are and how they will disrupt the industry.
The speakers for the webinar were Frank Terlep and Jake Rodenroth. Terlep is the current CEO of AutoTechcelerators and has been involved in this industry since the late 80s. Rodenroth is the director of OEM and industry relations for asTech.
During the one-hour webinar, Terlep took the driver’s seat and shared his insight on major disruptions affecting the collision repair industry now and in the future. According to him, there are five main disruptions: how COVID fast-tracked the insure-tech, disruption via EV, connected cars and big data, artificial intelligence and how virtual reality and augmented reality will change the industry training and repair procedures.
However, the greatest takeaway from the webinar was learning how the traditional FNOL will be disrupted due to the insurgence of telematics-based FNOL, and that this disruption will be the biggest change to the industry.
Telematics based FNOL will cut out the middleman (the automotive industry) and go straight to the insurers. This new way of communicating the FNOL is beneficial for the consumer but not for the industry itself.
Telematics based FNOL jumps the steps you would normally take when you get into an accident, such as calling your insurance, locating a shop, estimating cost and scheduling the repair, however, with telematics you would skip that and right after an accident, your car will tell you exactly what shop to go to, estimate the cost and schedule a repair.
Terlep continues to talk about telematics and how new EVs cause the industry less labour hours. He also discusses how the industry will need new manufacturers, forcing the current manufacturers to either change or lose their business. Factories and suppliers will change drastically and even maintenance internal service will change. For example, cars run by battery won’t need to come in for oil changes.
“All aspects of the automotive ecosystem are experiencing major disruptions and the collision industry is experiencing several disruptions at once,” said Terlep. “This eye opening presentation will identify what they are so businesses can prepare for the future.”
