The proliferation of smartphones and tablets is growing at anexponential rate. We can book travel and schedule vehicle serviceappointments. We can even manage many aspects of an insuranceclaim—from reporting the claim to communicating with the adjusteror collision shop.

But while you're more than able to review claims in your claimssystem and monitor communications from your adjusters, insureds andclaimants, do you have that same confidence that your direct repairshops are communicating effectively?

A recent claims-satisfaction study by J.D. Power and Associatesindicates that customer-satisfaction touch points consist of 62percent claim-estimation process, 36 percent collision-shopexperience and 2 percent rental-car experience. That means whenyour customer goes through your Direct Repair Program (DRP)process, you are outsourcing 98 percent of customer touch points toyour collision shop. As a responsible insurer, you need to be fullyaware of the processes direct repair shops have in place forcommunicating with vehicle owners. You also need to make sure thoseprocesses are clear and add value to the claims experience.

In a recent claim experience, I received canned updates on theprogress of my repairs, which added little value to me. The updatesled me to believe the promised delivery date was on schedule rightup until the day before it was supposed to be ready, when Ireceived a one-sentence email informing me that my estimateddelivery date had been “updated” from Monday to Thursday. I feltthat the use of the word “updated” was an insincere way ofcommunicating the delay.

When I picked up the vehicle on Thursday, I learned there wereseveral small issues that required me to schedule rework. And guesswhat? After I dropped the car off for rework, I got the same cannedemail I had received when I dropped off the car for the originalrepair: a message thanking me for making an excellent choice.Clearly, they should have sent me an apology and a promise toquickly and accurately correct the deficiencies. Instead, the emailgave the impression that the shop was out of touch with what wasgoing on. Worse, it served to further aggravate an alreadydisappointing customer experience, which in turn reflected poorlyon my insurance company.

So the question is, as a claims manager, do you know how yourDRPs communicate with your customers?

Statements and opinions expressed in this this blog aresolely those of the author. They are not offered as and do notconstitute legal advice or opinion of Mitchell InternationalInc.