Since the first cars were sold, there have been crashes.

And while the insurance claims industry has made enormousadvances over the years, the fundamental process of handling aclaim has been largely the same for decades at least during my timein this industry, which spans nearly 30 years, and includesresearch and work in claims and the application of “black box”information in the evaluation of liability and injurycausation.

A crash occurs. At some point later, the insured or claimantcalls an insurer's first notice of loss department. Collected factsabout the accident are used to make initial assignments for vehicleinspection and claim handling. For both auto physical damage (APD)and casualty claims, a variety of steps follow to set appropriatereserves, investigate the claim, monitor the restitution processesand settle the claim. And throughout these steps, speed, accuracyand customer satisfaction are the gold standards forperformance.

How far could you transform that process if you had detailed,sensor-based information about the crash at the exact time itoccurred? By integrating telematics and driving data into theclaims process, you can do exactly that. Let's examine thepossibilities.

Reinventing first notice of loss

Imagine a process where upon impact, your first notice of loss(FNOL) team is notified that a policyholder has been in anaccident, and the facts of that accident pre-populate a loss intakescreen. Gone would be the need for Q&A scripts, and in theirplace would be interactive FNOL, a process that enabling theproactive management of the accident scene. Consequently, you couldprovide even better customer service, and achieve better outcomesin terms of claim resolution speed and accuracy.

Within a minute of the collision, the vehicle automaticallycontacts your FNOL department and gives you the date, time of lossand provide information about the insured, the vehicle andcoverages. Based on GPS data transmitted, your systems provide theexact accident location, color-coded tracking is provided to showwhere the vehicle was traveling prior to the accident event, wherethe vehicle traveled in the five seconds immediately preceding theaccident, and the estimated point of impact and the post-collisionmovements of the insured's vehicle.

Armed with this information, you automatically contact yourinsured, gather any additional information about the accident andpotential injuries and assure them help is on the way. Your teamsimultaneously alerts and dispatches necessary emergency services,providing them with known information about the accident andpotential for injury.

Let's now step back and examine what just happened. Your claimsorganization has just fundamentally changed the relationship withyour insured. You have provided time-critical, potentiallylife-saving services to the insured and/or insured's family in atrue emergency.

Transforming APD Claims

In addition to emergency services, numerous othertransformational capabilities can be deployed in the claim process.For example, based on the accelerometer and point-of-impact data,analytics can determine the likelihood of the vehicle beingdrivable, as well as the likelihood of the vehicle being repairableversus a total loss. It is also possible to arrange for a rentalcar to arrive at the accident scene. When the towing serviceprovider arrives, based on analytics of the data from the vehicle,the tower completes a series of complementary investigative taskswhich were automatically generated and transmitted when theassignment was made.

Coupled with the data from the insured's vehicle, the claimorganization will now have the essential information to reconstructthe accident and assess liability within minutes.

From a repairer perspective, access to more information aboutthe accident can have a positive impact on cycle time, efficiencyand customer satisfaction. Repairs could be scheduled before a careven arrives at the shop, and the essential parts to repair thevehicle could be ordered earlier in the process from the mostcost-effective source within minutes of the accident rather than indays, reducing unnecessary time and expenses associated withmultiple tows and storage.

Integrating with casualty claims

Later, in the management of claims, these metrics offer thecapability to examine results based on similar accident and injuryevents.

For example, in the various accident types shown inFigure A, it is possible for an occupant toexperience a neck strain injury. Would management expect a neckstrain to settle for the same amount for these different impactscenarios? Clearly no.

Through the use of acceleration and impact direction data, claimresolutions can be reviewed based on the same types of events interms of impact direction and severity. This approach is animportant distinction from reporting capabilities today. Today, theindustry can review the average cost of a neck sprain/strain in agiven jurisdiction. The state of tomorrow will allow us to reviewthe average cost of a neck sprain/strain in a given jurisdictionfor the same type and severity of impact. The key is linking auto physical damage data to casualtydata. Our research tells us that the fundamentals to linkingAPD data to casualty data is recognizing and capturing the keycommon denominators to the data (assuming, of course, that you havesufficient quantities of data).

Since the same collision event creates the auto physical damage,the injury and the accelerations, it is logical to examine all ofthis data when analyzing the implications of linking the data.

Based on these data relationships and data created and capturedby CCCtechnologies today, smart analytics can inform claim decisionsand processes in a simple and non-disruptive way.

• When telematics are integrated with claims:
• Telematics data create the myriad opportunities to improveclaims processes and outcome for both auto physical damage andcasualty claims (Figure B).
• Telematics data ultimately helps determine the cause (bothliability and legitimacy) and severity of both auto physicaldamage and injury claims.
• The framework for how claims performance is measured andsubsequently improved.

Scott Palmer is a product innovation consultant and formersenior vice president for products and technology at CCCInformation Services. Contact him at [email protected].