Solera, a provider of integrated software, data and services for vehicle and fleet lifecycle management, recently released a study on the impact of AI in the claims management and repair journey. In partnership with research firm Coleman Parkes, Solera surveyed more than 2,000 consumers, OEMs, repairers and insurers. The goal of the survey: to gather the industry’s perspective on AI, discover its impact, and assess the current drive to accelerate its adoption.

Solera’s Innovation Index 2022: ” everything you need to know about the digital transformation of the global automotive claims management ecosystem,” first reveals that 79% of respondents say they are willing to trust a claims and repair management system powered entirely by AI, up 7% from the previous year. Moreover, 34% have already reported an auto claim without any human interaction and more than half (55%) have taken photos of their vehicle to upload to their insurer’s platform.

Consumers’ views on the digitalization of claims and repair management

92% of consumers want self-service solutions for claims management:

• 49% now want fully digitalized, “self-service” experiences;
• 43% prefer a hybrid system combining digital tools and human contact.

They thus declare they are ready to:

• Switching to an insurance company that offers digital solutions to manage their claims (70%), up 3% in one year;
• Choosing a repair shop that uses AI to minimize the risk of error when repairing their vehicle (65%);
• Turning to an AI-enabled repair shop that finds environmentally friendly parts (64%).

Consumers are asking for more transparency and efficiency on case steps (56%), faster settlements (53%) as well as for tracking repairs (50%).

Bill Brower, VP Industry Relations, Solera, states:

“Digitalization is now an integral part of the claims management process and is part of the market’s expectations. Our research shows the pace at which consumers are now seeking automated ‘self-service’ solutions that meet their needs for convenience, speed and accuracy. It’s clear that those who implement cutting-edge technologies like AI will build customer loyalty and gain efficiency and resilience.”

The survey on the insurer side

The survey found that auto insurance companies recognize the impact of new technologies within their business. In fact, they are encouraging the adoption of AI, which has brought them :

• Increased operational resilience, for 58%;
• An acceleration of decision making, for 55%;
• Increased team productivity (50%).

When asked about the most critical factors for implementing AI, they cite:

• Sustainability (48%);
• Fraud prevention (48%);
• Customer experience.

Barriers to AI adoption

The barriers encountered are the same as those mentioned by many companies, namely:

• Implementation costs (73%);
• Lack of staff skills (65%);
• Time to market (53%).

Despite these roadblocks, 100% of large companies intend to invest in AI software within a year, and 64% of insurers say they are very confident in their ability to meet their AI deployment goals over the next 12 months.

Digital adoption on the body shop and OEM (original equipment manufacturer) side

Bodybuilders and OEMs that have implemented a digital transformation approach in the past 12 months have already been able to measure the benefits, citing in particular:

• Increased profitability (52%);
• Increased team productivity (50%);
• Improved employee efficiency (49%).

However, 75% are also struggling with the cost of implementing AI, 34% more than last year. On the other hand, they are less confident than insurers in their ability to achieve their AI deployment goals over the next 12 months (43% very confident, 37% confident).

Solera concludes that ” Despite the persistence of some inhibitors, the value generated by AI clearly outweighs the obstacles to be overcome. Indeed, for both repairers and OEMs, the automation enabled by AI is fundamental to achieving strategic gains in efficiency, sustainability and safety. So much so that 100% of them have already invested or plan to invest in AI-based insurtech software in the next 6-12 months.”

Incidentally, Solera last year launched the Qapter costing solution, which combines machine learning and visual intelligence algorithms with repair science to automatically detect damage and produce an accurate costing of vehicle repairs within minutes.

Translated from Les consommateurs se déclarent de plus en plus confiants dans les solutions d’IA pour la gestion de leurs sinistres automobiles