The COVID-19 pandemic has led to record lockdowns across the globe, leaving the automotive industry to navigate the uncharted waters of drastically changing consumer and industry behavior.
A panel of Solera’s global leadership team recently participated in a webinar where they discussed the current state of the industry amidst COVID-19 and offered insights into what businesses need to consider if they want to emerge stronger on the other side of the pandemic.
With fewer cars on the road and fewer repair demands resulting from shelter-in-place mandates throughout the world, the volume of work has dropped. Dave Shepherd, Regional Managing Director of Audatex EMEA, explained that volumes across the UK in April were significantly down, and other parts of Europe were seeing lows of almost 90% during the strictest lock-down periods.
Because of COVID-19’s unprecedented nature, there really isn’t historical data to pull insights from when looking to the future. And unsurprisingly, there’s a feeling of uncertainty surrounding when everything will return to “normal”—and what the “normal” will look like.
But we do recognize that this unique situation, while presenting some challenges to our industry, also brings with it real opportunity to introduce digital solutions with full force. To keep claims moving in the midst of COVID-19, the key is open, contactless, digital communication when facilitating workflows and repairs. Progress made during these unprecedented times in implementing digital touchpoints throughout the workflow could carry on permanently and become the “new normal” of claims.
Solera already has the ability to do this, with customer-driven digital image capture at the point of first notification of loss (FNOL), starting the customers digital journey and being the first step of our AI and machine learning workflow. Now is the time to digitally integrate all parts of the claims ecosystem and make it whole. The best part is that end consumers already have an appetite for this fully digital experience. Now industry players need to embrace it.
While there are still many variables at play to the continued impact of COVID-19, we have the ability to glean insights from is what’s going on in different parts of the world where communities are experiencing different stages of the pandemic. Quarantine measures are still in place throughout most major cities, but updates from our team in China show activity on the roads is picking back up as restrictions slowly lift.
Claims started returning almost immediately as people became mobile again. Even though it’s been a gradual lift of restrictions (for example, some businesses are operating at only 50%capacity), many people have preferred driving personal vehicles in an effort to avoid public or shared transportation.
By embracing this time to consider when and how to begin implementing digital touchpoints throughout the workflow, insurers, assessors and repairers can help customers transition towards a more streamlined, contactless experience as the next phase of the claims process. As a global leader in risk and asset management data and software solutions, Solera is uniquely positioned to support and serve our customers along their digital journey and throughout the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Get involved in the conversation by listening to our most recent webinar about COVID-19: What’s Now and What’s Next, and register for upcoming discussions on how you can emerge from this time of uncertainty even stronger.
