The overlapping worlds of Auto OEM, Carrier and other party fronted insuranc@e played out in repair networks. Tesla mandating Audatex’s Qapter platform to create and upload all Tesla insurance claims.

The announcement was made through an email to Tesla Approved Collision Centers (TACC). Copies of the email were provided to Repairer Driven News by several sources.

The requirement to use Qapter may have a financial cost for TACC members in California and Texas that dropped the service when CCC and Mitchell, which are used by most of the major insurers, began providing Tesla data.

"Whether a TACC shop that has dropped out opts to once again pay to subscribe to Audatex’s service may depend on the number of Teslas it sees on a regular basis.

A 2019 Collision Advice-CRASH Network “Who Pays for What?” survey was the most recent version to ask about estimating system usage. Nationally, it found 83.7 percent of responding shops had CCC installed. Mitchell was used by 27.9 percent, and Audatex by 23.7 percent.

CCC has seen “less and less overlap” within body shops’ estimating software, the company’s CEO, Githesh Ramamurthy, said in May in a call with investors. While “shops still have multiple (systems),” 

RDN 6th December, 2021

CCC, Mitchell, LexisNexis, Tractable, Verisk, Control€xpert- the growing range of options for insurers, auto OMs, mobility service providers and others to automate eNOL/FNOL,  repair time/cost estimation and triage of simpler claims with the repair network will spill into formal relationships.

What happens when programs collide like road traffic accidents? "While shops still have multiple (systems),” CCC's Ramamurthy said, "the trend is moving toward single-system usage".

Repair networks certified by multiple insurers and auto OEMs  will have to navigate their way through that issue. It is hard enough for insurers to persuade repair shops in the UK to open up their core systems to enable automatic appointment booking. Never mind  mandate one technology platform over another. 

Strategic technology alliances will continue to evolve. Just today that of LexisNexis and Shift was announced. 

"LexisNexis Risk Solutions makes this possible by providing insurers with system-to-system, actionable party and vehicle data in near real-time. The data and analytics leader delivers more accurate and robust, third-party data sets that insurers can leverage to successfully fast-track more than 80 percent of claims with a high degree of confidence. This allows insurers to focus on more complex claims and accelerate more straightforward claims through the claims process to achieve a greater customer experience."

Shift Technology applies AI to help insurers make better decisions throughout the claims process. These decisions are related to fraud detection, subrogation detection, documents, and the need for adjusters or claims handlers to be involved in settlement. The ability to use LexisNexis Risk Solutions data and analytics to inform Shift solutions such as Shift Claims Fraud Detection and Shift Subrogation Detection creates new and powerful ways to use data to settle claims as quickly, accurately, and as fairly as possible. 

Cision PR Newswire Dec 14th, 2021

Tractable also have strategic partnerships delivering similar outcomes one being that with Mitchell announced in January 2021. Tractable announced partnerships with Covea, The Hartford, Ageas, Tokio Marine and Geico amongst many. Ford also from the auto OEM world.

Tesla has a clear vision of a closed ecosystem in which its car owners and renters are serviced from point of service and rental through over-the air upgrades and automated claims after road traffic accidents through to recycling used vehicles via reconditioning and major software upgrades to create fleets of robotaxis as autonomous driving rears its head.

Safer driving as ADAS advances towards level 5, fewer accidents and the simplified repair processes with electric vehicles ( less parts and more software) , 3D printing and integrated roadside assistance, vehicle recovery and repair shops all paint a picture of these evolving partnerships. Some in closed, proprietary ecosystems like Tesla is developing from California but with global ambitions and others more multi-auto OEM, multi-insurer.

It is, as always, far more than just a matter of technology. 

Further Reading

14 Auto OEM Insurance Programs in USA- who will win the data monetisation race?

Motor insurer digital maturity, touchless auto claims and customer satisfaction