Four Essential Investments for Improved Collision Repair Efficiency
What are the investments you can make in your repair shop to produce more in the same amount of time? David Stringfield, of Auto Masters Fleet Services Inc., weighed-in on his operational secrets for efficiency in an article by Ratchet+Wrench.
The Introduction of Level 3 Automation
Autonomous vehicles have been making headlines for the past several years with some experts in the industry predicting that such vehicles would be taking over our roadways in the next decade. While this scenario seems unlikely due to the challenges that come with 100% automation, automakers are now equipping their vehicles with more advanced autonomous features that require less driver involvement.
What’s Behind the Increase in Total Loss Market Values?
Auto insurance carriers are not only facing increasing cost of repairs due to the rise in vehicle complexity but also are seeing increased costs when it comes to settling total losses. Average total loss market values have increased 6.55% in the first half of 2019 compared to the same time period last year, and the frequency of total loss outcomes has increased slightly as well to 17.53% in the first half of 2019 compared to 17.49% in the same time period last year.
Average Length of Rental for Repairable Vehicles: Q2 2019
Average Length of Rental (LOR) for Q2 2019 landed at 11.8 days in the United States, an increase of 0.2 days compared to Q2 2018. Once again, there was very little consistency between regions and states, although every region was either flat or up. The Mountain, Northwest and California regions produced the largest increases at 1.0, 0.4 and 0.4 days respectively. The average LOR ranged from a high of 12.8 days in the Mountain region to a low of 10.8 in the Midwest.
Premiums Written - Q3 2019 Quarterly Must Read Round-Up
Each quarter, I round up and highlight some of my favorite articles written by Mitchell experts and let you know where we have been published outside of our mPower thought leadership website. This quarter, I’m excited to highlight a Work Comp Pulse podcast interview with Rebecca Morgan, Senior Director of Product Management at Mitchell.
How (Humane) Claims Automation Leverages Technology for Better Outcomes
From business rules engines to artificial intelligence, both existing and new technologies yield opportunities for better, more strategic decision-making throughout the claims process. Shortly after World War II, as the Ford Motor Company returned to making cars, one of its more innovative executives, Del Harder, mechanized entire segments of the production line with built-in, electronic controls to ensure that work was meeting the appropriate standards.
Economic Trends Impacting the Collision Repair Industry in 2019
While new vehicle sales numbers have cooled from the records of the previous couple of years, the strength of the US economy continues to have an impact on consumer behaviors, driving patterns, and thus, the trajectory of the auto claims and collision repair industries. The adoption of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in a larger percentage of the car parc has been predicted to decrease accident frequency, but Mitchell data shows an increase of 4.4% in non-comprehensive claims in the first half of 2019 compared to the previous year.