April 18, 2018—Hyundai has teamed up with Verisk Telematics to provide insurers with data, reported Forbes, which called the partnership a potential for reducing the cost of driving for insurance customers.
The partnership—the Verisk Data Exchange—between Hyundai and Verisk collects and analyzes vast sums of data to extrapolate trends. The exchange now tracks 3.3 million cars and is growing by over 150,000 cars per month. In total it has logged 36.5 billion miles worth of driving data.
This partnership calls attention to two key trends in collision repair: vehicle data sharing and OEM-insurance partnerships.
Data Sharing
In particular, the rise of blockchain technology—in which Mitchell is investing heavily—is changing the way vehicle information is shared between parties. With Blockchain Solution, Mitchell’s goal is to store all information recorded during the collision repair process and allow various parties to access it, streamlining communication and making the data more secure.
This practice means different things to different industries, but for collision repair shops, it changes the communication process with insurance companies, OEMs, suppliers, rental car companies, etc. A blockchain would allow those various parties to access vehicle data without using the traditional method of transactions, which required going through a central party.
OEM-Insurance Partnerships
As noted in FenderBender’s April story on the future of shop-insurer relations, if insurance companies want to remain relevant, they’ll need to partner with OEMs as vehicles become more and more connected.
As the vice president of claims at Esurance, Craig Edmonds is very interested in leveraging data from OEMs in order to triage vehicles to properly equipped shops. In effect, because of OEM partnership, data sharing with body shops will improve.
“Immediate communication of data, such as the type of loss and severity of damage, can facilitate parts ordering and provide customers faster cycle times,” Edmonds says. “Shops would need to utilize their management systems to share data and communicate with OEMs and carriers to leverage the technology.”
