This year saw the launch of a re-imagined Solera Canada event series: AudaVision. These half-day forums deliver high-level insight into industry trends, through the unique lens of Solera’s technical platforms and solutions. We visited Winnipeg, Toronto and Québec, and have our eyes on other locations for next year.

The rapid acceleration of technology at large was and will continue to be the hottest topic of discussion.
Severity in auto claims will continue to rise as the number and complexity of parts in modern vehicles rises. New vehicles can have up to 100,000,000 lines of code in their various onboard computers (outstripping commercial and military aircraft), leading to the rise of necessity in pre and post scan procedure—this also adds to the cost of claims.

But it’s not all bad news: technology is a double edged sword in many cases. Advances in software and increasing investment in automation has led to better tools and processes. Solera is planning a number of estimating, total loss and workflow releases over the next year that will enhance usability, decrease cycle time and reduce workloads, while improving customer satisfaction.

We also explored new areas of technological intrigue, such as the combination of two relatively new phenomena: crowdsourcing and person drones. By leveraging a network of independent drone operators, a large number of rooftop photos can be obtained at a fraction of the cost of dispatching a physical appraiser. This practice is already affecting both the underwriting and claims adjusting world on the property side, and has similar implications for reducing costs in auto as well—especially in regions or situations where appraisers are in short supply.

Solera Canada is also making strides into the home and identity verticals, via acquisitions of enservio and Digidentity respectively. The former delivers solutions for home contents management, including a self-serve portal for fast and accurate valuation, while the latter uses state-of-the-art verification, authentication and authorization tech to provide identity security in an increasingly digital world.

These technological vectors aren’t poised for massive disruption: the disruption has already started. Part of AudaVision’s goal is to illuminate the areas of change and help industry stakeholders plan for short and medium term impacts.

We introduced a formula to help steer one’s focus in this rapidly changing environment:

Engagement

While the focus of many AudaVision presentations was on B2B platforms, at the end of the day it is the insured’s experience and relationship with their insurer (and insurer’s partners) that ladders up into a successful and profitable engagement. In the digital era, unhappy customers have much more power than the businesses that serve them! Think: social media channels or online policy quotes. They also expect and have grown used to constant interaction and stimulation through digital means.

Insurers who recognize the growing multiplicity of potential touchpoints for positive, meaningful customer engagement (i.e. communicating with someone beyond just sending them a bill or taking their information during a claim) will be the insurers who win in the Internet Age.

Engagement is comprised of three components: money, content, and certainty.

Money

This is the simple recognition that in order to be successful, both the insured and the insurer should gain value from the interaction at large. A reduced claims cycle, for example, results in costs savings for the insurer and a happier experience for the insured. A carrier that saves money by deploying drones to carry out difficult appraisals may be better positioned to offer more competitive premiums.

Content

The lifeblood of the digital experience lies in content. It could be words, like the ones you’re reading now. It could be a video, a game, or simply an app that is a delight to navigate. By definition, you cannot access a customer touchpoint without the substrate known as content. Google made its fortune by sorting content. Facebook built its empire by connecting everyone’s personal content. To survive as a business that is based on people—you must understand, invest in and prioritize content and its intelligent distribution.

Certainty

Security and risk management is the grounding force in this often dizzying and confusing world of evolving technology. Having systems and processes in place to guide content production and keep focus on value generation is critical now, and will be inescapable in the very near future.

If you were unable to attend one of our events in person, fear not! We will be releasing material in the form of blog posts, whitepapers and email newsletters that cover these and other emerging topics all throughout 2018.