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from August 2021 West Edition

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times. This will significantly reduce cost to deliver against the ‘new normal’ whilst driving significantly improved customer experience and customer satisfaction ratings. Body shops want to repair more vehicles, and by implementing this technology, you’ll have that opportunity.

“The benefits for body shops and MSOs are vast,” du Toit added, suggesting a digital platform with enhanced automation, which allows for seamless interaction between all parties, is “the holy grail” and leads to accurate, consistent outcomes.

“Body shops and MSOs that embrace this in their processes will most certainly lead and probably win this race,” he said.

Looking at next-generation AI, Davies explained the objective is “to automate the claims management process as much as we can, and to do so in the appropriate way, by using advanced AI algorithms […] which allow us to enable human-level decision making and provide insights and information that can predict and project the direction of where a claim should go. By doing so, we can increase the efficiency and accuracy of the claims workflow process.”

The meta data collected through Computer Vision flows into the decision-making process of how to best create a dynamic workflow based on consumer needs and behaviors, which can be further augmented with more information about the vehicle itself.

“Advanced AI algorithms allow shops and insurers to utilize information obtained during the claim initiation to flow into the decision-making process to create a dynamic workflow,” Davies said. “The outcome of AI across its entire life cycle will result in increased renewals, increased cash out settlements, reduced leakage, improved margins, auto authorization, increased straight through processing and claims auditing.”

AI assists shops in determining the way to “best understand how to provide that decision-making for the best outcome of our consumers, our insurers and the body shop in that entire life cycle itself,” Davies said, as he discussed collision repair industry trending towards EVs and AVs, which are “highly specialized vehicles that require special skills and information.”

“Start embracing and implementing this technology,” du Toit said. “Body shops will be allowed to focus more on executing repairs and less on the administration around estimating in the future. There will be less need for skills and experience as many things will be driven by the machine. Insurers will adopt AI driven workflows, and this will be the new normal.

“Don’t fight it; embrace it! Humans will always be required to teach the machine and verify its results, but the need will become less as the AI gets smarter. Human interaction will be more focused on the outliers and more complex and sophisticated processes.

“The willingness to adopt and implement AI has increased significantly,” du Toit concluded. “The demand is real. The change is real. And it’s here today.”

A replay of the June CIECAST is available online.

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Axalta Coating Systems on July 7 announced it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire U-POL Holdings Limited from Graphite Capital Management LLP and other holders for about $590 million.

U-POL is a leading manufacturer of repair and refinish products used primarily for automotive refinish and aftermarket protective applications.

Axalta will accelerate growth of U-POL’s products by expanding market access through Axalta’s existing sales and distribution channels while leveraging U-POL’s distribution channels to extend the reach of its refinish coatings portfolio to new customers.

U-POL’s talented global organization and its manufacturing plant and R&D lab in Wellingborough, England, bring important capabilities to the company’s commercial, manufacturing and technology organizations, enhancing Axalta’s ability to serve its customers across the globe.

Source: Axalta