13 Aug How well are you using your data?
Auto claims data is easy to gather, but difficult to optimize for growing your business.
Return On Investment of on-board safety systems
More and more fleet vehicles are equipped with Vehicle Safety Technology (VST) – things like blind-spot monitoring, collision avoidance, driver alertness detection, and electronic stability control. While these technologies reduce accidents, they also increase vehicle prices and repair costs after an accident. So which systems help the most to reduce accidents or their severity? And are there some that aren’t worth the added expense? [Related Article: How Fleet Response helped Sprint foster a new culture of driver safety]
Fleet Response compares claims data on a client-by-client basis with the safety programs on vehicles that have been involved in accidents. This makes for better business decisions about which systems to pay for when adding new vehicles to the fleet. It can also identify which safety trainings are most important for drivers, based on the safety features being used.Â
Subrogation payments expected v. received
How well is your subrogation provider doing? It’s easy to calculate the average return per subrogated claim. But every claim is different, so that average doesn’t mean much. The only way to know if your subrogation provider is fighting for every dollar is to look at results claim-by-claim.
The trouble is, the people who manage vehicle claims aren’t usually involved with subrogation. So, when payment arrives months after the initial claim, who has ownership of the data to compare it with the initial subrogation demand? Usually nobody.
Fleet Response does a few things to make subrogation measurable. First, it’s aggressive about dramatically shortening subrogation cycles – which is not only good cash management, it facilitates tracking results.
Second, it integrates subrogation with the rest of the claims process. Fleet Response is already determining subrogation potential in the earliest stages of a claim. Demands for payment are based on the full cost of the claim – including diminished value, loss of use and loss of revenue.
Third, it proactively compares any payment received against the initial subrogation demand, so clients know exactly how much of each loss is being recovered. [Related Article: Five Ways to Improve your Subrogation Return]
Reductions in vehicle downtime
Everyone knows downtime costs money. But what specific steps are being taken to reduce downtime in your fleet, and how well do they work?
A small delay at the outset of a claim can multiply. It leads to production delays; extra weekends when nothing gets done; additional rental days; and rising costs and tempers.
Big factors in the early going are the amount of time an initial estimate sits before being reviewed and revised; communication between the leasing company and claims manager about systems and features on the specific vehicle; and decisions on the type of parts to be specified based on price, availability and direct experience on their fit and performance.
Fleet Response takes extra steps at the beginning of a claim to make sure the entire process is carefully planned to avoid surprises, shorten production cycles and meet cost estimates. Then it provides information to support continued optimization of the claims process, based on each client’s priorities and policies. That means the impact of ongoing improvements can be measured over time. [Related Article: Using Claims Data to support Corporate Strategy]