Australia’s biggest motor insurance repair network launches digital claims platform

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AMA Group, the ASX-listed smash repair network and the go-to repairer for a number of Australia’s top insurers, has teamed with 360globalnet, a digital developer and cloud services provider, to build a centralised digital claims platform that it expects will significantly reduce the time to estimate, approve, and allocate motor vehicle repairs.
 

The new digital claims nerve centre will coordinate with more than 70 separate crash repair outlets operated by the automotive repair group, centralising estimating and site allocation for AMA’s insurer and fleet clients.

The platform will allow both policyholders and third parties to upload supporting information – including images, videos, and documents – to initiate and progress their claim without requiring an on-site estimate from a repairer.

Customers will also be able to obtain “accurate, relevant, and timely information” during the assessment period, which will expedite estimates, insurer approval, and the repairs process.

Since its pilot launch, AMA Chief Commercial Officer Peter Bubeck said the digital claims platform had received “high levels of engagement from customers and within our own estimating team.”

Bubeck expects to expand the platform throughout the course of the year, and “introduce better ways to support and help their policyholders through an accident or major weather events.”

“We’re continuously looking for new ways to improve our service proposition and make things easier for the insurer’s policyholders,” he said. “We’re excited to be able to offer a digital means of communication, and by doing so, we’ve streamlined our internal processes and significantly reduced the time it takes to provide an estimate and commence repairs”.

The accident repair market generates nearly $7 billion of revenue each year. According to IBIS 2016 Global Focus Repair Report Australia, approximately one million accident repairs are undertaken each year in Australia, with an average repair cost of $2,800 for each vehicle.