Vincent Gore, CEO of Resource Tracking says that this advanced, web based software tool creates forecasts of the material damage cost to vehicles involved in accidents.
DENT's uniqueness is that the technology provides a preliminary repair cost estimate during the initial call with the policyholder, thereby providing insurers with actionable intelligence, at the very beginning of the claims process, instead of later when the car has already been removed to a body shop. "The inclusion of DENT into the Resource Tracking portfolio is part of a larger strategy that has seen the organisation moving beyond purely fleet management and recovery," says Gore.
This tool provides a 'damage estimate in near real time' and is designed for property and casualty insurers as it assists in improving efficiency in the claims operation. "A significant challenge in the insurance claims process is the correct disposition, or triage, of a vehicle following an accident," says Gore. Usually, the vehicle is towed to a local body shop, which will write up the cost using estimating software. But frequently, the outcome is that the vehicle is in fact, a total loss, and not repairable. "This results in a significant unnecessary cost being borne by the insurer - storage costs, estimating fees and transport to a salvage auction."
In the US it has been calculated that insurance companies are spending in excess of US$1 billion annually on payments to body shops for handling total losses that could be avoided by making use of DENT. Gore says that he believes that by introducing DENT, insurers, fleet operators, contract hire firms and others in South Africa will be able to gain significant savings.
Crashboxx Telematics, based in the United States are the designers and developers of DENT. Crashboxx Telematics are a developer of advanced vehicle telematics and machine to machine solutions for insurance, fleet, consumer and offender management markets. "We are very pleased to have found a partner in Resource Tracking that too has an ethos to develop and provide world class automated risk management solutions," says Peter Byrne, president of Crashboxx.
DENT will be released in South Africa later this year and will initially be targeted for use by insurance claims call center staff, enabling them to make an initial estimate of the severity and cost of the collision on the spot. Gore says that the system is easily learnt and applied. Within seconds DENT will deliver a report displaying the crash location on a Google map, the severity, crush inches and a forecast of the cost to repair.
Resource Tracking has been providing customers with multi-dimensional transport management solutions for the past seven years. "We are constantly developing and integrating technologies and transport management advancements into our service. This enables us to deliver intelligent solutions for the management of vehicles, aircrafts and marine vessels," says Gore.
Gore explains that Resource Tracking's leading integrated online technology and national footprint allows the company to easily adapt DENT for insurance telematics applications, where data from the onboard black box or EDR (event data recorder) can be input automatically, generating preliminary cost estimates, in real time.
"We partner with the largest manufacturers of vehicle telematics in the world and the introduction of Dent into our offering is part of our strategy to improve and advance operations for insurance companies and OEM's (original equipment manufacturers)," concludes Gore.
