IBIS UPDATE
Jim Azzouz and Jennifer Boyer.
Michael Macaluso, Nick Di Luca, Osvaldo Bergaglio and Ryan Bruno.
Frits Hillebrandt, Gabrielle Comtois and Emmanuel Gyebi.
effectively their claims were handled. “Most of drivers’ dissatisfaction, he says, is caused by confusion and delays in the early stages of the claim process.” Verisk recommends using Xactimate, an appraisal app available for mobile devices, to help mitigate these defections. The app uses AI algorithms that analyze photos to estimate the severity of damage to vehicles’ body parts, says Grant, which means a claim can be settled in as little as 13 minutes. Boyer and Azzouz spoke about Ford’s intention to connect its smart vehicles to
David Leuhr.
Osvaldo Bergaglio and Nick Di Luca.
the cloud, which will enable the OEM to be more active in the collision repair process. That strategy is supported by a report from Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which predicts that by 2040, two billion cars will be connected to the cloud. Enterprise’s Mahoney offered suggestions for preparing for that future, including investing in talent and technology (especially tech to connect with OEMs via the cloud), as well as in new partnerships. “Connected cars, she says, will speed up the repair process and increase customer satisfaction.”
Mahoney summarized the overriding message of the IBIS summit: “If you don’t invest [in new tech and retaining talent], you will not survive.” IBIS was founded in 2001 by Christopher Mann and David Young, co-owners of bodyshop magazine, which is published in the U.K. The first IBIS conference was held in Wales and, since then, conferences have been held all over the world, attracting hundreds of delegates from every sector of the collision repair industry. For more information on IBIS, visit ibisworldwide.com. AUGUST 2019 | COLLISION REPAIR 69