Intact partners with Snapsheet to offer photo claims estimating service

Toronto, ON (June 20, 2019) – Intact Financial has announced it has partnered with Snapsheet to launch a photo estimating service in Ontario via its virtual claims app. Ontario drivers who are insured through Intact can now take advantage of this option.

“At Intact, we are always looking for new ways to improve the customer experience and making the claims process easier and more efficient for customers,” said Intact in a company statement. “As an option for customers, we started offering Snapsheet in the auto claims process in Ontario in March. The feedback from customers who have chosen this path has been positive as it saves them time – they no longer need to take their vehicle into a shop for an estimate before booking in for repairs.”

Streamlining the auto insurance claims submission process, the service allows drivers who have been in a collision to take a photo of the damage and submit a First Notice of Loss through the app to their insurance carrier, who can immediately assesses vehicle wreckage to estimate the repair cost based on information in a database of legacy claims.

The move could prove significant for collision repair centres in Canada’s largest and most populous province – and across the country.

“We’re now deploying customer experience enhancements at an accelerating rate across lines of business and distribution channels,” said Charles Brindamour, CEO of Intact Financial, during the company’s Q1 earnings call on May 8.^[1] “Earlier this year, [we gave customers] the ability to use their mobile phones to start a claim right at the site of the accident, loading pictures of the damage to speed up the claims process. Throughout the product lifecycle, options for digital interaction are delivering a faster, simpler experience, while at the same time generating useful data for AI. We expect improvements in customer experience, pricing, and productivity to accelerate as we continue to add to the more than 40 AI models currently in production.”

Chicago-based Snapsheet entered the Canadian market last year, partnering with Aviva Canada on a similar service to offer photo-based claims estimates via a carrier-branded app.^[2] The InsurTech and software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform provider is also behind Snapsheet Transactions, launched in 2017 in partnership with KeyBank, to make claims and expense payments easier to issue through an online hub that renders slow-moving ‘cheques in the mail’ unnecessary.

“We believe the claims process should be simple,” said Brad Weisberg, CEO and co-founder of Snapsheet. “While most carriers recognize this as well, few have access to the technology to make it possible. We aim to bridge the gap between carriers and virtual claims technology everywhere.”

Notes

1. Intact Financial Corporation: Q1 2019 Results (May 8, 2019).

2. Aviva Canada: Snapsheet Brings Virtual Claims Technology to Canada (Mar. 1, 2018).

3. Snapsheet and KeyBank form virtual duet for insurance claims (Oct. 4, 2017).

About Financial Corporation

Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) is the largest provider of property and casualty (P&C) insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty insurance in North America, with over $10 billion in total annual premiums. The Company has approximately 14,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than five million personal, business and public-sector clients through offices in Canada and the U.S. In Canada, Intact distributes insurance under the Intact Insurance brand through a wide network of brokers, including its wholly-owned subsidiary BrokerLink, and directly to consumers through belairdirect. In the U.S., OneBeacon Insurance Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary, provides specialty insurance products through independent agencies, brokers, wholesalers and managing general agencies. For more information, visit www.intact.ca.

About Snapsheet

Snapsheet is the pioneering provider of virtual claims technology to personal and commercial auto insurance carriers. The Chicago-based company services major auto insurance carriers through Snapsheet’s Virtual Insurance Claims Exchange platform, improving the estimation process for auto repairs from virtual photo submission to final repairs and payment. For more information, visit www.snapsheetclaims.com.

Tags: App, Intact, partnership, Snapsheet, virtual platform Read the original article at Insurance-Canada.ca