SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - February 1, 2010) - Mitchell International, Inc., a leading
provider of information, workflow and performance management solutions to
the Property & Casualty claims and Collision Repair industries, today
released the first quarter 2010 edition of its Industry Trends Report (ITR)
-- the company's quarterly publication that highlights industry-related
trends, news items and statistics.
This edition's Quarterly Feature, "Do You Really Know Where Total Losses
Are Trending?," by Mitchell's Vice President of Industry Relations, Greg
Horn, details Mitchell's in-depth examination surrounding the startling
trend of declining total loss claims -- a phenomenon occurring despite a
severe U.S. economic slowdown that has seen approximately six million fewer
cars and trucks sold in 2009 than in previous years. With the average age
of a typical vehicle today at an unprecedented high of nearly 10 years,
many would expect total losses to rise correspondingly, particularly since
total loss claims are typically declared once the estimated cost of repairs
climbs to over 80% of the Actual Cash Value of the vehicle, where most
older vehicles fall.
Horn's examination of Mitchell's multi-year claims data breaks down the
unexpected results and explains that the pool of older vehicles carrying
first-party coverage is shrinking. Older vehicles on U.S. roads today are
increasingly under-insured or not insured at all as cash-strapped drivers
reduce or drop their coverage (The Insurance Research Council notes that an
all-time high of 16.1% of Americans are driving uninsured vehicles in these
challenging times). Therefore, no total loss claim is made by the owners of
these vehicles in the event of a collision.
Horn says, "Tough economic times will likely continue to spur the decrease
in total losses that are paid for by collision coverage because the pool of
older vehicles that has been so sharply reduced will continue to contract
further. In addition to the underinsured phenomenon, there are
substantially fewer older cars and trucks available to purchase: The
federal Cash for Clunkers program alone took approximately 690,000 older
vehicles off the roads, fewer trade-ins are occurring in a time of
depressed new car sales, and the lease financing collapse has made fewer
cars available from this traditional source of used fleet vehicles."
The ITR's second feature, "Technology to the Rescue: Use Innovation to Help
Speed Report of Losses," also by Greg Horn, discusses how insurers can use
technology to improve the time from date of loss to date of report. Horn
describes why the most significant obstacle to speedy claims resolution is
often the claimant's delayed response in reporting an accident to the
insurer, likely due to lack of experience with the claims process. He
points out that if policyholders know that technology such as cell phone
applications and online tools that give them visibility into the claims
process and keep them informed and up-to-date are available, they may have
a less daunting view of the process and be inclined to take action more
quickly.
Other valuable points of interest in the current issue of Mitchell's ITR
include:
-- Mitchell's Q4-2009 data reflect an average gross initial Collision
appraisal value of $2,842 -- $145 less than this same period last year.
Applying the indicated development factor suggests a final Q4-2009
average gross collision appraisal value of $2,913 -- a value $74 less
than the same quarter in 2008.
-- Q4-2009, the initial comprehensive average severity was $2,501 -- $22
more than the same quarter in the previous year. Applying the prescribed
development factor for this data sets yields an anticipated final value
of $2,562 -- $83 higher than the Q4-2008 performance.
Complete content is available in the latest Industry Trends Report, which
may be downloaded in PDF format by visiting www.mitchell.com. First
published in April 2001, Mitchell's Trends Report has grown in both content
and circulation, now reaching more than 23,000 collision and casualty
industry professionals.
About Mitchell International, Inc.
Mitchell International (www.mitchell.com) is a leading provider of
information and workflow solutions to the Property & Casualty claims and
Automotive Collision Repair industries. The company's comprehensive
solution portfolio streamlines the entire auto physical damage, bodily
injury and workers' compensation claims processes. Mitchell enables
millions of electronic transactions between more than 30,000 business
partners each month to enhance partner productivity, profitability, and
customer satisfaction.
Moving Ahead. This is a great time to be a Mitchell customer.