Taking Collisions “High Tech”

Who would have guessed 10 years ago that collision reporting centers (CRCs) – now totaling 15 across Ontario – would become the leaders in post collision customer care?

When I recently met with Al Cafik, president of the Canadian Insurance Claims Managers Association (CICMA), and senior Toronto police officers, the goal was to identify an effective solution to investigating non-injury collisions. At that point, the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police’s traffic committee were ready to sign-off with the Ministry of Transportation to only investigate personal injury collisions. The potential fraud that could have resulted would have been astronomical due to the fact that minor collisions would not be investigated or documented.

As a result of discussions between the industry and police authorities, it was agreed the introduction of CRCs was the best solution. The “CROMS” – “collision reporting and occurrence management system” – was also born out of the need of auto insurers who wanted their post collision information from CRCs in as quickly as technologically made possible. The objective was to collect data electronically, entering the information once, and share it with insurers, police and road engineers.

STREAMLINED PROCESS

Today’s CRCs provide insurers access to their policyholders’ collision data through the company’s own Internet web portal. This high-tech delivery method provides secured access to the insurer’s collision data, from across 12 police jurisdictions throughout Ontario. Other companies like Allianz Canada (now part of the ING Canada group) have taken even bigger steps, by receiving a direct download from CROMS as their first notice of loss, and thereby having their internal computer program fields populated directly with the CRC data. This has proven to be a technological breakthrough, in that a driver’s claim can now be opened and assigned without the need for any support staff involvement.

When a driver has a collision that exceeds $1,000 in combined damage, they have a legal obligation to bring their vehicle to a CRC, whether the vehicle was towed or driven. At the center, the driver’s collision information is collected by counselors, who enter the data details into the CROMS program, thus creating the official Ontario Ministry of Transportation form. CROMS even goes as far as decoding the vehicle identification number (VIN), thereby ensuring accuracy while at the same time searching the CPIC police website to determine whether the vehicle may be listed as stolen.

Furthermore, each vehicle has a “damage reported to police” sticker place on the damaged area which is then photographed using a yardstick for damage comparison purposes. These simple steps go a long way in identifying possible frauds.

CUSTOMER FOCUS

Once a driver has provided collision details to their local CRC, they have fulfilled their legal obligation of reporting an accident to the police. However, if they so choose, the driver can contact his/her insurer right from the CRC.

CRC employees provide each driver with a customized brochure that is supplied by the respective insurance company involved. This brochure explains what the insurer would like the driver to do following a collision in terms of dealings with auto body repair shops, secondary towers and rental car operations. Many of the CRCs also provide telephones with direct dial access to insurers’ local claims departments so that the driver can call their broker or adjuster.

With CROMS, the policyholder’s adjuster can view written statements, photos of the damaged vehicle and make note of any supplemental or injury reports that may be a part of the claim – all while talking to the driver who could still be at the reporting center.

Insurance professionals using CROMS are now the system’s biggest supporters. The program saves them time doing what they have to do: investigate and manage claims, while trying to provide “better than the other guy” customer service. And, of course, the ultimate objective is to close claims quickly at a fair and reasonable cost.

Notably, Jim Pletsas, a fraud investigator with Wawanesa Insurance Co., says that CROMS has become one of the most influential elements in the investigation of staged accidents and fraud rings. Kirsten Weaver, a claims supervisor with Allstate Insurance Co., points out that the elimination of couriered reports by having access to the necessary information via the Internet has also greatly aided in making the right liability decision in reviewing collisions.