Case Study: Audatex

Challenge
Insurance Claims data center, Audatex, Ltd, wanted to provide improved customer access to data from its client/server system that cost a lot to maintain...and they'd promised to do it in 3 months.

Solution
A comprehensive, and most importantly, secure site that allowed customers to access reports and information via the Web.

Value
Audatex used the mrc-Productivity Series to build a Web site from the ground up that would give its clients secure access to crucial insurance data...and was accomplished well within budget and timeframe.

Thousands of accidents happen on our roads every day and each sparks off a sequence of complex and carefully regulated procedures for insurers, assessors, repairers and all other parties involved - starting with the opening of the claim and ending with the damage settlement. For Audatex UK Ltd., this complexity drives their business model. The company provides an integral piece of the auto claims process - computerized estimating and imaging - and serves the UK's leading insurance, auto repair, and auto manufacturing companies.

Founded in 1987, Audatex provides an end-to-end solution that automates and simplifies the procedure for repairers to make and submit estimates to insurance companies. The company stores and analyzes data for every auto make, model, and part - over 55,000 derivatives of 260 models. Once the estimates are submitted, the claims are filed, and the repairs are made, a goldmine of information remains that all Audatex customers want to access. Underwriters want to compare repair costs in different areas. Vehicle manufacturers want to know which parts are repaired the most often. Insurance agencies want to analyze trends. Audatex provided access to this information through a client/server system that required a lot of maintenance, training, and licensing.

To maintain their lead in this marketplace, Audatex knew they had to improve the ways their customers access information; their customers were anxious for it too. Derek Bradley, the MIS Data Development Manager of Audatex, explains, “One of our major customers, a leading UK insurance company, requested Web access to management information about their assessments and claims data. We agreed to develop a solution specifically for them within a 3-month timeframe. So we had to have a solution, and had to have it in place very quickly.”

Faced with this challenge Bradley says, “We had already identified the mrc-Productivity Series and so we bought it, learned how to use it and developed the solution - on time. During those 3 months, there was a change of strategy, which affected the design, but even this did not put us off schedule.”

“We completed the project on time and to the customers complete satisfaction. The alternative would have been to recruit at least three contractors and even then it would have been difficult to meet the deadlines.”

The results have been better than expected. Bradley describes: “We got fantastic feedback from our client. As we went through the solution, he got more and more excited at how he could now access information that was just not possible before.”

Though the software paid for itself within those 3 months, Audatex has also used it to improve other aspects of their business. Explains Bradley, “We can write just about anything in record time. mrc did many other tasks instantly that would normally have had to wait, such as account maintenance. Previously this was very manual using spreadsheets and several manual steps. Now we maintain accounts via Web browser. It saves time, improves the accuracy of our data, and gives us immediate results.”

Looking to the future, Bradley says, “This product can help every aspect of our business. It can help create additional revenue streams. It is great for the positioning of our company.”

For more information on Audatex UK, Ltd., visit their Web site at www.audatex.com.