For motorists and the companies that serve them, Solera has created an ecosystem that continues to grow in the UK with Audatex, Autodata, carweb, and cap hpi spanning the journey from new vehicle to end of life.
“Solera combines the power of data and innovative technology to provide repair intelligence, at the point of need, and a seamless claims experience for repairers, insurers and their customers,” said David Shepherd, “Customer experience, convenience and transparency in car and fleet management and ownership all benefit from connected data.”
In 2006, Solera, owned by Tony Aquila acquired the Audatex estimating system business. More vehicle damage estimates are calculated on the Audatex system in the UK than all the other systems combined, processing around 2.5m assessments a year. Worldwide, Solera processes over 300 million digital transactions annually for approximately 235,000 partners and customers in nearly 90 countries.
Since the takeover of Audatex there has been a number of other acquisitions in the UK and the Solera group of UK companies now comprise the following:
This is the company’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) vertical. cap hpi provides the most accurate and up-to-date vehicle identification and valuation data for car dealers, auction houses, insurers, finance houses, OEM’s, fleet, digital media and repair businesses. cap hpi provenance checks also provide ‘due diligence’ security by identifying if there is outstanding finance on the vehicle, alerting in the event the vehicle is on the stolen vehicle register and if the vehicle has been a previous total loss. Cap hpi also has the largest percentage of the vehicle car parc mileage records. This protects business, and the consumer, through the famous hpi brand
An innovative software development business specializing in motor claims and pet claims is now merged into the Audatex business.
A business specializing in developing Artificial Intelligence claims optimization solutions has now merged into the Audatex RMS business.
This is the Service Maintenance and Repair (SMR) vertical. Autodata is a trusted and leading global provider of technical automotive information. Autodata provides professionals in the automotive aftermarket with the technical information required to service, maintain, diagnose and repair cars, light commercial vehicles, and motorcycles. Currently it is accessed by over 100,000 users worldwide.
Provides recycled parts inventory management and sales solutions, as a part of the RMS vertical.
Also part of the RMS business. Audatex provides a wide range of innovative solutions which connect people, bodyshops, insurers and suppliers, empowering all to make quicker, smarter decisions.
RMS – PlanManager is an innovative, cloud-based bodyshop management, for greater efficiency and workflow streamlining. PlanManager was Introduced to the market in May 2018.
Every company in the Solera group provides easy to use, intuitive solutions that are used at various stages throughout the vehicle’s lifecycle and across the claims journey digitising the process and providing a seamless data driven experience for the customer.
An example of this is when a vehicle is insured, the registration number is used to identify the exact make, model and options fitted to the vehicle to allow the insurer to underwrite the exact vehicle. Over 80% of all these lookups are powered by a Solera system.
On risk data analysis tools and data enrich the underwriting engine calling on specification and tech data and safety equipment fitted. cap hpi consult and data science teams call on big data trends including access to the DVLA data to help make better decision.
Further down the line, in the event of an accident, the claim is registered on an Audatex First Notification of Loss (FNOL) solution and is then passed on to the bodyshop if repairable. If it’s not repairable it will be directed to a salvage agent and deemed by the intelligent software to be a total loss.
Solera’s cap solution is used to give the pre-accident value of the vehicle and a full hpi check is carried out to determine whether there is any outstanding finance on the vehicle. The hpi check also delivers information such as the last known mileage, current MOT status, alerts in the event of the vehicle having been previously deemed a total loss and it identifies whether or not the vehicle has been stolen.
In the event of the vehicle being repairable, the Audatex FNOL solution previously mentioned, uses smart logic to allocate the claim to the correct repairer, based on insurer rules and repair shop capabilities. In the vehicle repair bodyshop the claim is received into either PlanManager and, or directly into the Audatex Global Claims Centre, ready for the repairers to use the award-winning Audatex estimating solution to capture the damage and select the correct repair method.
During the estimate process the system automatically calculates the current vehicle value and by using a simple ‘traffic light’ systems indicates whether the vehicle is repairable, borderline total loss, or total loss. Prior to carrying out the damage capture process, the repairer uses the Audatex VHC2to identify any electrical SRS or ADAS system damage and this report is carried directly into the Audatex AudaEnterpriseGold (AEG) system.
Post repair the repairer uses the VHC 2 tool to reset any SRS codes and to validate that all systems are now back to manufacturers standards. For any mechanical or electrical repair methods and/or torque settings the repairer uses the AudaGarage solution, powered by Autodata.
Finally, cap hpi provides the most comprehensive VRM and valuation data to the insurer/body repairer. This is built into the Audatex damage assessment service, providing accurate vehicle identification and valuations within the system. This reduces risk, improves efficiency and increases profit for both the insurer and the repairer.
Solera has calculated that during the life cycle of an average vehicle, there are 54 significant transactions (250 with a commercial vehicle). Solera’s vision is to be able to help vehicle owners have a better experience at each and every one of those significant events and the company is continuously looking to improve this, in any way it can.
“The underlying rationale for all our acquisitions is about ‘fit’ to the business vision, the people and technology,” said David. “By ‘fit’ I mean that it is innovative, adds value to our customers, has the potential to disrupt, and change the industry.
“In terms of some of the specific acquisitions, Autodata was a perfect fit for Solera, with Autodata having already established itself as a global business for the service, maintenance and diagnostics of vehicles,” added David. “This brought new expertise to the group and increased the reach of Solera’s brand. Equally, there was great potential to further grow Autodata through collaboration with and the support of Solera.”
Additionally, CAP Automotive was acquired by Solera for its expertise in UK vehicle identification and valuations data and its global expansion plans and capabilities. “The two businesses, cap and hpi then merged to create efficiencies, and a better customer journey, as they served the same customers, and an integrated data and knowledge base for our customers,” said David.
The company is now planning to move to bigger premises to bring the organisations under one roof. The new facilities based in Bracknell, Berkshire have been designed for the RMS and SMR businesses. It will accommodate the 400 associates in these organisations, with plenty of room for growth. The new offices are expected to be completed and ready to move in by the middle of 2019.
“Autodata and Audatex will be sharing these same premises,” said David. “With the two businesses already only a few miles apart, it was an obvious decision to come together. It allows the organisations to have one central location that can better accommodate growth, provide the best facilities for colleagues and attract the skills required to support customers as we continue to develop new products.
“The UK companies will continue to work together to create a seamless journey for our customers and their customers and this will inevitably see the development of more innovative solutions which utilise Solera’s rich assets,” said David. “Solera and all the brands in the family are market leaders and ambitious to raise the bar even further. You can certainly expect to see further developments across the group, increased reach and more value delivered to the market. Watch this space.”
