Copart and Hi Marley have teamed up to co-develop integrated bidirectional communication tools that they say will streamline the automotive total loss (TL) process.

Built with insurance-specific functionality and intelligence, Hi Marley says its user-friendly platform enables insurance companies to communicate with policyholders via SMS text message, “in one trusted thread, resolving claims faster.”

Hi Marley tells Repairer Driven News that, initially, bidirectional communication will be between carriers and their customers/claimants and then, eventually, between Copart and Hi Marley as layer-on features are added. Hi Marley Principal Product Strategist Hugh Allen said the collaboration between the two companies will drive P&C process innovation with a focus on introducing experiences that reduce cycle time and increase customer satisfaction.

“The automotive total loss process presents multiple challenges for policyholders and insurance carriers, with high costs and extended processing times caused by communication complexities,” Hi Marley said. “By digitizing and streamlining communication for all participants, Hi Marley and Copart’s partnership will develop products that reduce the number of manual interactions needed to resolve automotive total loss claims.”

RDN asked Allen if the tools will address the growing trend of disparity and lawsuits between insurance carrier TL offers and actual cash values, or provide a solution for consumers to those issues.

In response, he said, “It provides a better customer experience to receive messages to their personal mobile device (pocket) without having to download a carrier app. [The] initial scope is salvage support with a focus on moving customers through the total loss process smoother via SMS.”

In May, LexisNexis reported that TL ratios worsened during the first nine months of 2022, with 27% of collision claims deemed TLs. Twenty-four percent of claims were determined to be TLs in 2021, and although the 3% difference might seem slight, LexisNexis called the increase significant.

“Especially when you consider the time and effort required to settle these claims and current high vehicle costs,” it said. “In most cases, adjusters are required to manually search for data and source it from multiple locations. Oftentimes, this occurs outside of the more automated areas of the claims adjuster’s workflow. Manually sourcing title, lienholder details, or an odometer reading isn’t an efficient use of an adjuster’s time ― especially in light of the data integration capabilities available in the market today. When data is embedded into the workflow, adjusters have access to the information they need so they can keep the claim moving.”

According to Hi Marley and Copart, their partnership will aid in that through:

• • Building concise and seamless SMS communication between the policyholder and carrier to vastly improve the customer experience;
  • Streamlining TL triage by using artificial intelligence (AI),  which will result in a faster and more accurate TL decision;
  • Sending personalized and automated messages to adjusters and policyholders; and
  • Enabling the claims ecosystem — carriers, policyholders, repair shops, and Copart – to participate in real-time collaboration via in-app notifications, mentions, and replies.

“Copart is committed to understanding the challenges our customers face and investing in technology solutions that address them,” said Robert Vannuccini, Copart chief sales officer. “We are excited to partner with Hi Marley to further enhance communication processes in the total loss space.”

Hi Marley Chief Product Officer Jonathan Tushman added, “The ability to marshal our collective resources for the betterment of our carrier partners and their customers is key to enhancing the total loss experience. Speed to resolution is a key part of end-user satisfaction when it comes to total loss claims. Integrating with a forward-thinking total loss partner will enable us to do this work with the efficiency users expect today, and no one is better to partner with than Copart.”

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