Feb 10, 2023 4 min read

Twenty years ago, I read the book, “The Age of Access,” by Jeremy Rifkin. The book explained how the expansion of the internet will affect every aspect of our daily lives.

On vacation this past week, I watched a video that made me realize how Rifkin’s views of the future are coming true. In London, Amazon has opened a grocery store that requires shoppers to have downloaded their application to their phone to gain access to the store. Once in the store, customers can load products into their cart and leave the store. All of the products in their cart will be scanned and charged to their Amazon App.

The video explained in detail how the system eliminated theft. The same week I read an article on how Walmart believes it loses $3 billion dollars a year in store thefts. If you do not like self checkout, you might not like what’s coming.

Now how does this relate to the insurance industry? A month ago an auto body shop called me and ask why my company was not sending out an adjuster to look at the extra damage he found when he started working on my insured’s car. I explained that in some situations, an adjuster might go out, but this was not one of those cases.

My insured filed her claim through my company’s mobile app that she downloaded to her phone. This app keeps track of all her policies, reminds her of payments due, allows her to make payments, allows her to make changes to her policies, contact my office, file claims and request assistance if her car breaks down.

When she filed her claim on the app she was instructed to take photos of the damage from certain angles. A computer program and an in-house adjuster created an estimate and asked her if she wanted the check sent to her or directly deposited in her bank account. What we knew as a company was that 90% of the claims we send out adjusters on resulted in auto body shops finding additional damage when repairs are started. It makes no sense to send out adjusters when the photos enabled us to create the same estimate as the adjusters. The cost savings will be passed on to our customers. The shop who asked about the adjuster had not kept up with the technology, and unfortunately, will either have to change or lose business.

The app my insured downloaded also keeps track of the claim. My customer was able to review all activity regarding payments, required additional information, renting a replacement vehicle and additional damages.

Several months ago there was a hail storm in the Mon Valley. Customers were sent a link to their claim and asked to download photos of their damaged vehicles. I learned that there is a computer program that enhances the photos to identify each hail dent and determine the necessary actions needed to take to repair the vehicle.

Estimates where created and in some situations vehicles where totaled, without the cost of sending out an adjuster.

Over the Christmas holidays, many homes had frozen pipes. Adjusters were sent to this area to review the damage. In some situations photos and measurements were sent by our customers, enabling us to issue estimates and payments quickly. Again, like the body shop, the contractor who is doing the repair work can use our estimate or contact us to request additional funds. The insurance industry understands that once work starts more costs can occur and photos and reasonable explanations of the additional work results in additional payments.

These technological changes are not going to stop. Smartphones and apps are the future. Insurance companies that don’t provide them will not provide the services their customers want, and without the cost savings they provide, will become uncompetitive in the market place.

To find your company’s mobile app, call your agent. For me, simply text the word mobile to 78836.

Bob Hollick is a State Farm Insurance agent based in Washington. His column appears every other Friday in the Observer-Reporter.