Recently, the "2016 Customer Day" activity organized by the People's Insurance Company of China Property and Casualty (later referred to as, PICC P&C) was held on its on-line official platform which has garnered much interest. They have launched a series of upgraded products for loss assessments and claim settlements with the aim of significantly increasing customer satisfaction. Among them, "Smart Body Repair" is an estimation tool used for small claims published on WeChat, and jointly created by PICC P&C and Audatex (China) Co. Ltd. (later referred to as, Audatex China). The tool's functions and applications are expected to increase customer engagement and bring greater convenience by speeding up the process of small auto claims settlements.

"Smart Body Repair" applies the mobile application AudaExpress, jointly released by Audatex China and PICC P&C, for fast assessments of loss with small claims. It was developed by Audatex China, based on innovative concepts in the loss assessment process brought forward by the PICC Claim Department. On the basis of global standards for labour time and repair workflow, Audatex China has created an organic combination of Chinese auto body repair and refinishing technology processes, and integrated them with PICC P&C's standardised professional loss assessment data. This provides a faster, more accurate solution for claims related to auto body repair and refinishing.

Car owners simply have to follow the official WeChat account of a PICC P&C branch (currently only available in Shanghai, Anhui, Guangxi, Jiangxi and Ningxia), click "Online Claim" - "Loss Assessment", and calculate the auto repair cost by going through a simple three-step process that uses model-style graphics: choosing the make and model; clicking on the sector that is damaged; and confirming the degree of damage. What's more, car owners can make a claim and request a follow-up service to conveniently handle small claim loss assessments all by themselves. With "Smart Body Repair", car owners are provided with a digital solution for loss assessment and a deep involvement in the whole process, from the very beginning.

Throughout the entire self-guided process, owners can also select the method of claim settlement and auto shop themselves. This will not only increase customer engagement and lower the cost of claim settlements for insurance companies, but also increase communication efficiency between business partners and speed up the claim settlement process.

Bi Xin, Vice General Manager of the Claim Department of PICC P&C says, “‘Smart Body Repair’ focuses on customer needs as its core. Based on the professional design of both companies, it is an important measure taken to improve the customer experience in claim service and provide a solid benchmark for the further development of smart loss assessment.”

Mr. Luo Yang, China Regional Customer Director of Audatex China says, "How to better serve private car owners is at present a strategic focus of all the biggest car insurance companies. ‘Smart Body Repair’ is an important link in our company's current overall mobile strategy. We hope that, through our work with PICC P&C, we can together provide a comprehensive mobile application for private car owners, making it a real smart take-away!”