With the appearance of the automobile came the need to appraise and repair collision damage to auto bodies. Traditional blacksmiths were the first to do this work, and they later gave way to specialist body shops and paint shops. Since those days, repair quotes have been based on subjective, personal appraisals and insufficient technical knowledge, due to the rapid technological changes in the structural design of automobiles, and without access to reliable financial data relating to the cost of materials, labor charges and the prices of parts involved in the repair of the vehicles. Without such information it is impossible to accurately estimate the cost of an accident. Moreover, the personal judgment method of the traditional appraisal has never proved capable of providing additional information to facilitate resource planning and control, or support the establishment of proper policies and guidelines to identify and correct irregularities. Add to this an even greater operational vulnerability due to high volumes and complexity as a result of the ever larger segment of insured vehicles and the growing demand for more and better services. Faced with these problems, the use of high technology operational and administrative resources becomes indispensable if we are to keep incident related costs under control and face the challenges of the 21st century in a more professional manner. |
