INNOVATION GROUP

James Coggin , Innovation Group ’ s Chief Technology Officer , holds responsibility for technology and digital transformation globally . He explains how the company ’ s vision is to place a digital platform at the centre of the repair ecosystem to ensure that all parties , including the insurer , body shop and driver , have all the information required to ensure repairs are completed in the best possible way .

“ A key part of this is to provide transparency to all of these parties ,” James explains . “ The platform provides updates to stakeholders as required , and also provides drivers with a self-service link . This gives the customer access to a dashboard showing the key information about their vehicle and the repair .”

Gateway platform : Improving customer satisfaction James explains that , historically if a customer required a vehicle repair , they would have dealt with their insurer and vehicle body shop , often via phone calls . That includes reporting their incident , checking if a repair has been approved and asking for status updates and completion target dates for repair .

JAMES COGGIN CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER , INNOVATION GROUP

“ The process relied on manual and time consuming check-points , whereas in other areas of their lives , customers were already used to transparency ,” James notes . “ For example , when ordering from meal delivery apps , customers can see where their order is and the expected delivery time , and this in turn provides peace of mind ”

That platform has now reached significant scale , with over € 1.25bn ( US $ 1.31bn ) of repair value processed in Germany across more than 500,000 orders .

158 January 2025