GFT unveils AI-based car damage recognition

Stuttgart, 10 August 2020 – GFT is unveiling IDE (Intelligent Damage Evaluation), a system for the automatic recognition and appraisal of vehicle damage. By providing the car’s registration number and photos of the damaged areas, the system can identify the vehicle, assess the damage in the photos, and use database details to estimate the scale of the damage – including non-visible internal damage.

Digitisation has drastically changed the way people use products and services in many areas of life. This new consumer behaviour presents a challenge for insurance companies to proactively offer solutions that will pave the way for holistic customer relationships. IDE was designed and implemented with this in mind. The service uses algorithms developed by GFT to assess damage in connection with insurance claims. It draws on a network of global database providers, as well as AI technologies developed by IBM for image analysis and machine learning, in order to quantify part costs and repair time.

IDE is already available on the market and is currently being trialled by two insurance companies. With the aid of the new tool, users can obtain an estimate of the probable repair costs by sending a simple photo of the damaged part to their insurance company. IDE analyses the damage and provides detailed feedback within 20 seconds on the necessary repairs and costs involved.

Artificial intelligence serving the automotive industry

IDE was designed for insurance companies, as well as for car rental companies with long-term leasing options, claims adjusters, companies that handle vehicle claims, and body shops. The system is based on cutting-edge AI technologies using IBM Watson services. The sophisticated algorithms that provide an extremely reliable and accurate assessment of the recognised damage were developed by GFT. Recognition includes all the perimeter components of the bodywork and all major external parts, including the light units and the front and rear windscreens. To keep IDE reliable and up-to-date at all times, GFT constantly monitors the quality of the algorithms and regularly optimises the recognition of new components.

Using additional algorithms based on machine learning processes, IDE not only recognises external damage, but can also detect possible hidden damage inside the vehicle – a unique function as comparable systems are limited to the detection of purely visible damage. This means that the actual repair costs can be estimated extremely accurately.

IDE is a SaaS application (Software as a Service), but can also be integrated into legacy systems. For special requirements, the system can also be adapted to customer-specific needs. The required photos, as well as further details about the damaged vehicle, can be provided via app, e-mail or an insurance broker – the data provision method can be chosen by the respective insurance provider.

“IDE represents a revolution in claims management: it speeds up claims processing, reduces the risk of fraud and shortens the time between damage notification and settlement. Above all, it enables insurers to radically improve the customer experience,” says Ulrich Meyer, Managing Director Financial Services at GFT. “IDE is a quantum leap, and we are very proud of it.”

There are numerous benefits for insurance companies. They range from general improvements in settlement process efficiency, a review of claim channelling methods, anti-fraud controls and new services for end customers. IDE offers the following benefits in particular:

1. Easy to use: IDE does not require any special technical knowledge. The user simply provides the vehicle‘s registration number and photos of the damaged area to receive all the data required to optimise the claims management process.
2. Process optimisation: IDE enables the automation of numerous processes that are still mostly performed manually today. This frees up resources that were previously occupied with repetitive tasks.
3. Immediate activation: IDE was designed to be a flexible, easily activated service that can be put to use immediately. Because it uses cloud-based technology, no special software needs to be installed.
4. Precise calculation of damage costs: Because it can detect even non-visible damage and draw on comprehensive databases, IDE is able to quantify the damage extremely reliably and accurately.
5. Top security, no data storage: GFT strictly limits the need to keep any data provided. It only stores data for as long as it takes to process the request. The service is also based on a scalable and secure cloud architecture that can be integrated with the customer’s IT systems and maintained using top-level IBM security standards.

The future of claims management: car insurance companies can radically improve the experience of their customers with IDE from GFT. It just takes a few photos and 20 seconds to receive a detailed assessment of both visible and non-visible vehicle damage.