Mitchell to Present to Society of Insurance Research on Leveraging Auto Physical Damage and Bodily Injury Claims Data

For Immediate Release:
March, 2008

Contact:
Public Relations for Mitchell International:
Kamarolzaman Hashim
Boston Communications
+1.617.292.7316
www.prboston.com

Insurers can use data as a valuable tool
to remain competitive in changing marketplace

San Diego, CA – March 3, 2008 – Mitchell International will present to the Society of Insurance Research (SIR) during the SIR’s Product/Claim Summit on March 11th in San Antonio, Texas. Senior Director, Information Services, Jamison Day, and Executive Vice President and Founder of Mitchell Medical, Thomas McCarthy, will share insight with insurers on leveraging claims data and turning it into Business Intelligence to gain insight into overcoming current economic and industry-wide trends affecting the Claims organization.

One recent study conducted by Mitchell reinforces that the current trend of a flattening to slightly declining portion of total losses has been occurring in the industry over the last few years. Changes in vehicle mix, moving towards vehicles with lower underlying total loss rates, have driven the drop.

Mr. Day noted: “Business Intelligence is a hot buzzword these days and, at Mitchell, we'd like to think we're playing a part in understanding how we can leverage those new technologies and approaches in our industry.  We have been helping executives in the Claims organization make sense of data and trends for years now.  At this conference, we're trying to highlight some examples where we can use claims data for generating insights and trends that may also be interesting and helpful for the underwriting side of the house.”

The Company has also studied the effects of several other trends that will likely continue into the future, such as the use of aluminum body parts and the dramatic growth of hybrid vehicle sales.  In both cases, the Company saw increases in average repair costs.

“If the overarching market trends continue into the future, we expect the underlying trends in claims to continue—something the underwriting organizations may want to weigh as they think about future pricing," said Day.

Mitchell Medical will also present its own set of trend analysis and results at the conference. Tom McCarthy will address how inflation in the cost of medical care is impacting auto bodily injury claim severity. McCarthy will also share information with insurers on how they can combat this phenomenon and effectively control costs using a comprehensive medical management system.

“It is critical for insurers to be aware of the importance of streamlining cost controls and improving performance,” said McCarthy. “If insurers understand just how important a total medical management system is to the injury claims process, they will be better able to serve their customers by efficiently handling the review process.”

About Mitchell International, Inc.
Mitchell International (www.mitchell.com) is a leading provider of information, workflow, and performance management solutions to the automotive insurance claims industry, serving carriers, collision repair facilities, and other commercial participants in the physical damage and auto-related medical claims markets. Mitchell facilitates millions of electronic transactions between more than 16,000 business partners each month to enhance their productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction levels.

About the Society of Insurance Research
The Society of Insurance Research was founded in 1970 to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas in all areas of insurance research. It has expanded to marketing and planning, as well as research. The Society has since grown to include representation from any different organizations; insurance and non-insurance companies, government agencies, institutions of higher education, and trade associations. For more information, please visit the SIR’s website at www.sirnet.org.

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