Fireman's Fund Begins National Roll-Out of Mitchell's eGlassMate
SAN DIEGO--June 18, 2003--Fireman's Fund Insurance Company has just begun a national roll-out of Mitchell's Internet-based eGlassMate solution and has already dramatically increased the number of glass shops its customers can use for windshield repair.
In slightly more than a month, Fireman's Fund is 40 percent complete in the roll-out with eGlass already expanding the insurer's number of glass repair vendors from about 300 to 6,500 locations.
"eGlassMate offers our customers greater choice and a faster more efficient claims experience," said Kevin Romer, Vice President of Claims Specialized Services for Fireman's Fund. "This new efficiency allows the insurance carrier and the glass shop to take the frictional costs out of the claims process which will ultimately benefit the consumer."
Romer said that "Customers and independent insurance agents will appreciate how easy it is to find a Preferred Shop using FFIC's Glass Shop Lookup tool on our website. All the customer needs to do is provide their policy number to the glass shop. The participating glass shop will then verify coverage, provide invoicing and claim reporting information to Fireman's Fund using eGlassMate's on-line connections. It's a one-stop, no hassle solution."
Besides saving customers' time, eGlassMate is also ideal for glass shops. This easy-to-learn, easy-to-navigate, Web-based system handles auto glass claims in one simple step. eGlassMate allows shops to verify the customer's coverage and to create and submit invoices on the Internet, which replaces paper faxing, mailing, phone calls and reentering of data for both insurers and shops.
"We designed eGlassMate specifically to compress glass claims cycle times," said Tony Aquila, Mitchell's President and Chief Operating Officer. "Carriers and shops are living in a claims-centric world today. eGlassMate is just one of the latest innovations from Mitchell that helps carriers increase efficiencies by automating claims processes."
Aquila said Mitchell is pleased to expand its commitment to Fireman's Fund, which already uses the company's claims workflow solution and automated payment application. Mitchell launched eGlassMate in 2001 and to date has more than 6,500 glass shops nationwide in the system.
To sign up as a Fireman's Fund preferred shop, glass shops can go to www.eglassmate.net. Insurers interested in more information on eGlassMate can call 800/551-4012, x8952.
About Fireman's Fund
Rated "A" by the A.M. Best Company, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company last year had gross premiums written of almost $4.3 billion and is a major national insurer of auto coverage for firms and individuals. Based in Novato, Calif., Fireman's Fund is a subsidiary of Allianz AG, one of the largest international financial services providers with assets under management of almost $1 trillion. Additional information is available at firemansfund.com, including a full list of participating eGlass repair shops accessible by any customer.
About Mitchell International
Mitchell International, founded in 1946 and with headquarters in San Diego, is The Source for information software and e-business solutions for the insurance and automotive repair industries. Providing services that enhance productivity, profitability and customer satisfaction, Mitchell facilitates several million electronic transactions between more than 16,000 business partners each month. Mitchell's own parts and labor database a critical connectivity point between shops and insurers, is trusted for its accuracy and respected as the industry standard. For more information on Mitchell International, call Bill Horten at 858/530-8995. Visit our web sites at www.mitchell.com and www.emitchell.com.