SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - April 27, 2009) - Mitchell International, Inc., a leading
provider of information, workflow and performance management solutions to
the Property & Casualty claims and Collision Repair industries, today
released the second quarter 2009 edition of its Industry Trends Report
(ITR) -- the company's quarterly publication that highlights
industry-related trends, news items and statistics.
This edition's Quarterly Feature, "A Deeper Dive into the Latest Crash
Parts Index Analysis Yields Unexpected Results," by Mitchell's Vice
President of Industry Relations, Greg Horn, discusses the latest findings
of Mitchell's Crash Parts Index Analysis. This in-depth, ongoing analysis
conducted by Mitchell organizes crash parts data into a general "collision
parts market basket" and tracks changes in the average prices over time.
The Mitchell Crash Parts Index Analysis methodology examines data from
2003-2008, creating a weighted average price for parts in the aggregate in
order to compare inflationary trends by part type over time. In order to
provide the industry with the most relevant and up-to-date data and
analysis, Mitchell will continue to track crash parts data, releasing a
final Crash Parts Index in a subsequent ITR issue.
Examining collision repair data in this way -- isolating the parts price
index according to top selling vehicles by part type -- helps Mitchell
customers understand where pricing trends are going and how part type
pricing is interrelated for vehicles that are commonly insured and
repaired. Mitchell's analysis reveals that decreasing new OEM prices and
recycled/used prices are actually driving the overall decrease in the parts
price in the case of the most popular vehicles. In contrast, the overall
collision parts price index is increasing as a whole.
"The first installment of the Mitchell Crash Parts Index Analysis was
enthusiastically received by the collision repair industry, and we received
many requests to examine the data in more depth and detail," said Horn.
"This time, we analyzed some of the most popular cars (the most often
insured and repaired) and their collision parts. The data showed,
surprisingly, that in contrast to earlier findings, today's composite crash
parts price market basket is lower than it was in 2003."
Other valuable points of interest in the current issue of Mitchell's ITR
include:
-- In Q1-2009, the average initial gross appraisal value for
Comprehensive coverage estimates processed through Mitchell servers was
$2,302, compared to $2,242 in Q1-2008. Applying the prescribed development
factor of 3% for this data set produces an adjusted value of $2,359 -- a
$117 increase from this same period last year.
-- On the average, Actual Cash Value (ACV) of vehicles appraised for
Collision losses during Q1-2009 was $12,253 -- $1,171 less than in Q1-2008,
reflecting the lowered value of today's older vehicle mix.
Complete content is available in the latest Industry Trends Report, which
may be downloaded in PDF format by visiting
www.mitchell.com. First
published in April 2001, Mitchell's Trends Report has grown in both content
and circulation, now reaching more than 23,000 collision and casualty
industry professionals.
About Mitchell International, Inc.
Mitchell International (
www.mitchell.com) is a leading provider of
information, workflow, workers' compensation, medical bill review, 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 25,000 business partners each month to enhance their
productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction levels.
Contact Information: Contact:
Jennifer Forman
Sr. Director, Marketing
800-854-7030
or
Kam Hashim
Boston Communications
617-292-7316