SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - November 2, 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 fourth quarter 2009 Special NACE 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, "The Mitchell Collision Parts Price Index
Proves the Unexpected: When OEM Part Prices Increased, Estimate Severity
Decreased," by Greg Horn, Mitchell's Vice President of Industry Relations,
reveals surprising findings important to all participants in the collision
repair marketplace. Horn's analysis of the Mitchell Collision Parts Price
Index (MCPPI), a metric similar to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) but
created specifically for the collision repair industry, discovered that due
to the substitution effect estimate severity has deceased despite rising
OEM part prices. The MCPPI is based on the industry's most comprehensive
data for the top 20 most-replaced collision parts, which can be used to
accurately assess how inflationary trends by part type impact the collision
repair community.
"Mitchell's in-depth and multi-year data sets give the collision repair
industry an unparalleled ability to understand significant changes in the
way repairs are made and the resulting impact on estimate average
severity," said Horn. "Comparing our supporting data from the MCPPI with
trends in severity and the national rate of inflation shows that a clear
substitution effect is at work, causing average gross repairable estimate
severity to decline, despite rising OEM parts prices."
Added Horn, "As repairers opt to substitute more economically viable used
or aftermarket parts in place of costly OEM parts in ever-larger numbers,
the net effect has been a decrease in parts dollars and increase in labor
dollars on repairable estimates in recent years. Mitchell's data and
analysis is committed to helping the collision repair industry understand
these changes, and the reasons behind them, in order to help our customers
compete in a constantly changing marketplace."
The 2009 NACE edition of the ITR also includes a feature on best practices
for customer satisfaction research in the collision repair industry from
AutocheX -- Mitchell's customer experience management group. Jason
Bertellotti, Mitchell's Vice President of Repair Solutions, provides an
insightful piece on cultural factors that impact Hispanic satisfaction
survey outcomes in this industry. With the immense growth in population and
buying power of the U.S. Hispanic community, it is increasingly important
to understand the collision repair experience from the Latino perspective
and the issues that may affect their level of satisfaction.
Other valuable points of interest in the current issue of Mitchell's ITR
include:
-- On average, the Actual Cash Value (ACV) of vehicles appraised for
Collision losses during Q-3 2009 was $12,188 -- $829 less than in
Q-3 2008 -- reflecting the continuing lower value of today's vehicle
mix.
-- In Q-3 2009, the average gross appraisal value for Comprehensive
coverage estimates processed through our servers was $2,468 -- compared
to $2,356 in Q-3 2008. Applying the prescribed development factor of
2.1% for this data set produces an adjusted value of $2,520, a $164
increase from this same period last year.
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 and workflow solutions to the Property & Casualty Insurance
Claims and Automotive Collision Repair industries. The company's
comprehensive solution portfolio streamlines the entire auto physical
damage, bodily injury and workers' compensation claims processes. Mitchell
enables millions of electronic transactions between more than 30,000
business partners each month to enhance partner productivity,
profitability, and customer satisfaction.
Contact Information: Contact:
Jennifer Forman
Sr. Director, Marketing
800-854-7030
or
Kam Hashim
Boston Communications
617-899-1307