At the heart of Octo’s leading crash and claims capabilities is the crash dossier – a compendium of all relevant facts automatically compiled and provided to our insurance partners within minutes of a crash. The Octo crash dossier is a very powerful tool to help you reduce fraud, estimate damages, and accurately assign liability. In this blog post, we deconstruct the dossier into its parts so that you can understand all the helpful data that is included. You can download an example of the dossier here.
The Data
The crash dossier is populated with telematics data from the Octo Cloud, crash scene photos and driver feedback from the Octo telematics app, and policy information from the insurance carrier.
To understand driving behavior, Octo collects and analyzes vehicle data on a second-by-second basis. When a crash occurs, Octo stores even more granular data for sixty seconds prior to the crash and third seconds after a crash. This data describes the movement of the vehicle along six axes, helping us reconstruct the accident, identify points of impact, and estimate force of impact. Octo uses vehicle telematics data to reconstruct the accident and provide a visual recreation of the vehicle’s movement back to both the insurer and the insured.
Our smart crash app, available as part of Octo’s Vantage, Surround, and Fleet apps, collects driver feedback after an accident. The app allows users to report an accident directly to their insurer. Crash scene photos and driver feedback help validate the accident and provide evidence to support claims. After validating that a crash has occurred, the app prompts the driver to identify any vehicle damage and provide photos the insurer can use to validate the damage.
Telematics data, driver feedback, and policy information are combined to form a crash dossier, which can be compiled and sent to the insurer in a matter of minutes.
Dossier Summary
The crash dossier starts with basic account details so an insurer can tie the crash back to a policy.
| Device: | Octo Surround |
| Device identification code: | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
| Installed on vehicle with plate: | INJ 476 |
| Vehicle make and model: | Mazda 6 |
| Contract id number: | OCTO-0070042 |
This is followed by a summary of high level crash data as captured and validated by Octo.
| Date: | 4/19/17 |
| Time: | 07:09:54 |
| Location: | 130-136 Rumford Avenue Newton, Massachusetts Middlesex County 02466 United States of America |
| GPS coordinates (Lat., Long.): | 42.3585085, -71.2412539 |
| GPS detected speed in Mi/h: | 4.35 Mi/h |
| GPS quality: | Good |
| Peak acceleration: | 6.55g |
| Vehicle ignition status: | On |
Crash Details
The details section includes critical crash dynamics information that insurers can use to process and adjust the claim – date, time, location, impact locations and forces.
Satellite and vector-based maps show the path of your policyholder’s vehicle 60 seconds pre-, 30 seconds post-crash, and location of impact(s). The location of impact combined with severity helps you accurately diagnose vehicle damage.
By reconstructing the crash with telematics data, you can corroborate or challenge witness and participant statements. This is critical for reducing all the various forms of fraud with the added benefit of reducing inspection requirements for routine crashes.
| Date: | 4/19/17 |
| Time: | 07:09:54 |
| Location: | 130-136 Rumford Avenue Newton, Massachusetts Middlesex County 02466 United States of America |
| GPS coordinates (Lat., Long.): | 42.3585085, -71.2412539 |
| Peak acceleration: | 6.55g |
| Number of impacts: | 2 |
| 1st impact: 2°: | 4.76g |
| 2nd impact: -53° | 6.7g |
Claims Survey
Octo provides a claims survey capability for collecting driver statements and photos. Instant first notice of loss (FNOL) allows you or your claims management service to follow up with your policyholder to capture accident and witness details at the scene while they are still fresh.
| Customer can answer survey: | Yes |
| Number of vehicles involved: | 2 |
| Number of motorcycles involved: | None |
| Number of pedestrians or cyclists involved: | None |
| Accident report: | Yes |
| Number of outside witnesses: | 1 |
| Names of witnesses: | Name: Cheryl Pineau Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX |
| Number of injured: | 1 |
| List of names of injured: | Peter Bretton Driver of vehicle A – whiplash |
Vehicle A (Policyholder)
| Plate number: | INJ 476 |
| Driver name: | Peter Bretton |
| Driver phone number: | XXX-XXX-XXXX |
| Vehicle A striker of: | Vehicle A |
| Vehicle A struck by: | Vehicle B |
| Accident dynamics of Vehicle A: | Changing lane |
| Number of passengers: | 1 |
| Passenger details: | Name: Peter Bretton Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX |
| List of damaged componenets: | Front Fender, Front Wheel Side Skirt |
| Notes on accident dynamics: | Vehicle B changed lanes, didn’t see vehicle A in turning lane and side swiped vehicle a going 65 MPH on the highway. |
When a crash occurs, insurers instantly receive first notice of loss from Octo. The crash dossier is generated within minutes of a crash occurring, allowing you to reach out to your policyholder to offer assistance at a critical time. Between instant first notice of loss, the crash dossier, and near immediate communication with your policyholders, telematics allows you to kick off the claims process much faster than without telematics.
Download our whitepaper to learn more about the comprehensive opportunities and benefits of a telematics-driven claims process.