The insurance industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by digitalization, personalization, and growing importance of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and cybersecurity in insurance documentation and data analytics, predictive risk assessment, fraud detection, and smart policy management. In the last three years alone, there have been over 9,000 patents filed and granted in the insurance industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in insurance: vehicle repair estimation. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 75,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the insurance industry, there are 25+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Vehicle repair estimation is a key innovation area in insurance
Vehicle repair estimation refers to the process of predicting the cost of repair for a damaged vehicle. The estimation can be done either manually or using software programs that employ image processing, machine learning, and other data analysis techniques to identify external and internal damage to different parts of the vehicle and calculate the repair cost based on a parts database. Vehicle repair estimation helps insurance companies estimate the cost of repair accurately and quickly.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 180+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established insurance companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of vehicle repair estimation.
Key players in vehicle repair estimation – a disruptive innovation in the insurance industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to vehicle repair estimation
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2022) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Cox Enterprises | 113 | Unlock Company Profile |
| International Business Machines | 97 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Expanse Bioinformatics | 77 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Tractable | 73 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Flex | 56 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Alibaba Group | 45 | Unlock Company Profile |
| 23andMe | 34 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Advanced New Technologies | 27 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Ping An Insurance (Group) | 27 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Lear | 26 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Leidos | 26 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Accenture | 26 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The Hartford Financial Services Group | 25 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Global Payments | 25 | Unlock Company Profile |
| State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance | 24 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Swiss Re Asia Pacific | 23 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Services USA | 22 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Didi Global | 21 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The Allstate | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| UnitedHealth Group | 18 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Johnson Controls International | 18 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Expanse Networks | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Qomplx | 16 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Mitchell International | 16 | Unlock Company Profile |
| KBC Group | 16 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Terumo | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
| DataRobot | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Capital One Financial | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| CollectiveHealth | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The Progressive | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Cerebri AI | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Samsung Group | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| American International Group (AIG) | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The Mather Group | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Alivia Capital | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Xtract360 | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Swiss Re | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| SAP | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
| OptumHealth Care Solutions | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Clarify Health Solutions | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Liberty Mutual | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Hitachi | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Royal Bank of Canada | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Visa | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Ant Group | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Marathon Petroleum | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Aliphcom | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| UIEvolution | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| One Concern | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Cox Enterprises is one of the leading patent filers in vehicle repair estimation. Cox Automotive, a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, provides car sales, exchange, marketing, and service solutions to maximize the value for dealers, manufacturers, and car shoppers. Autotrader, Clutch Technologies, Dealer.com, Dealertrack, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim, NextGear Capital, VinSolutions, vAuto, and Xtime are some of the leading brands owned by the company.
Some other key patent filers in the vehicle repair estimation space include International Business Machines (IBM), Expanse Bioinformatics, and Tractable.
In terms of application diversity, Cox Enterprises held the top position, while Flex and Terumo stood in second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Expanse Bioinformatics leads the pack, followed by Tractable and Flex.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the insurance industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Insurance.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
