Mitchell Announces "Program Freedom" to Deliver Open, End-to-End Claims and Repair Management Platform

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 31, 2017) -  Mitchell, a leading provider of technology, connectivity and information solutions to the Property & Casualty (P&C) claims and Collision Repair industries, announced the launch of Program Freedom encompassing the development of its complete claims and repair platform that offers an open-systems alternative to systems that restrict data exchange and extract toll fees. 

For more than 20 years the collision repair and auto claims industries have benefitted from open data exchange using CIECA standards. Following recent announcements of closed and proprietary data strategies, Mitchell will be delivering an industry alternative on December 1, 2017. Using Mitchell solutions, industry participants will continue to transact using the benefits of an open and secure data exchange.

Program Freedom is based on Mitchell's new cloud-based estimating & communications platform and offers the following benefits:

• Freedom to share data without restrictions with your choice of business partners
• Freedom to retain a copy of your data for warehousing and archival purposes
• Freedom to share data without transaction fees
• Freedom to choose EMS or BMS with the security services you select
• Freedom to estimate on any device, any browser, from any location
• Freedom to purchase estimating services on either a per-estimate or subscription basis

For carriers, Program Freedom allows repair networks to operate more flexibly and cost effectively - offering an open choice of business partners, such as parts sourcing and procurement networks. Claims repaired by out-of-network repair facilities without a full Mitchell subscription are processed on a per-estimate basis, allowing for cost effective claims workflow on a highly efficient platform.

For repair facilities, Program Freedom allows for continued open choice among best-in-class applications and services without the limitations of proprietary protocols and closed data networks. Repair facilities can choose to share data via EMS or BMS, and which data fields are shared with each partner. Importantly, the data exchange occurs without adding new transaction fees.

For OEMs, Program Freedom allows participants in OE Certified Repair Networks to share data with program administrators and service providers enabling efficient delivery of proper and safe repairs. Parts procurement can be enabled through the repairer and the OE's choice of network, without new fees and restrictions. Mitchell's new cloud platform will also deliver major enhancements in OE repair procedure content and delivery. 

For industry suppliers and providers, Program Freedom provides the ability to do business with repairers as they do today -- without new licensing terms and transaction fees and without the need to rewrite existing interfaces.

"The industry is facing unprecedented challenges due to vehicle complexity, repair, cost and safety. Mitchell is committed to providing a secure, cloud-based platform to enable the innovation the industry needs from hundreds of application and service providers," said Debbie Day, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Mitchell Auto Physical Damage Solutions. "The industry will require choice, and certainly not a return to rekeying data. Through Program Freedom, Mitchell will deliver an open-systems choice for industry participants to facilitate the important business transactions we need to operate today and in the future."

For further collision repair and property casualty industry updates and perspectives, follow Mitchell on Twitter @Mitchell_Intl, @MitchellClaims, @MitchellRepair, @MitchellPBM and LinkedIn.

About Mitchell International
Headquartered in San Diego, California, Mitchell International, Inc. delivers smart technology solutions that simplify and accelerate claims handling and repair processes, driving more accurate, consistent and cost-effective resolutions. Mitchell integrates deep industry expertise into its workflow solutions, providing unparalleled access to data, advanced analytics and decision support tools. Mitchell's comprehensive solution portfolio and robust SaaS infrastructure connect its customers in ways that enable tens of millions of electronic transactions to be processed each month for more than 300 insurance companies, over 30,000 collision repair facilities and countless other Property & Casualty industry supply partners across the Americas and Europe. For more information, please visit www.mitchell.com.