Digicar is a solution whose time has come, as a service offered to the customer at a time when they need it: accidents or breakdowns. The aim is to provide reassurance by supplying the right information (conveyed in advance by the assistance co-ordinator via telephone) at the right time. In this way, using their mobile phones, customers can receive all the information (emergency recovery timetable, taxi service, hotel address, train tickets, etc.) they require to complete their journey with full peace of mind. From the Mutuaide perspective, the aim is to reduce the number of calls, and thus unnecessary stress on the auto platform.

Digicar enhances the customer’s claim experience at the point of first contact with their insurer: the recovery service. From the first call, they will be supported not only by the assistance co-ordinator, but also by Digicar, who provide dynamic, updated and clear reminders of all services that will be deployed to assist them and enable them to continue their journey. They will also receive information about the arrival of their assistance provider, and will be able to obtain geolocation data if they do not know where they are. Once the service has been delivered, they will receive a text message with details of emergency and general assistance services.

At the time of the claim, the customer calls the service to request assistance. Having been greeted, reassured and entered into the system, the customer receives a text message enabling them to open a web page on their mobile. The initial information provided is their case number, their contact details and the ETA of the geolocated emergency service provider. If they need to take a train, taxi or hire car or stay at a hotel to complete their journey, all information regarding these services is forwarded to them.

The key area of added value – which is also the innovative element – is that the customer is not required to start by downloading an application with codes. The system instead uses progressive webapp (PWA) technology.

PWA technology fills the gap between native applications and websites. A PWA operates in the same way as an actual website, hosted directly on the Internet, with a URL address, just like a traditional site. What makes it different is that it also offers functions similar to those found in a native application.

This technology is ideal for emergency cover services, in which customers are stressed and not in the right frame of mind to have to locate codes. All they have to do is click a link in the text message, and their entire assistance service is available to them. Once the claim has been dealt with, they no longer need the webapp; it is a “disposable” web service.