After discussions began in 2018 and the technology was built out in 2021 and 2022, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has officially launched the Driver and Auto Search History (DASH) product to compete with CGI’s AutoPlus reporting system.
“We’re proud to have collaborated with over 90 per cent of the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry in the creation of DASH,” says James Fordham, vice president of industry information services and chief information officer with IBC. In conversation with the Insurance Portal, he adds that 29 insurers representing just over 91 per cent of the industry by market share participated in the product’s development.
The subscription-based product provides reports on a consumer’s auto insurance history, including policies, claims and other relevant information needed to provide an insurance quote. The product today is available to auto insurers and brokers licensed to sell insurance in Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon.
DASH reports are not produced in British Columbia or Quebec because the core data required to generate a DASH report is not collected in those jurisdictions.
Delivered on a cost-recovery basis
“DASH will be delivered to insurers and brokers on a cost-recovery basis without any per-transaction fees. As a result, we expect that the cost savings to the industry will be significant,” Fordham told the Insurance Portal. “IBC is a not-for-profit provider. Our sole focus is on ensuring that the needs of the industry are best met. We see that as a real edge in terms of providing services to the industry.” He adds that IBC has also convened an advisory group to guide future development of the system to ensure it keeps pace with trends and industry activity.
“The industry saw an opportunity for a competitive product to come into the market and support their underwriting practices,” he adds.
Testing began one year ago
To get there, he says discussions about DASH began as early as 2018. “We didn’t start out to replicate the existing product. We sat down with all of the participating insurers and had their businesspeople set out their requirements for an insurance history report.” He adds that a good 18 to 24 months were spent making sure that the industry saw value in the offering before committing to the technology build in late 2021. Launched for validation in testing one year ago in March, the organization officially launched DASH for production on June 10, 2024.
Currently the system has 3,000 users, a number that Fordham says is expected to balloon to 30,000 once enrollment stabilizes in the coming months. “We’re expecting to run in the region of 150,000 DASH reports every day. It’s going to be a very high traffic and highly utilized system.”
As for the subtle differences between DASH and CGI’s AutoPlus, Fordham says these are all well-documented for users and had been discussed at length with the participating insurers – the documentation is available at the IBC’s information site, alongside user manuals and training materials.