Autor: venred

Solera Audatex’s PlanManager increases technician utilization by 10%; significantly reduces administrative time by 60 minutes per claim

BRACKNELL, United Kingdom, Jan. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Solera, a global leader in risk and asset management data and software solutions for the insurance and automotive industries, today announces its partnership with UK leading accident management service provider, Activate Group Limited part of the Activate Group of companies, to streamline the management of thousands of repairs a year with PlanManager.

PlanManager from Solera Audatex is a state-of-the-art end-to-end body shop management solution. Activate Accident Repair has already successfully integrated PlanManager into three of its repair sites to date and will be working with the Audatex team to continue the roll out across all of its UK sites throughout 2021.

PlanManager enhances the repair management process for Activate Accident Repair and their customers by providing a digital-first management and triage solution, using apps and integrated two-way customer communications. Through unrivalled intelligent data and assisted automated planning, the solution is proven to increase technician utilization by 10% and significantly reduce administrative time by 60 minutes per claim.

The partnership will strategically support Activate Accident Repair’s business objectives for growth. The solution will support all sites with a fast-track repair lane for non-structural repairs, allowing for reduced times on smaller jobs. Moreover, Activate Accident Repair centres are now able to deliver and measure an improved key-to-key time due to intelligent triage of jobs, utilizing images taken by the driver before the vehicle arrives on site.

Victoria Turner, CEO, Activate Accident Repair commented on the partnership: «Working with an innovative partner like Solera complements our mission of being totally tech-led and presenting a transparent, open-book approach to accident repair with our customers. Using PlanManager allows us to implement a more streamlined and efficient workflow process, and is already establishing itself as an integral part of achieving our future expansion plans in the UK.»

Simon Meredith, Key Account Manager of Solera Audatex UK, also commented: «PlanManager delivers efficiency gains through intelligent, integrated solutions. This provides a superior customer experience giving users the tools and intelligent data needed to run an efficient workshop, enabling real-time tracking of all body shop management tasks and vehicle repairs. We can support Activate Accident Repair’s to realise its core objective of using innovation and technology to connect and provide customers with real-time information, reduce costs and key-to-key times.»

For more information, visit: www.audatex.co.uk/solutions/planmanager 

ABOUT SOLERA AUDATEX

Trusted the world over, Audatex UK has redefined global knowledge and data insight in risk and asset management since 1987. Through unrivalled integrated technology, we connect people, insurers and suppliers, and empower them to make quicker, smarter decisions. Part of the Solera group, we consistently challenge expectations through continuous investment and digital innovation.

ABOUT SOLERA

Solera is a global leader in risk and asset management data and software solutions, empowering companies across the automotive and insurance ecosystem with trusted solutions that adhere to the highest standards of data privacy, security, and integrity to support connectivity across the vehicle value chain. Solera’s solutions bring together customers, insurers, and suppliers, empowering smarter decision-making through service, software, enriched data, proprietary algorithms, and machine learning. These come together to deliver insight and ensure customers’ vehicles and property are optimally maintained and expertly repaired. The company is active in more than 90 countries across six continents. We process more than 300 million digital transactions annually for more than 235,000 customers and partners. By drawing on the market-leading solution capabilities and business process best practices from its technologies around the world, Solera provides unsurpassed scale and strength with superior performance while delivering innovation to move the industry forward.

About ACTIVATE ACCIDENT REPAIR Group

Part of the Activate Group of companies, Activate Accident Repair is the faster, smarter repair partner, delivering high-quality repairs to dozens of insurers and fleet clients. Launched in 2019, it has sites in Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow, and plans to open a further 15 sites in rapid succession in 2021/22.

About Activate Group

Activate Group and its subsidiaries provide end-to-end accident management solutions to insurers, fleet providers, TPA’s and brokers.  The Group provides claims management to corporate and commercial fleets through sopp+sopp, operate an approved nationwide repair network for personal lines insurance claims through Motor Repair Network, supply next-day parts and consumables through Sopp Parts and autobody repair through Activate Accident Repair. Based in the UK, Activate Group employs more than 400 people, with two main offices in Halifax and Peterborough.

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/215922/solera_holdings_inc_logo.jpg  

BRACKNELL, United Kingdom, Jan. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Solera, a global leader in risk and asset management data and software solutions for the insurance and automotive industries, today announces its partnership with UK leading accident management service provider, Activate Group Limited part of the Activate Group of companies, to streamline the management of thousands of repairs a year with PlanManager.

 PlanManager from Solera Audatex is a state-of-the-art end-to-end body shop management solution. Activate Accident Repair has already successfully integrated PlanManager into three of its repair sites to date and will be working with the Audatex team to continue the roll out across all of its UK sites throughout 2021.

PlanManager enhances the repair management process for Activate Accident Repair and their customers by providing a digital-first management and triage solution, using apps and integrated two-way customer communications. Through unrivalled intelligent data and assisted automated planning, the solution is proven to increase technician utilization by 10% and significantly reduce administrative time by 60 minutes per claim.

The partnership will strategically support Activate Accident Repair’s business objectives for growth. The solution will support all sites with a fast-track repair lane for non-structural repairs, allowing for reduced times on smaller jobs. Moreover, Activate Accident Repair centres are now able to deliver and measure an improved key-to-key time due to intelligent triage of jobs, utilizing images taken by the driver before the vehicle arrives on site.

Victoria Turner, CEO, Activate Accident Repair commented on the partnership: «Working with an innovative partner like Solera complements our mission of being totally tech-led and presenting a transparent, open-book approach to accident repair with our customers. Using PlanManager allows us to implement a more streamlined and efficient workflow process, and is already establishing itself as an integral part of achieving our future expansion plans in the UK.»

Simon Meredith, Key Account Manager of Solera Audatex UK, also commented: «PlanManager delivers efficiency gains through intelligent, integrated solutions. This provides a superior customer experience giving users the tools and intelligent data needed to run an efficient workshop, enabling real-time tracking of all body shop management tasks and vehicle repairs. We can support Activate Accident Repair’s to realise its core objective of using innovation and technology to connect and provide customers with real-time information, reduce costs and key-to-key times.»

For more information, visit: www.audatex.co.uk/solutions/planmanager 

ABOUT SOLERA AUDATEX

Trusted the world over, Audatex UK has redefined global knowledge and data insight in risk and asset management since 1987. Through unrivalled integrated technology, we connect people, insurers and suppliers, and empower them to make quicker, smarter decisions. Part of the Solera group, we consistently challenge expectations through continuous investment and digital innovation.

ABOUT SOLERA

Solera is a global leader in risk and asset management data and software solutions, empowering companies across the automotive and insurance ecosystem with trusted solutions that adhere to the highest standards of data privacy, security, and integrity to support connectivity across the vehicle value chain. Solera’s solutions bring together customers, insurers, and suppliers, empowering smarter decision-making through service, software, enriched data, proprietary algorithms, and machine learning. These come together to deliver insight and ensure customers’ vehicles and property are optimally maintained and expertly repaired. The company is active in more than 90 countries across six continents. We process more than 300 million digital transactions annually for more than 235,000 customers and partners. By drawing on the market-leading solution capabilities and business process best practices from its technologies around the world, Solera provides unsurpassed scale and strength with superior performance while delivering innovation to move the industry forward.

About ACTIVATE ACCIDENT REPAIR Group

Part of the Activate Group of companies, Activate Accident Repair is the faster, smarter repair partner, delivering high-quality repairs to dozens of insurers and fleet clients. Launched in 2019, it has sites in Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow, and plans to open a further 15 sites in rapid succession in 2021/22.

About Activate Group

Activate Group and its subsidiaries provide end-to-end accident management solutions to insurers, fleet providers, TPA’s and brokers.  The Group provides claims management to corporate and commercial fleets through sopp+sopp, operate an approved nationwide repair network for personal lines insurance claims through Motor Repair Network, supply next-day parts and consumables through Sopp Parts and autobody repair through Activate Accident Repair. Based in the UK, Activate Group employs more than 400 people, with two main offices in Halifax and Peterborough.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/activate-accident-repair-chooses-solera-to-streamline-end-to-end-bodyshop-management-301216980.html

SOURCE Solera Holdings, Inc.

NEW YORK, Jan. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Harvest Hosts, a membership program that allows self-contained RVers to access unique overnight stays, today announces the results of its survey of over 10,000 respondents, revealing promising plans of increased travel this year – except for the airlines. To feed their travel bugs, most Americans are planning to travel more this year than they did in 2019, even before the pandemic hit. What’s different now is that travelers’ values and priorities are shifting — now focusing on safety, cost-effectiveness and more accommodating travel options for the new normal — and because of this, RV travel has skyrocketed.

«After the rough year we had in 2020, people are itching to hit the road. For many, travel is a basic human necessity. What we’re seeing is that you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to scratch this itch,» said Joel Holland, CEO of Harvest Hosts. «The survey results may seem extreme, but it comes down to the fact that many still have reservations about air travel. The data shows that people will continue opting for the safety of road trips, leading to a boom in backyard exploration and growing interest in RVing.»

Below are key findings from the survey with a roadmap for what to expect in travel this year.

Almost All Americans Are Planning to Travel More This Year Than 2020 and 2019
While it’s unsurprising that most people (76%) are planning to travel more than they did in 2020, planned travel is also exceeding 2019 numbers.

• Seventy-six percent of respondents said they plan to travel more than they did in 2020
• Sixty percent of respondents said they plan travel more than they did in 2019 before the pandemic
• Fewer than a quarter of respondents (24%) said they plan to travel a normal amount with no changes from 2019, and only 13% of Americans said they plan to travel some, but less than they did in 2019
• Only two percent of respondents said they plan not to travel in 2021

Less Than a Quarter of Consumers Will Fly, and They Don’t Feel Good About Hotels Either
People don’t currently feel safe flying, opting instead for the safety of road travel. Consumers are not seeing hotels as appealing options either.

• More than two-thirds of Americans (69%) do not feel safe getting on a plane
• Fewer than 21% said they plan to travel on a plane in 2021
• Fifty-six percent of total respondents said they do not feel safe staying at a hotel
• Eighty-one percent of total respondents said they plan to not travel internationally in 2021

Increased Interest in Road and RV Travel
With people hesitant to fly, but so many itching to travel, this begs the question: How will they do it? They will use RVs, and can still visit places near and far. Currently, there are 11 million RV owners in the US, but many more – 46 million in total – are planning to RV this year alone, continuing the upward trend.

• A vast majority of respondents (99%) said they feel safe traveling in an RV
• Fifty-three percent are planning to only travel using RVs this year
• Of people planning to travel by road, 61% plan to travel over 500 miles, and 34% plan to travel moderately far, within 100-500 miles

Increased road travel has provided more opportunity for Americans to visit states and areas they might not have otherwise.

• The most popular states visited in RVs were California, Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Oregon
• On the other hand, the least popular states to visit were Wyoming, South Carolina, South Dakota, Alaska, and Alabama

Helping Local Businesses
The impact on the travel industry during COVID-19 quickly became apparent. In turn, fallout from the decline in travel as a result of the pandemic was felt by local businesses who rely on travel and tourism for a majority of their revenue. As people travel in RVs, they are able to safely support these businesses without breaking the bank. In fact, through Harvest Hosts, nearly $25 million was spent at local businesses across the country in 2020, which helped keep them afloat.

• When staying somewhere with their RV, nearly half of Americans (47%) spend on average two or three nights where they are spending money on food, wine, services,  and other items
• Ninety-four percent of people typically spend less than $75 each night when traveling via RV, which is much less than a typical hotel stay, but can make a big difference for an independent farm or winery

More Accommodating Travel Means More Family Time, Pets Included
Hotels that are open to pets are few and far between, and with airlines, there have been changes made regarding emotional support animals, adding another layer of complexity that can be avoided with RV travel. When traveling with family, bringing kids can also add additional expenses, and these issues are virtually eliminated with RVs.

• Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they would take their children on RV trips
• Seventy-one percent of total respondents said they would take their pets RVing 
• Because RV travel is so customizable and easy, 85% of respondents said they would plan an RV trip with friends even during the pandemic if traveling in separate vehicles

Changes in Work / Life Balance
COVID-19 completely changed work for professionals around the world. Remote working became the «new normal» for many, and looks like it will continue to be so for a majority of 2021, which has also impacted travel.

• Approximately one-third of respondents (31%) plan to travel more now that remote work is an option. For example, consumers can now opt to start a road trip mid-week, since they can work from anywhere – even the road.
• Twenty-three percent of respondents reported they are fully remote for work; of that percentage, 62% reported they are considering RVing more, with the freedom remote work allows being one of the main factors.

For more information, visit www.HarvestHosts.com.

About Harvest Hosts
Harvest Hosts is a membership club for RVers offering unique overnight stays at 1,800+ farms, wineries, breweries, distilleries, golf courses, museums and other scenic small businesses all over North America. The company’s mission is to help people live happier lives by getting off the couch and onto the open road, while also supporting small businesses that are the backbone of America. To learn more, visit: www.harvesthosts.com

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SOURCE Harvest Hosts

COLUMBIA, Mo., Jan. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI) has selected four resident composers to participate in the 2021 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF). 

Presented by MNMI and the University of Missouri School of Music from Monday, July 26 through Saturday, July 31 in Columbia, the twelfth annual MICF (http://composersfestival.missouri.edu/) will feature world premieres of new works written by each of the selected composers. Listed with their current places of residence, they are:

* Ana Paola Santillán Alcocer – Mexico City, Mexico (https://www.anapaolasa.com/)
* Daniel Fitzpatrick – Columbia, MO
* Paul Mortilla – Coral Gables, FL
* Nina Shekhar – Princeton, NJ (http://ninashekhar.com/)

These four composers will be featured in the 2021 MICF along with the eight composers who were chosen for the 2020 festival, but whose works could not be premiered when COVID-related restrictions forced the festival to be reconfigured as an online event.

Those composers are Yu Kuwabara (Tokyo, Japan), Pascal Le Boeuf (New York, NY), Shuying Li (Spokane, WA), Celka Ojakangas (Los Angeles, CA), DM R (Diana M. Rodriguez) (New York, NY), Niko Schroeder (Columbia, MO), Andrew Tholl (Los Angeles, CA), and Felipe Tovar-Henao (Bloomington, IN).

The premieres of the new works from all 12 composers will be presented during festival week in two concerts, six per concert, along with music by the distinguished guest composers. However, because the COVID pandemic makes future conditions difficult to predict, MNMI will have several contingent plans for the 2021 MICF if safety concerns, University policy, or state or local laws make it impossible to present the festival «in-person» on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Those plans may include (but are not limited to) an online-only festival, a limited in-person experience, or some combination of online and in-person activities, such as additional concerts featuring music from the guest composers and other contemporary creators, workshops, master classes, and other events.

The Festival’s distinguished guest composers for 2021 will be Chen Yi and David T. Little. Chen is a distinguished professor of composition at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. A finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her composition «Si Ji» («Four Seasons»), she was born and raised in Guangzhou, China and is known as a prolific composer who blends Chinese and Western traditions, transcending cultural and musical boundaries.

Little currently chairs the composition program at Mannes – The New School in New York City. He previously served as Executive Director of MATA and on the board of directors at Chamber Music America, and from 2014–2017 was composer-in-residence with Opera Philadelphia and Music-Theatre Group.

The acclaimed new music group Alarm Will Sound, conducted by artistic director Alan Pierson, once again will serve as resident ensemble, as they have since the MICF began in 2010. 

During the festival, the resident composers will receive composition lessons from Chen and Little and, if conditions permit, take part in rehearsals with Alarm Will Sound. The composers also will give public presentation on their music, and after the premiere performance, will receive professional live recordings of their new works.

A complete schedule of events, times, dates and venues for the 2021 Mizzou International Composers Festival will be announced at a later date. For more information, please visit http://composersfestival.missouri.edu/.

The Mizzou International Composers Festival is part of the Mizzou New Music Initiative (http://mizzounewmusic.missouri.edu/), an array of programs positioning the University of Missouri School of Music as a leading center in the areas of composition and new music. The Mizzou New Music Initiative is the direct result of the generous support of Dr. Jeanne and Mr. Rex Sinquefield and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation  (http://www.sinquefieldcharitablefoundation.com/).

For more information:

Mizzou International Composers Festival: http://composersfestival.missouri.edu/
Mizzou New Music Initiative: http://mizzounewmusic.missouri.edu/
Sinquefield Charitable Foundation: http://www.sinquefieldcharitablefoundation.com/

Ana Paola Santillán Alcocer: https://www.anapaolasa.com/
Nina Shekhar: http://ninashekhar.com/

Yu Kuwabara: https://3shimai.com/yu/index_Eng.html
Pascal Le Boeuf: http://www.pascalmusic.com/
Shuying Li: https://www.shuyingli.com/
Celka Ojakangas: https://www.celka.net/
DM R (Diana M. Rodriguez):  https://music.columbia.edu/bios/diana-m-rodriguez
Niko Schroeder: https://nikodschroeder.com/
Andrew Tholl: http://www.andrewtholl.com/
Felipe Tovar-Henao: https://www.felipe-tovar-henao.com/

Alarm Will Sound: http://www.alarmwillsound.com/
Chen Yi: https://www.presser.com/chen-yi
David T. Little: https://davidtlittle.com

Media contact:
Jacob Gotlib
290198@email4pr.com
(573) 884-9478

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mizzou-international-composers-festival-announces-resident-composers-for-2021-301217159.html

SOURCE Mizzou New Music Initiative

DENVER, Jan. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Denver native, Michael Rieger, today announced a major photo etching exhibition and community event to honor the heroes of the response to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. It is called, Remember the Love. Work on the exhibition is underway and it is slated to open to the public in September 2021. It is being funded initially via a Kickstarter campaign.

Rieger was one of two official FEMA photographers who worked at Ground Zero in the early days of the response. His images were uploaded daily to media outlets throughout the world and remain part of everyone’s collective memory of that day and its aftermath.

«The way everyone pulled together in response to the 9/11 attacks is a model for this moment in America. We need to remember – and celebrate – that we can set aside our differences and do great things together,» Rieger said.

Local responders from communities all over the country played a pivotal role in search and rescue effort in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Rieger was there with them on the pile, documenting the men and women clawing through rubble looking for survivors.

He says firefighters, police, federal rescue teams, clergy, and volunteers were the obvious heroes during those challenging days, but he says it was the support, appreciation and love he felt from the people he passed on the street walking to and from Ground Zero each day that inspired the Remember the Love name for the upcoming exhibition.

«Today we are grappling with multiple crises, a global pandemic, a reckoning on race and social justice, and the aftermath of an election that has left the nation shaken,» Rieger said.

«This exhibition and the events planned around it will celebrate the heroes of 9/11 and celebrate our nation when it pulled together, cried together and healed together in the same way we need to again today.»

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City features Rieger’s work as a part of its permanent collection. His work is also part of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Rieger hopes to launch multiple exhibitions simultaneously in cities around the country where people from all walks of life can see them. He is focusing on the states that include federal Urban Search and Recues teams he worked with. This includes Colorado, New York, Washington State, Utah, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas, California, Florida, and Washington DC.

Rieger’s work has been shown in galleries, festivals and museums throughout the United States. His photos have been published all over the world.

To schedule an interview with Michael Rieger, contact Jim Chesnutt at (303) 513-2389. Preview photos of the etchings in progress as well as historical images from the response to the 9/11 attacks are available to accompany this story.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-20th-anniversary-of-911-being-commemorated-301217167.html

SOURCE Michael Rieger