I recently had the disturbing experience of having an extremely inconsiderate driver damage my vehicle rather extensively. This happened while the car was parked and the person was pretty low, and did not leave a note or otherwise acknowledge what they had done. Amazingly, no one noticed. My front passenger side quarter panel is badly dented and the bumper damaged, as is the passenger side mirror, rear passenger door and rear bumper. It still amazes me that this much damage could be done without anyone noticing, but that's the reality of it.
Today, the adjuster from my insurance company met met in a parking lot to examine the damage. He had a Panasonic Toughbook notebook PC, which didn't surprise me to see. As a matter of fact, he placed the Toughbook on the hood of my car and then when he got into the car to check the mileage, the Toughbook slid off the hood and bounced onto the parking lot. If this were not a rugged notebook, it would have been good bye computer, but this is what these units are designed for. It worked just fine after the fall.
After the adjuster made his entries into the computer, he went into his vehicle and proceeded to print out the adjustment report, complete with my preferred auto body assigned and then he printed me a check for the amount of his estimate. If the auto body does not agree with his estimate, they can communicate with him directly for a supplement to the claim. In 15 minutes, from his mobile office, he was able to upload his estimate, confirm my policy details, print my report on a mobile printer and authorize and print a check, all wireless. That's smart use of mobile technology if I've ever seen it.
