Carscan is Disrupting Africa’s Auto-tech Space through Thermography
About Carscan
If you have an insurance company and are looking for an area where it will receive as most patronage, Africa should do. Being one of the world’s hot regions for insurance due to its underdeveloped insurance sector, Insurtech is accelerating insurance inclusion in Africa by creating disruptors in the African insurance market and insurers are leveraging these disruptors to target specific segments or service and cut cost for themselves. With bulk of the insurance coming from pension and individual life insurance in Africa, augmented reality (AR), Carscan is bridging the auto-insurance space in Africa.
Carscan is the first of its kind in the motor industry, Carscan app uses computer vision and machine learning to scan vehicle damages and provide real time vehicle health condition and repair estimates.
Founded in 2019 by Obins Choudhary and Chander Prakash just before COVID-19 hit, Carscan launched in South Africa. Obins Choudhary and Chander Prakash worked together and were flatmates for many years. They each have a passion for exploring and developing innovative technology that has a true impact on the world. While working on property and document inspections at a global finance corporation, Obins and Chander realised there was an opportunity in real-time data capturing. Especially in the vehicle industry, where having clean, accurate data is critical for key players in the value chain.
Carscan aims to disrupt the global vehicle inspection industry, providing solutions to the problems leading to poor customer experience and mistrust in the vehicle inspection industry. As part of its services, the startup provides users access to vehicle history, repair centres and equipment to assess vehicle health.
Africa’s Insurance space in View
Operating in South Africa which accounts for the largest and most established insurance market, with 70% of total insurance premiums, Carscan is bringing life to a subsector of insurance is was previously unexploited. 54% of premiums are for life insurance in Southern Africa, while nonlife insurance plays a larger role in Anglophone West Africa, North Africa, East Africa, and even more so in francophone Africa.
The bulk of the growth in Africa is likely to come from pensions and individual life insurance— which is the fastest growth line of business on the continent, although starting from a smaller base compared to nonlife insurance. Auto-insurance is the largest contributor to nonlife insurance, a statistic that is driven by requirements for a compulsory minimum level of insurance.
How Carscan Works
CarScan adopts an active thermography method to provide innovative and contactless method for examining the state of vehicles. The startup leverages a high-impulse flash (measurements between 0–500 microns) and halogen spotlights (measurements over 500 microns) in a connection with an ultra-sensitive IR camera for capturing the data.
Carscan’s technology is able to detect whether the car body was repaired using body filler; whether the car was additionally painted or lacquered; if the vehicle was damaged by hail; if the damaged bodywork-part has been replaced or repaired; whether the body was welded; whether wheels or bodywork accessories were lacquered or repaired and if the car was “crashed & repaired. This helps individuals, car dealers, car inspection companies, insurance companies, leasing companies and car manufacturers make better decisions as it enables operator see very clearly the inconsistencies on all body parts.