A claims executive's perspective: How virtual inspections are transforming auto warranty and insurance

Brian Krawczyk, a seasoned leader with over 25 years in the insurance and protective products industry, sat down with Truepic to discuss virtual inspections for vehicle warranty and insurance. As former COO of National Truck Protection, and with experience at Nationwide Insurance, Travelers Insurance, and Canal Insurance, he’s seen firsthand how virtual inspections reshaped the auto warranty and insurance sectors. 

In this interview, Brian shared insights on the benefits, misconceptions, and realities of going digital with virtual inspections. This summary highlights his key perspectives, structured around the most pressing questions companies are asking today.

What types of fraud have been attempted with photo submissions?

Photo fraud remains a persistent challenge in vehicle warranty and insurance. Brian shares that fraud attempts range from submitting photos of random shop components to re-using photos found directly from the web. 

“ More sophisticated people would really seek out faulty parts from the exact same make and model…Probably the most brazen thing that I’ve seen is people sourcing photos directly from the internet.”

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What were the challenges with onsite inspections? 

Before going to virtual vehicle inspections, the onsite process NTP took about two days on average, with delays stemming from scheduling, inspector availability, and even shop access restrictions. Brian emphasizes that downtime is costly for trucking customers, making long inspection timelines a serious issue.

“We pretty regularly got feedback from our customer base… there is extreme sensitivity to downtime. These are truck drivers that want to get repaired quickly and get on the road, so when you introduce something like an inspection, if it's going to take a couple of days, that's hard dollars being lost to that business. There's real concern about that. So switching to the virtual platform for us eased that considerably and helped us maintain really adequate cycle times.”

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What cost savings can be expected from switching to virtual inspections?

The financial impact of virtual inspections is significant. Brian reports that after transitioning to a virtual platform, NTP achieved an 80–85% reduction in inspection costs.

“The virtual platform, Truepic in this case, delivered high quality inspections at literally a fraction of the cost  that we paid to have them done in person.”

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Are virtual inspection platforms technically difficult to adopt?

Adopting a virtual inspection platform is simpler than many assume. Brian describes the platform as intuitive, web-based, and easily integrated with existing systems via APIs. Companies can quickly get up to speed, especially when leveraging their internal expertise to guide inspection design.

“ You could almost be self-taught on it. It's a web-based application. It's very easy to initiate inspections, to review inspections that come in.”

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Why digitize if manual processes seem to work fine?

For companies hesitant to digitize, Brian offers a stark reminder: staying manual risks falling behind. Digital transformation reduces costs, enables personalized services, and creates valuable data assets. Companies that don’t modernize may find themselves uncompetitive in both price and service.

Despite advances in technology, skepticism remains around the effectiveness of virtual inspections. Brian shares that some companies believe in-person inspectors provide irreplaceable expertise and worry that static images aren’t enough for decision-making. However, he notes that these perceptions often overlook the sophistication of today’s digital tools.

“Some carriers… are unconvinced that static images can really provide enough information to inform decision making... If you don't go digital, for any other reason, you should do it because it actually helps your bottom line and your top line.”

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Are internal claim apps enough for image verification?

Many carriers rely on their own apps for automated claim estimation, but Brian warns that these tools aren’t designed for image authentication. He argues that integrating specialized verification platforms like Truepic ensures data integrity and protects against fraudulent inputs that could compromise automated systems.

“If you don’t put real scrutiny on the validity of the input… it runs the risk of becoming a little bit of a ‘garbage in, garbage out’ process.”

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Closing

Brian’s insights make it clear, virtual inspections aren’t just the future, they’re a competitive advantage today. 

Want to see how much your organization could save by making the switch? Reach out to our team to learn more about how Truepic can digitize your inspection process.