If you insure your home and automobile, chances are you may also have separate coverage for personal property. Whether it’s an engagement ring, an antique, a hard-to-replace family heirloom, or your pesky smartphone where the screen somehow manages to crack in spite of the ballistic-grade protector sleeve you wrapped around it, there’s always a need for additional coverage. However, you wouldn’t pay more than the cost of replacement or repair to insure these assets, making it essential that these lines of coverage are relatively inexpensive and easy to obtain. In typical practice, a personal property line requires nothing more than a proof of purchase or an appraisal document to insure.
While this creates a bit of an honor system for insuring personal property and makes for a seamless user experience, it does leave the door open for potential fraud. For instance, what happens when that pricey Rolex watch disappears? What if that Rolex watch never existed in the first place and was just a receipt? This is an important consideration as insurers will often bake the anticipated cost of fraud into the premium. Ultimately, everyone pays the cost of a process that can be easily exploited.
A better method for personal property underwriting
What if there was a better method for personal property underwriting? A method sitting in the palm of your hand that could prevent much of this fraud? Thanks to advanced AI and photo validation technology, you can verify the existence and condition of your personal property assets by merely snapping a photo or two as part of the application process. Behind the scenes, photo validation and AI do the heavy lifting to determine that, indeed, the antique vase you are insuring is real and located in your home or that the smartphone you are trying to insure is free from any of those dreaded screen cracks before you get that policy.
These new technologies are changing the game for personal property insurance, making it a win for all parties, both the insurer and the insured. Not only do they guard against potential fraud, but what could be easier than taking a few pictures with your phone?
Want a peek at the future?
Check out the brief video below and let us know what you think.
