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Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

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Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#31

Post by madenine »

PaulHoule wrote: post #20
DoreenMichele wrote: post #12

I think it would be good to specify what kind of policy you are talking about. You are apparently doing just renters and homeowners policies, but comments even within this discussion are talking about medical insurance. I don't know what a good, succinct term would be for both renters and homeowners coverage. I know that various kinds of real estate related magazines fall under the umbrella term of shelter magazines.…

I don't know if it makes sense to get renter's coverage. I had a friend who had his apartment burn, the first thing the cops asked him was if he had insurance, and the they told him they were very relieved, otherwise he would have been an arson suspect automatically. Homeowners generally do have insurance, so they don't face this stigma, but renter's coverage is rare enough that having it and using it makes you look…

41% isn't 'rare' [0]. Aside from protecting your stuff in the event of disaster, the real value of rental insurance (must like car insurance) is liability protection in the event that something bad happens to someone else. Policy Genius has a good overview of what renters insurance does and doesn't normally cover [1].

Renters insurance is cheap, especially compared to the value of your stuff, the cost of living in a hotel for an extended period of time, or paying someone's medical expenses after an accident.

[0] https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-renters-... [1] https://www.policygenius.com/renters-insurance/learn/what-do...

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#32

Post by chrisplotz »

SmellTheGlove wrote: post #19
berbec wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A question about this "dividend". Obviously, this is a major source of profit for a insurance company, but I imagine is also used to refill reserves after a big payout year. Insurers must have been piling cash away for years after Andrew, Katrina, Sandy etc to recoop payouts. How would this balance with returning money on good years?

Underwriting profit shouldn't be a major part of the business model. If you're making too much money year to year from that, there's going to be regulatory pressure to lower your filed rates in a given market, and absent that, competitive pressure, because your competitors are going to have similar loss behavior in your segments and will cut rate to take market share from you. Customers see insurance as ~fungible and…

Thanks! Oh IBNR... I'm surprised too, but glad it got a chance to shine!

And you are right - UW profit shouldn't be a big part, but it's a contentious issue right now with interest rates where they are. Since it shouldn't be a big part of our profit model, we're looking to put our money where our mouth is and return it.

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#33

Post by sonyakop »

We started experimenting with building an automated insurance agent bot that would help someone purchase various types of insurance from a particular provider. This could easily be tweaked to provide different information/comparisons of various insurance types from various other providers/sources. You could also pull in public reviews/feedback to allow for rating and recommendations.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1xgMEkvEppM#

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#34

Post by chrisplotz »

SmellTheGlove wrote: post #18
chrisplotz wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks - and good luck with your renters insurance search. You're right we don't currently give advice for comparing through the tool - but I've written about it on our blog, and have a even more low tech comparison tool there (google sheet!). https://blog.goodcover.com/save-time-and-buy-home-condo-rent... Hopefully that could help you out in the mean time. Regarding returning unclaimed premium - good question. The w…

What will you do in a bad year when a couple of cats drive your loss ratio north of 110%? I imagine the answer to that is a big part of the regulatory challenge! I wish you the best, I do like your goal. I spent almost 15 years from post-college to ~present in insurance before moving on recently to something else here in SF. Ping me if you ever need anything or just want to bullshit about the industry :)

Awesome, I will - thanks!

Property insurance attritional losses are fairly predictable, and reinsurance is there to smooth out Catastrophe loss years; they'll be there to support us and bring our Loss Ratio back under control. So key is to charge enough to cover attritional (i.e. predictable) losses + reinsurance premiums.

But yes in those bad years where there's no UW profit, there's no dividend - everyone's contribution was needed.

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#35

Post by secabeen »

chrisplotz wrote: post #2

Chris Lotz, cofounder of Goodcover here. The team and I are around and happy to answer any questions. Would love to hear any feedback too! Particularly around the user flow, and whether our instructions make sense. Thanks!

Are there any California HO providers that still offer Guaranteed Replacement? I had it at one point with AAA, but they jacked rates on me, and it got too expensive. I'd like to get it again, but haven't been able to find it.

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#36

Post by chrisplotz »

secabeen wrote: post #35
chrisplotz wrote: post #2

Chris Lotz, cofounder of Goodcover here. The team and I are around and happy to answer any questions. Would love to hear any feedback too! Particularly around the user flow, and whether our instructions make sense. Thanks!

Are there any California HO providers that still offer Guaranteed Replacement? I had it at one point with AAA, but they jacked rates on me, and it got too expensive. I'd like to get it again, but haven't been able to find it.

Typically Guaranteed replacement is offered by HNW providers such as PURE, AIG, and Chubb. Travelers might do so too. It's hard to find though, so talking to an insurance broker that can access those specialist markets (i.e. they do not sell online) might be your best shot. Also, most insurers will offer some kind of Extended Replacement Cost which pretty much does the job too.

Interesting development though is in CA, insurers are legally required to recommend you a replacement cost coverage amount that is adequate for your place. That probably has a lot to do with the changes you've seen on "guaranteeing" something vs just recommending.

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#37

Post by secabeen »

chrisplotz wrote: post #36
secabeen wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there any California HO providers that still offer Guaranteed Replacement? I had it at one point with AAA, but they jacked rates on me, and it got too expensive. I'd like to get it again, but haven't been able to find it.

Typically Guaranteed replacement is offered by HNW providers such as PURE, AIG, and Chubb. Travelers might do so too. It's hard to find though, so talking to an insurance broker that can access those specialist markets (i.e. they do not sell online) might be your best shot. Also, most insurers will offer some kind of Extended Replacement Cost which pretty much does the job too. Interesting development though is in CA…

Yeah, the HNW policies are also stupid expensive. AAA was the only provider for normal people I found that still offered it. Extended replacement cost theoretically does the job, but in coastal california, we're already looking at rebuild costs in the $300+/sqft level. Add in the cost increase from labor shortages, and I could see it spiking significantly above that. (Looking at my policy, I see the Extended Replacement providing 30% more than baseline, and 80% more than baseline for FEMA declared disaster, which I suppose is probably enough. I still prefer reasonably priced Guaranteed replacement, as that pushes all that risk on to the insurer, rather than requiring me to guess what the rebuild cost of my home will be).

I did run your automated advice system with my recent policy renewal. Reporting was pretty good, although I was surprised that you consider a $3000 deductible "abnormally high". I don't think it's worth trading money with the insurance company as premiums to cover small stuff like that. Not everyone shares my feelings, though.

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#38

Post by chrisplotz »

secabeen wrote: post #37
chrisplotz wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Typically Guaranteed replacement is offered by HNW providers such as PURE, AIG, and Chubb. Travelers might do so too. It's hard to find though, so talking to an insurance broker that can access those specialist markets (i.e. they do not sell online) might be your best shot. Also, most insurers will offer some kind of Extended Replacement Cost which pretty much does the job too. Interesting development though is in CA…

Yeah, the HNW policies are also stupid expensive. AAA was the only provider for normal people I found that still offered it. Extended replacement cost theoretically does the job, but in coastal california, we're already looking at rebuild costs in the $300+/sqft level. Add in the cost increase from labor shortages, and I could see it spiking significantly above that. (Looking at my policy, I see the Extended Replacem…

Yes, you're right - "abnormal" is a bit in the eye of the beholder. It would have been a relative assessment - a 3k deductible is much more than most people carry (even HNW, an area I've worked in before).

On guessing rebuild, in CA you shouldn't have to guess, as it's the insurer's legal requirement to recommend something accurate, and the DOI supports the consumer there. Generally those increases will do the job on like-for-like replacement - the big problem is if your Building limit has not been reviewed for years, as they get out of date.

Guaranteed is definitely expensive since it has cost insurers some big claim headaches, so not surprised it's even harder to find now as some insurers are hurting after all the fires.

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#39

Post by arikr »

Suggestion: Show an example of the type of advice that it can automatically give on the homepage. I clicked through to the homepage but didn't necessarily believe that the automated advice could be great so I wasn't motivated enough to dig up a policy of mine and upload. Would be great to see the sort of advice/info it can give, presented as soon as you hit the advice page.

Re: Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

#40

Post by phonon »

chrisplotz wrote: post #17
berbec wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A question about this "dividend". Obviously, this is a major source of profit for a insurance company, but I imagine is also used to refill reserves after a big payout year. Insurers must have been piling cash away for years after Andrew, Katrina, Sandy etc to recoop payouts. How would this balance with returning money on good years?

Underwriting profit hasn't always been a big component of insurer profits - typically "float" or that interest on the premiums held has been the big driver. But in a low interest rate world, companies have had to keep more and more underwriting profit in order to exceed cost of capital. As they need more UW profit, so the fight over claims gets worse... You are right though that money needs to be set aside for bad ye…

CAT Reserves are not IBNR...IBNR would, e.g., be after the CAT event happens, but before the claims are reported. I'd like to see a definition that says otherwise!
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