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Wouldn't installing canopy systems be a more cost efficient solution to this problem? Let's do some math, The dealership listed in the article (Rickenbaugh Aut

by pg_bot 7y ago

Wouldn't installing canopy systems be a more cost efficient solution to this problem? Let's do some math, The dealership listed in the article (Rickenbaugh Automotive Group) currently has ~536 cars listed on their website(s) for sale. I'm going to assume that this number is a little lower than what is actually in inventory given that there are trade-ins and they probably don't restock inventory during the middle of the month. So I will round up to 600 cars to give them wiggle room for expansion and sales. Given their insurance policy is costing them $600k per year we are approximately spending $1,000 per car per year for insurance. There seem to be companies that make canopies for this exact situation. While I can't find pricing I would have to imagine that the ROI looks pretty attractive given the sheer cost of their insurance and the simplicity of the materials involved in building a canopy. (metal beams and mesh netting) Why not just solve the problem entirely instead of coming up with an exotic insurance policy?

davidhyde 7y ago
Exactly. This "God's Joystick" essentially just gives the insurance industry more data to build more accurate risk models. It's essentially pricing the market more perfectly without solving the actual problem itself which is hail. The article should have pointed out to the reader that this should bring premiums down in areas that have so little chance of hail that it is not worth building physical protection. Right now, the data is not granular enough so insurance companies spread the cost over areas that they shouldn't.
- moonbug 7y ago
  yes because insurance companies are all about minimising profits
  - throwawayhhakdl 7y ago
    Pricing things with a better underlying risk model is likely to lead to more profit, or at least, a more predictable profit.
    - moonbug 7y ago
      That's what I said.
chadcmulligan 7y ago
old doonas are cheaper, just sew some elastic to them, unless where talking golf ball size hail.
lllr_finger 7y ago
It's a good idea to solve the problem instead of what the article describes, but there's an issue with canopies. The types of storms that produce hail, usually supercellular, often have damaging straight-line winds. While out storm chasing, I've seen several gas station canopies collapse from strong winds - I'm struggling to think of a canopy solution that wouldn't have the risk of collapse.
- clarry 7y ago
  I've also seen a lot of bad construction that catches on wind like a sail. It doesn't have to be built this way, however. A canopy that protects from hail coming from above can still have lots and lots of holes that lets wind go through.
  - lllr_finger 7y ago
    Wind driven hail traveling nearly sideways is common unfortunately. I'm not sure what angle of protection would be the best compromise, but I do know a copy above would not afford 100% protection.
    - clarry 7y ago
      Hmm, I don't think I have experience with such hail. In my experience, the bigger they are and the harder they hit, the more vertical their trajectory. But my area isn't particularly prone to hailstorms.
      - lllr_finger 7y ago
        Allow me to nerd out a little, since my other love besides development is severe weather. The forward flank downdraft or rear inflow jet of a linear convective system/bow echo can see winds of 50mph+ rather commonly. The more interesting part IMO, is the rear flank downdraft, because it is closely related to tornadogenesis and can also have winds up to 100mph. The RFD is co-located with the hail core in a supercell, so some hail will get caught up in this wind that exists even when there isn't a tornado. Now terminal velocity of your average baseball-sized hail is roughly 100mph, but you can imagine with 100mph horizontal winds that there can be a strong non-vertical component to the hail in certain portions of the storm. I've personally been hit by smaller 1-2" hail that is traveling nearly horizontal, and I've seen evidence of larger hail impacting at the same angle. It's a safe assumption that the larger the hail is the more damaging it is, but not all hail is created equal! Depending on how accretion happens and the warmth of the atmosphere, you can have very hard 1" hail that damages cars, and very soft 2.5" hail that doesn't damage cars. My personal rule of thumb is that you need to be wary of anything 1.75"/golf ball or larger.
hanniabu 7y ago
I think a thicker padded car cover would be better, something akin to grill covers with a half inch padded lining. You can have them color coded for the type of vehicle. Grey for sedan, black for pickup truck, dark blue for minivan/hatchbacks. When a storm is coming they can just roll them out in a shopping cart and throw them on car by car. You can start a day or two before, covering about 80% of the cars (the ones that are less popular) so you can still be open and selling, and then the day of/before you cover the rest.

by pg_bot 7y ago

davidhyde 7y ago

Exactly. This "God's Joystick" essentially just gives the insurance industry more data to build more accurate risk models. It's essentially pricing the market more perfectly without solving the actual problem itself which is hail. The article should have pointed out to the reader that this should bring premiums down in areas that have so little chance of hail that it is not worth building physical protection. Right now, the data is not granular enough so insurance companies spread the cost over areas that they shouldn't.

moonbug 7y ago
yes because insurance companies are all about minimising profits
- throwawayhhakdl 7y ago
  Pricing things with a better underlying risk model is likely to lead to more profit, or at least, a more predictable profit.
  - moonbug 7y ago
    That's what I said.

chadcmulligan 7y ago

old doonas are cheaper, just sew some elastic to them, unless where talking golf ball size hail.

lllr_finger 7y ago

It's a good idea to solve the problem instead of what the article describes, but there's an issue with canopies. The types of storms that produce hail, usually supercellular, often have damaging straight-line winds. While out storm chasing, I've seen several gas station canopies collapse from strong winds - I'm struggling to think of a canopy solution that wouldn't have the risk of collapse.

clarry 7y ago
I've also seen a lot of bad construction that catches on wind like a sail. It doesn't have to be built this way, however. A canopy that protects from hail coming from above can still have lots and lots of holes that lets wind go through.
- lllr_finger 7y ago
  Wind driven hail traveling nearly sideways is common unfortunately. I'm not sure what angle of protection would be the best compromise, but I do know a copy above would not afford 100% protection.
  - clarry 7y ago
    Hmm, I don't think I have experience with such hail. In my experience, the bigger they are and the harder they hit, the more vertical their trajectory. But my area isn't particularly prone to hailstorms.
    - lllr_finger 7y ago
      Allow me to nerd out a little, since my other love besides development is severe weather. The forward flank downdraft or rear inflow jet of a linear convective system/bow echo can see winds of 50mph+ rather commonly. The more interesting part IMO, is the rear flank downdraft, because it is closely related to tornadogenesis and can also have winds up to 100mph. The RFD is co-located with the hail core in a supercell, so some hail will get caught up in this wind that exists even when there isn't a tornado. Now terminal velocity of your average baseball-sized hail is roughly 100mph, but you can imagine with 100mph horizontal winds that there can be a strong non-vertical component to the hail in certain portions of the storm. I've personally been hit by smaller 1-2" hail that is traveling nearly horizontal, and I've seen evidence of larger hail impacting at the same angle. It's a safe assumption that the larger the hail is the more damaging it is, but not all hail is created equal! Depending on how accretion happens and the warmth of the atmosphere, you can have very hard 1" hail that damages cars, and very soft 2.5" hail that doesn't damage cars. My personal rule of thumb is that you need to be wary of anything 1.75"/golf ball or larger.

hanniabu 7y ago

I think a thicker padded car cover would be better, something akin to grill covers with a half inch padded lining. You can have them color coded for the type of vehicle. Grey for sedan, black for pickup truck, dark blue for minivan/hatchbacks. When a storm is coming they can just roll them out in a shopping cart and throw them on car by car. You can start a day or two before, covering about 80% of the cars (the ones that are less popular) so you can still be open and selling, and then the day of/before you cover the rest.