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I really don't think an insurance company should have 24,000 employees. Even 240 employees sounds like too many to me. They serve 10 million customers. Nearl

I really don't think an insurance company should have 24,000 employees. Even 240 employees sounds like too many to me. They serve 10 million customers. Nearly every customer should be able to use an entirely automated online form for signing up and for making insurance claims. Claims should be settled entirely with the customer uploading a 1 minute video showing what damage occurred, plus the bill to fix it. Assume 1 claim per customer per decade, and each claim takes an average of 10 minutes to handle (check video, spot check bills, make payment), thats 100 full-time claim agents. The other 140 employees can make a great website, policy pricing algorithm, and be in the finance/HR department.

lotsofpulp 3y ago
You seem to have found an edge in the insurance business, which will enable you to offer more competitive premiums and win business from existing insurers. Best of luck!
- robertlagrant 3y ago
  Agreed - please start this company.
justin66 3y ago
> Claims should be settled entirely with the customer uploading a 1 minute video showing what damage occurred, plus the bill to fix it. And your plan for when clients are unwilling or unable to conform to your idealized filing process would be what? Simply don’t reimburse them? Or when they’re unsure what’s covered ? Or have some other question that’s urgent and not covered by an online FAQ? It’s a highly regulated industry, so that’s all going to go great. Have people been so beaten down by shitty non-service from tech companies that they think this approach is normal?
- londons_explore 3y ago
  If you write it in the policy "To make a claim, you must upload a 1 minute video via our app or website, together with photos of all receipts you want us to reimburse", then you are totally within your rights to deny all claims where the customer can't/won't follow your process.
  - travoc 3y ago
    State Insurance Commissioner disagrees. Enjoy your fines and sanctions.
  - justin66 3y ago
    If your insurance company existed in a place without laws and insurance regulators, that is a methodology you could impose on people in order for them to receive what they’ve already paid for. And good on you for ignoring the part about what to do about all those pesky customer questions, particularly the ones that come after a disaster you’re on the hook for. The whole “why haven’t they considered that they could be more efficient ?” train of thought is tiresome. Admit that it’s a business you know literally nothing about and move on.
- robertlagrant 3y ago
  Thos is a bit like saying Monzo bank should cater to customers in uo don't have mobile phones. They have a target market, and there are plenty of people who want a well thought through tech-led experience.
hutzlibu 3y ago
Well, when you have claims involving million, you probably want to spend more then 10 minutes investigating a claim. Insurance fraud is a real thing. Otherwise I agree, there is likely a lot that can be done to make the processes more efficient.
- londons_explore 3y ago
  Sure. But the vast majority of claims are for $300 to fix a dent in a car. It just doesn't make sense to spend more than 10 minutes on them.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    Deductibles mean you can spend 0 minutes on those.
    - mindslight 3y ago
      Not if it's a dent in someone else's car that your customer caused.
nvahalik 3y ago
> Nearly every customer should be able to use an entirely automated online form for signing up and for making insurance claims. Claims should be settled entirely with the customer uploading a 1 minute video showing what damage occurred, plus the bill to fix it. Ah yes, the perfect recipe for fraud! > Assume 1 claim per customer per decade Herein lies the problem in some parts of Florida/California. If Florida gets hurricanes every year, then you're talking about a lot of payouts. This is a big part of the reason they are pulling out. > and each claim takes an average of 10 minutes to handle Normal claims take several hours apiece, depending on the type of claim and loss. Claims are documented. That way people can't get a new roof every 3 years and never replace it. Also, people don't actually know what their policies cover. Adjusters have to know the policies they adjust so that they can approve/deny coverage based on what the policies actually state. > check video, spot check bills, make payment They'd go out of business pretty quickly. People like to crap on insurance companies but there are a lot of people out there who are grade-A A-holes who feel like they should be compensated. It's amazing what some companies will pay for but it's also amazing how entitled people feel like they are.
- londons_explore 3y ago
  > Ah yes, the perfect recipe for fraud! There are a few things you can do to dramatically reduce the fraud risk. Take the video of the damage immediately and through your own app. Now you can confirm with decent certainty the where/when of the incident and stop double-claims. You can also refuse to pay for any damage unseen in the video. No more "I hurt my back" type claims weeks later - unless you said your back hurt at the time, it isn't going to be covered. Next, you require the user upload all the receipts they are claiming before you'll pay them a cent. This means that users will typically repair stuff 'on the cheap', rather than using very expensive repair/rebuild services that they'd use if they knew for sure insurance would be paying. Third, you either pay avery claim in full, or not at all. If you find any evidence of fraud, you don't do a partial payout.
  - dhbanes 3y ago
    Ah yes, make the insured pay out of pocket first. Brilliant. Too poor to buy a new car to replace the one that just got legitimately totaled? Gotcha!
mooreds 3y ago
There's your $1B business idea. /s No, seriously, I know some folks are trying to reinvent insurance. I worked for an insurance brokerage in my youth. There are a few hard parts: * sales. It's a confusing, uninteresting product, so you have to sell it. Ever wonder why you see so many commercials for State Farm, Allstate, etc? You can work around this some with independent agents, but then you have to recruit and retain them. * risk management. You have to know how to price the risk (or find someone who can). I'm sure this can be automated to a great extent, but then you have to write or buy this software. I worked for company that built a business on finding weird risks (outfitter and guides, special events, inland boat coverage) and connecting them to people who could price the risk. * legal understanding. Have you ever fully read a homeowners policy? There's tons and tons of legalese defining exactly what is covered and what is not. ACORD[0] does a lot of this, but you still need to know what you are doing. 0: https://www.acord.org/ACORD-about/ACORD-About https://www.acord.org/ACORD-about/ACORD-About
davidmurdoch 3y ago
Roofers will absolutely love to exploit this kind of company.
- datavirtue 3y ago
  Roofers consult with prospective customers on how to ensure the claim is approved. "Get up there and knock a few more shingles off." Do not call insurance first.
kbos87 3y ago
I used to ask myself questions like this, then I actually worked at a large business with a real volume of customers and I started to understand why things are the way they are. Yes, you can find examples of bloat in any company - but you are probably talking about single digit percentages.
ryanwaggoner 3y ago
All large insurance companies were once 240 people. Why do you think they grew to be 100x that size? Why not just keep their headcount the same and watch their margins explode as revenue goes up 10,000%?

lotsofpulp 3y ago

You seem to have found an edge in the insurance business, which will enable you to offer more competitive premiums and win business from existing insurers. Best of luck!

robertlagrant 3y ago
Agreed - please start this company.

justin66 3y ago

> Claims should be settled entirely with the customer uploading a 1 minute video showing what damage occurred, plus the bill to fix it. And your plan for when clients are unwilling or unable to conform to your idealized filing process would be what? Simply don’t reimburse them? Or when they’re unsure what’s covered ? Or have some other question that’s urgent and not covered by an online FAQ? It’s a highly regulated industry, so that’s all going to go great. Have people been so beaten down by shitty non-service from tech companies that they think this approach is normal?

londons_explore 3y ago
If you write it in the policy "To make a claim, you must upload a 1 minute video via our app or website, together with photos of all receipts you want us to reimburse", then you are totally within your rights to deny all claims where the customer can't/won't follow your process.
- travoc 3y ago
  State Insurance Commissioner disagrees. Enjoy your fines and sanctions.
- justin66 3y ago
  If your insurance company existed in a place without laws and insurance regulators, that is a methodology you could impose on people in order for them to receive what they’ve already paid for. And good on you for ignoring the part about what to do about all those pesky customer questions, particularly the ones that come after a disaster you’re on the hook for. The whole “why haven’t they considered that they could be more efficient ?” train of thought is tiresome. Admit that it’s a business you know literally nothing about and move on.
robertlagrant 3y ago
Thos is a bit like saying Monzo bank should cater to customers in uo don't have mobile phones. They have a target market, and there are plenty of people who want a well thought through tech-led experience.

hutzlibu 3y ago

Well, when you have claims involving million, you probably want to spend more then 10 minutes investigating a claim. Insurance fraud is a real thing. Otherwise I agree, there is likely a lot that can be done to make the processes more efficient.

londons_explore 3y ago
Sure. But the vast majority of claims are for $300 to fix a dent in a car. It just doesn't make sense to spend more than 10 minutes on them.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  Deductibles mean you can spend 0 minutes on those.
  - mindslight 3y ago
    Not if it's a dent in someone else's car that your customer caused.

nvahalik 3y ago

> Nearly every customer should be able to use an entirely automated online form for signing up and for making insurance claims. Claims should be settled entirely with the customer uploading a 1 minute video showing what damage occurred, plus the bill to fix it. Ah yes, the perfect recipe for fraud! > Assume 1 claim per customer per decade Herein lies the problem in some parts of Florida/California. If Florida gets hurricanes every year, then you're talking about a lot of payouts. This is a big part of the reason they are pulling out. > and each claim takes an average of 10 minutes to handle Normal claims take several hours apiece, depending on the type of claim and loss. Claims are documented. That way people can't get a new roof every 3 years and never replace it. Also, people don't actually know what their policies cover. Adjusters have to know the policies they adjust so that they can approve/deny coverage based on what the policies actually state. > check video, spot check bills, make payment They'd go out of business pretty quickly. People like to crap on insurance companies but there are a lot of people out there who are grade-A A-holes who feel like they should be compensated. It's amazing what some companies will pay for but it's also amazing how entitled people feel like they are.

londons_explore 3y ago
> Ah yes, the perfect recipe for fraud! There are a few things you can do to dramatically reduce the fraud risk. Take the video of the damage immediately and through your own app. Now you can confirm with decent certainty the where/when of the incident and stop double-claims. You can also refuse to pay for any damage unseen in the video. No more "I hurt my back" type claims weeks later - unless you said your back hurt at the time, it isn't going to be covered. Next, you require the user upload all the receipts they are claiming before you'll pay them a cent. This means that users will typically repair stuff 'on the cheap', rather than using very expensive repair/rebuild services that they'd use if they knew for sure insurance would be paying. Third, you either pay avery claim in full, or not at all. If you find any evidence of fraud, you don't do a partial payout.
- dhbanes 3y ago
  Ah yes, make the insured pay out of pocket first. Brilliant. Too poor to buy a new car to replace the one that just got legitimately totaled? Gotcha!

mooreds 3y ago

There's your $1B business idea. /s No, seriously, I know some folks are trying to reinvent insurance. I worked for an insurance brokerage in my youth. There are a few hard parts: * sales. It's a confusing, uninteresting product, so you have to sell it. Ever wonder why you see so many commercials for State Farm, Allstate, etc? You can work around this some with independent agents, but then you have to recruit and retain them. * risk management. You have to know how to price the risk (or find someone who can). I'm sure this can be automated to a great extent, but then you have to write or buy this software. I worked for company that built a business on finding weird risks (outfitter and guides, special events, inland boat coverage) and connecting them to people who could price the risk. * legal understanding. Have you ever fully read a homeowners policy? There's tons and tons of legalese defining exactly what is covered and what is not. ACORD[0] does a lot of this, but you still need to know what you are doing. 0: https://www.acord.org/ACORD-about/ACORD-About https://www.acord.org/ACORD-about/ACORD-About

davidmurdoch 3y ago

Roofers will absolutely love to exploit this kind of company.

datavirtue 3y ago
Roofers consult with prospective customers on how to ensure the claim is approved. "Get up there and knock a few more shingles off." Do not call insurance first.

kbos87 3y ago

I used to ask myself questions like this, then I actually worked at a large business with a real volume of customers and I started to understand why things are the way they are. Yes, you can find examples of bloat in any company - but you are probably talking about single digit percentages.

ryanwaggoner 3y ago

All large insurance companies were once 240 people. Why do you think they grew to be 100x that size? Why not just keep their headcount the same and watch their margins explode as revenue goes up 10,000%?