Homeowners Not Ready For Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems

According to a recent survey commissioned by Policygenius, consumers are not yet ready for their insurance claims to be reviewed exclusively by an artificial intelligence (AI) system. In fact, only 17 percent said they would be comfortable letting an AI system review their claim data and a whopping 60% of consumers said they would rather switch insurance companies than let AI review their claims.

While consumers are not ready to let AI systems deal with their insurance claims, they are also reluctant to let an AI system drive their vehicle. A survey done by AAA recently found that only 12% of respondents said they would be comfortable riding in an autonomous car. 

The Policygenius survey also found that even policy discounts would not change people’s minds when it comes to their privacy when driving. Over half (58 percent) said that there is no amount of savings that would convince them to install an app on their phone that collected data about their driving behavior and location. 

When it came to their home, respondents were just as unwilling to let devices collect personal data, according to the survey, only 32% of respondents said they’d be willing to install a smart home device that collected personal data. This includes devices such as such as doorbell cameras, water sensors, or even a smart thermostat.

Other surveys have found similar results. Breeze, an insurtech company found that 55 percent of respondents to their survey do not believe that insurance companies should be allowed to use AI or “Big Data” to price insurance policies. 

Explainability is important

One of the biggest issues with AI is explainablity which is the ability of a person to explain how an AI system makes decisions or predictions. If employees and customer service reps cannot explain how the AI system is making decisions, the less likely consumers will be to trust or use an AI system. 

As an example, according to FICO, roughly 65% of employees can’t explain how AI model decisions or predictions are made which does not build trust in AI systems among consumers. 

“Human governance is hugely important; there can’t be total reliance on technology and algorithms. Human involvement is essential to continuous learning and responding to questions and dilemmas that will inevitably occur,” said DAI general director Richard Weurding in a recent Venturebeat article. “Companies want to use technology to build trust with customers, and human involvement is critical to achieving that.”