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Your Next Allstate Inspector Might Be a Drone

Posted by Soulskill on from the my-last-one-might-have-a-different-kind-of-drone dept.

New submitter cameronag writes: Following on the heels of EasyJet's plan to inspect planes with drones, insurance giant Allstate has received FAA clearance to test drones for insurance inspections. The company plans to use drones to inspect roofing, weather damage, and collapsed structures, among other things, and says the technology will ultimately speed up claims processing.

54 comments

  1. Awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We need more excuses to use drones whenever possible (because they're awesome). :D

    1. Re:Awesome by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

      Back in the day, insurance adjusters used ladders an took 35mm pictures Then the polaroid camera came out and everything changed. Well, not really.

    2. Re: Awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now they'll claim things are fine and they owe you no Monet because they couldn't see the hole in your ceiling in the blurry picture taken by a fucking drone.

      Gues I'll take a look at www.statefarm.com latter.

    3. Re: Awesome by tehcyder · · Score: 3, Funny

      Now they'll claim things are fine and they owe you no Monet

      Your insurance company uses Impressionist paintings instead of cash?

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    4. Re: Awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now they'll claim things are fine and they owe you no Monet because they couldn't see the hole in your ceiling in the blurry picture taken by a fucking drone.

      Gues I'll take a look at www.statefarm.com latter.

      You think that Allstate is the only insurance provider that's doing this? I work for an insurance provider that's been looking into doing this since at least Sandy & possibly as far back as Katrina. When I interviewed with them a few years back we toured their R&D lab and got to see the drones they were looking at using for insurance adjustments. They've already been working with a company that does this sort of thing & has clearance from the FAA. They've even been apart of operations to use drones for search & rescue and natural disaster assessments. So switching to StateFarm or some other provider isn't going to get you away from drone usage.

  2. Can we stop conflating drone with AI by softwaredoug · · Score: 3, Insightful

    In the event of a catastrophe, physical access to a neighborhood might be restricted by local authorities or by debris. In this situation, a drone could potentially help claims professionals serve customers in spite of those restrictions.

    So we'll fly over your town to figure out insurance claims NOT we've programmed an AI to replace hordes of insurance adjusters

    1. Re:Can we stop conflating drone with AI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But but but.... AI controller drones!!!

    2. Re:Can we stop conflating drone with AI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I want to ask the question: Why call everything that flies without a pilot a drone now? Up until a few years ago, we could call something an RC helicopter, or an RC plane. Only the military had AI drones which kill people. Now everything is a drone. Is this to make the military drones sound more friendly, or quadrocopters to sound more menacing?

    3. Re:Can we stop conflating drone with AI by antiperimetaparalogo · · Score: 1

      People nowdays use this general term ("drone") for any remotely guided unmanned aircraft/helicopter/etc, but i think this term should be used for the special military case where a remotely guided unmanned aircraft/helicopter/etc kills people IF we examine the term etymologically (and now my dear barbarians prepare for one more of my usual Greek language "things"): the English "drone" comes from the German "treno" which originates from the Greek "thrinos" (meaning -with my bad English-: what you feel -e.g., sad, sick- and how you act -e.g., crying, beating youself, wanting to die-... when a loved one is dead!).

      --
      Antisthenes: "Wisdom begins by examining the words/names." - excuse my English, i am (slightly...) better with my Greek!
    4. Re: Can we stop conflating drone with AI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not sure if joking. Sounded entirely bullshit to me, I checked Wiktionary which actually places it as coming from drone in the sense of a bee which is entirely different in each language.

      I know one source isn't enough to conclude bullshit but it was devoid of the sense of superiority that you displayed and my experience is that people who think they're smart are generally idiots.

    5. Re: Can we stop conflating drone with AI by antiperimetaparalogo · · Score: 1

      Not sure if joking. Sounded entirely bullshit to me, I checked Wiktionary which actually places it as coming from drone in the sense of a bee which is entirely different in each language.

      I know one source isn't enough to conclude bullshit but it was devoid of the sense of superiority that you displayed and my experience is that people who think they're smart are generally idiots.

      I don't know if i am an idiot (i may be), and i admit that (between funny and serious) my comment had a spirit of Greek over "barbarians" (i do it all the time in Slashdot!), but i was not joking about the etymology - i can't write the German "treno" word exactly (it's an "e" with a line above!), nor the Greek "thrinos" (Slashdot and unicode are not friends yet!).

      --
      Antisthenes: "Wisdom begins by examining the words/names." - excuse my English, i am (slightly...) better with my Greek!
    6. Re:Can we stop conflating drone with AI by desdinova+216 · · Score: 1

      why not both?

  3. Obligatory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    What's the difference between a drone and an Allstate insurance agent?

    One's a machine-like contraption utterly devoid of humor and personality, and the other is capable of autonomous flight.

  4. Best Adblock Plus filter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't know about allstate but I just saved a bunch on frustrating video divs by adding ###firehose-000 to my abp custom filters :)

  5. Allstate unit by rossdee · · Score: 2

    Will it use the codename "Snake Doctor"

  6. Speed up claims processing? by russotto · · Score: 1

    Just how long does it take to stamp "DENIED" on a claim, and how does a drone make it faster?

    1. Re:Speed up claims processing? by rmdingler · · Score: 1

      Just how long does it take to stamp "DENIED" on a claim, and how does a drone make it faster?

      Doesn't matter.

      They'll sugarcoat your rejection with the voice of Dennis Haysbert channeling Barry White,

      and you'll cheerfully acquiesce.

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    2. Re: Speed up claims processing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This! In the nearly forty years I've had home owners insurance, I've never had a claim approved. It's frustrating that it's required by banks for a mortgage but it is worthless when you need it. The last claim was after my house was damaged in a hit and run and the car's exhaust started a small fire.

    3. Re: Speed up claims processing? by FlyHelicopters · · Score: 1

      This! In the nearly forty years I've had home owners insurance, I've never had a claim approved.

      You need better insurance... :)

      I've owned my house about 10 years and had a roof claim, they paid it without complaint and put a new roof on my house. They replaced the gutters as well.

    4. Re: Speed up claims processing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is a ripoff. My roof was damaged last summer by a hail storm, and Allstate wouldn't pay a penny. Three years before that, my chimney was blown over in a storm and fell on our glass sunroom. There was water damage inside, including my new $10k projector that I had a rider on, from the storm since we weren't at home at the time. Again, Allstate wouldn't pay a penny. I paid a lot for coverage on the projector, but they wouldn't cover it since it was water damage.

    5. Re: Speed up claims processing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > that I had a rider on

      They're ripoffs. I've never heard of anyone ever collecting from a rider. The previous owner of my house left a $50k sound system that I had insured with Allstate for replacement value that made the policy very expensive. I didn't know what I was doing when I got the policy. The steel beam that held up the main floor fell due to termite damage and ruined the speakers and some of the equipment. They wouldn't pay anything for the damage since they claimed termite damage wasn't covered. My agent said they shouldn't pay for the termite damage, but any collateral damage should be covered. The rest of that equipment and its replacements were ruined when the sewer backed-up. We had additional coverage for about $60 per year for that since two neighbors had that happen to them since we moved here, and again, Allstate wouldn't cover it. They claimed it was due to poor maintenance rather than "a peril that was sudden and accidental." Finally, they didn't cover the damaged caused when a group of teenagers broke into our house and trashed the place while I was out of town for work for two months. They used the excuse that the coverage lapsed when it wasn't occupied. That cost me nearly $40k out of pocket. Homeowner's insurance is a scam, and Allstate is the worst. They know anyone with a mortgage is required to have it and only a very few companies are allowed to sell it in each state, so they have a captive audience with no competition.

    6. Re: Speed up claims processing? by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      Seriously what the fuck is wrong with your insurer?

      I've have water damage after a storm over whelmed my gutters repaired, roof damage from a falling tree repaired, smashed windows from hail repaired and water damage after the power shower pump in our roof exploded repaired. Oh and all were separate instances.

    7. Re: Speed up claims processing? by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

      You don't need a better insurance company, you need a better lawyer.

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    8. Re: Speed up claims processing? by ai4px · · Score: 1

      Back in 1989 in Charleston SC many houses were damaged by hurricane hugo. The roof would get ripped open and the rain would pour in. Insurance companies were denying claims to water damage by saying the people didn't have flood insurance... but the water damage wasn't from flood, it was secondary because the roof was ripped off. Many of those insurance companies went out of business. Word spread and no one would touch them with a 10 foot pole. Now we have an oligarchy of insurance companies. Tangentially.... As evil as people say Wal Mart is, the fact of the matter is after Hugo they sold generators and other supplies at a loss in order to help.

    9. Re: Speed up claims processing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Allstate wouldn't pay a penny.

      I've lost two homes, and in both cases, Allstate wouldn't pay a penny. After the first time, I swore I would never buy from them, but then my father-in-law started working for them so for family harmony, I did what I said I would never do. The first time, a tornado ripped off my roof and water damage pretty much totaled the house. Allstate flat out lied and claimed it wasn't covered since they said it was flood damage. Even in the best case, it was going to be unlivable for months and I couldn't afford both rent and my house payment, so I had to let the bank foreclose on it. That ruined my credit, and I couldn't get another mortgage until nearly six years later. My next house was a duplex that was leveled by a fire that started in the neighboring unit. The owner of the place where it started also had Allstate. My adjuster claimed the other guy's insurance should pay for it, and his adjuster said my insurance should pay for it. I missed the one year deadline to file a lawsuit because I was a day late paying my lawyer a deposit to file a suit. I had to sell my car to get that money since my wife and I had nothing left after spending months in an out of hotels and cheap rental units. We lost everything then had Allstate drag out the hell for more than a year, and then to add insult to injury, I lost our car for the deposit for a lawsuit that failed.

    10. Re: Speed up claims processing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > hurricane hugo

      That was a disaster. The insurance companies, like Allstate, couldn't afford to pay all of the claims so they lied and cheated their way out of the vast majority of them. When Hugo hit, I lived between Florence and Conway. All of the homes in our neighborhood had damage. About a fourth were so damaged they were later torn down. The head of our HOA worked for Allstate, so most of us in the neighborhood had Allstate since he was a great guy. After Allstate refused to pay a single valid claim, he ended-up leaving town. The town him and his wife were from, where both sets of his children's grandparents live, and where he had a business he had grown for over thirty-five years. While we all hated how Allstate screwed nearly the entire neighborhood out of our houses, Allstate screwed his family out of their lives.

    11. Re: Speed up claims processing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Allstate wouldn't pay a penny.

      I know I didn't collect a penny when my house burned down. My neighbor's electrician started the fire, and he left town afterwards. Allstate kept promising they'd pay me until we hit one year then they immediately stopped taking my calls. I found-out at that point that the shithole Republican state I live in allows insurance companies to steal from us and not pay claims. I lost everything I had plus I lost all of my credit since I couldn't afford to keep paying on a house that no longer existed.

    12. Re: Speed up claims processing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't need a better insurance company, you need a better lawyer.

      How would a lawyer help when in the Republican-ruled USA, if an insurance company stalls long enough, they never have to pay. I've filed two claims in the US, and never collected a penny. I have, on the other hand, have paid more than $100k in premiums when I lived in the USA.

    13. Re: Speed up claims processing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > you need a better lawyer.

      How would a lawyer help when fighting a billion dollar corporation with the law on their side? All those corporations have to do is still for a few weeks, ffity-two in the case of my state, then they never have to pay a penny. Also, after they stall, if you sue them, you will have to pay for your own plus maybe even their legal fees. When I was rear-ended by a driver with USAA insurance, I had to pay for not only my legal bills, but almost $30k for theirs. Rather than collecting the $12k I was owed, I had to pay almost $30k out of pocket. That was a swing of over $40,000. USAA was willing to risk losing a $30k rather than simply pay me the $12k for my hospital bill.

    14. Re:Speed up claims processing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This! My sister died of exposure after her roof collapsed during a bad snowstorm near Madison, Wisconsin. Allstate refused to give her an advance so she could afford to pay cash for a motel room. Her ID, credit cards, and cash were in her bedroom that was crushed. Fortunately, she was in another room. Her agent was nice enough to meet her in the ER and then later give her a ride back home to her car, but said there was nothing he could do as far as helping her with a place to stay. She wasn't thinking clearly after hitting her head, and she passed away during the night in her car. She should have known it was too cold. Allstate is a horrible company. You pay month after month then when something does happen, they don't help you.

      I thought they were bad after refusing to pay for the damage done to my house by a police car that rolled down a hill and into my living room, but leaving someone homeless in the snow after a trip to the ER is worse.

    15. Re: Speed up claims processing? by adolf · · Score: 1

      > hurricane hugo

      That was a disaster. The insurance companies, like Allstate, couldn't afford to pay all of the claims so they lied and cheated their way out of the vast majority of them. When Hugo hit, I lived between Florence and Conway. All of the homes in our neighborhood had damage. About a fourth were so damaged they were later torn down. The head of our HOA worked for Allstate, so most of us in the neighborhood had Allstate since he was a great guy. After Allstate refused to pay a single valid claim, he ended-up leaving town. The town him and his wife were from, where both sets of his children's grandparents live, and where he had a business he had grown for over thirty-five years. While we all hated how Allstate screwed nearly the entire neighborhood out of our houses, Allstate screwed his family out of their lives.

      You're in good hands, with Allstate.

      --
      Kid-proof tablet..
  7. The Orwellian prophecy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Drones are going to become smaller, more ubiquitous, and more autonomous. We will be followed by drones 24/7. Our vitals will be monitored at all times. Anything that resembles risky behavior will be reported. All in the name of avoiding ever actually paying out any claims....ugh. How ironic would it be if insurance drones became self aware and decided the only way to mitigate all risk was by destroying the species?

  8. Allstate ... Again? by sonamchauhan · · Score: 1

    Didn't Allstate show up yesterday with a silly patent?
                                      http://tech.slashdot.org/story...

    First an overly broad patent (wait until a toilet seat manufacturer patents 'diagnosing- while-enthroned'). Now this.

    Thought I don't think there's anything wrong with using a drone for this, as long as inhabitants (i.e. owners and renters) of a covered property have a choice in the matter. But its likely someone in Allstate is already dreams of a fleet of cheap unmanned drones in every Allstate building, sent off on frequent 'combat missions' to increase premiums and reduce claims.

    Looks like someone's funded Allstate's Technology department a bit too well.

  9. Mod up for a shot at GAY SEX! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wayland Smithers wants to have gay anal sex with a 101-year old tycoon who reeks of this so-called "iced cream."

  10. following cars by bugs2squash · · Score: 2

    so will the drones just follow anyone who has allstate insurance around spotting reasons not to pay claims ?

    --
    Nullius in verba
  11. Speeds up claims by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    with the added benefit that claims work can be done completely overseas where ever labor's the cheapest. Can we _please_ have some protectionist policies back?

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Speeds up claims by Tailhook · · Score: 2

      No. The sellout will continue until you live in a subsidized trailer. Anything else is injustice and racism.

      Insurance companies already use satellites to deal with claims. I know from recent experience that Travelers settles roof damage claims based on satellite imagery in an automated estimate system, and the results are so reliable that contractors take these jobs at face value. The 'adjuster' looks around for 15 minutes, pencil whips the claim and it's over.

      --
      Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
    2. Re:Speeds up claims by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      Umm or it could be "I really don't want to climb a ladder to look at your storm damaged roof. I'm going to fly this drone with a gopro attached to have a look"

    3. Re:Speeds up claims by adolf · · Score: 1

      Insurance companies already use satellites to deal with claims. I know from recent experience that Travelers settles roof damage claims based on satellite imagery in an automated estimate system, and the results are so reliable that contractors take these jobs at face value. The 'adjuster' looks around for 15 minutes, pencil whips the claim and it's over.

      No. No, they don't.

      We're light-years away from near-real-time satellite photography for such small purposes as figuring out a single insurance claim, not to mention that the resolution is always piss-poor from space.

      What we can do today is use existing aerial photographs taken from multiple angles, shove them into a computer, and automatically generate a 3D model of a roof which is accurate enough to generate a precise bill of materials to replace that roof. [citation]

      What this means is that instead of an adjuster climbing a ladder and using a tape measure and math, he can instead do a rough visual inspection ("yep, your roof is fucked") from the ground and clickity-click his way to an estimate of the job.

      What drones add to this is the ability to see damage on (e.g. flat) roofs not visible from the ground (which keeps adjusters off of ladders), while potentially supplement existing aerial photographs.

      --
      Kid-proof tablet..
  12. PFfft. by jd2112 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Allstate Drones? Booooring. I want to hear about the teleporter that State Farm uses to transport an agent to you when you sing their jingle!

    --
    Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
  13. enough drone bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    sure, let's add some risk to a disaster area. Flying around New Orleans after Katrina was scarier and more dangerous than Iraq. Now add hundreds of people who don't know shit about flying putting their drones into flight paths. This is fucking stupid; it won't accellerate anything. And how much faster is the drone going to be than popping a ladder off the roof and taking out a camera? Saving 4 minutes on a claim that takes 2 months to process sounds like bullshit to me.

  14. Jobs by the_Bionic_lemming · · Score: 1

    If you're thinking about being a pilot and flying helicopters for a living, you might want to rethink your investment in your future.

    Major corporations want to stop paying for that - and the needed construction/hospital/fire jobs will be stacked with folks that have experience and migrating to that because of losing their jobs to joystick flying 401 bs in India.

    We fly drones in the United States that are in Iraq and Afghanistan - Allstate and others will similarly offset all drone flying to other countries.

    --
    _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
  15. Moving Further Down the List by kevinatilusa · · Score: 1
    • Factory Workers
    • Grocery Baggers
    • Salespeople
    • Fast Foot Counter Workers
    • Insurance Inspectors
    • Truck Drivers
  16. The reality by les_91406 · · Score: 5, Informative

    This tech doesn't replace insurance inspectors, it replaces insurance inspectors on ladders. Keep in mind the flight time of a typical small UAS equipped for aerial photography/inspection is 10-20 minutes. The inspector brings it to the claim site, flies it over the object of interest (roof?) and combines the aerial photos with those he takes from the ground. And the inspector needs to be trained to fly and maintain the UAS properly. Not exactly a plot to put insurance inspectors out of work.

    1. Re:The reality by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      I think it could also be highly useful when disasters strike, like a tornado or hurricane taking out a town.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
  17. How about I save you $5000 by bobjr94 · · Score: 1

    and just email you pics from my cell phone. Roof pics? Selfie stick

  18. And by no-body · · Score: 1

    my next toy might be a shotgun....

  19. Look on the bright side by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

    Well, at least if you hit it the US Code limits your prison sentence to less than 20 years, so you've got that going for you.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  20. Bad Idea by dcw3 · · Score: 1

    My roof was just replaced a few weeks ago due to hail damage. The initial inspection involved my contractor, and State Farm inspector climbing up there for roughly 30 mins. While a drone might be great for the photos, it's not going to be able to touch things, or hold a discussion, which can be necessary in cases like mine. One of several examples...I have a couple hundred square feet of copper on the front of my home, and that had been oxidized. The inspector initially told us they were paying for a new "metal" roof. We told her it was copper, and had to prove it to her by going back up and scraping a small portion.

    --
    Just another day in Paradise
  21. Who's Insurance? by MagickalMyst · · Score: 1

    So what happens when an 'insurance drone' accidentally crashes into your house and causes damage?

    Is it their fault because it is their drone? - or is it your fault because it was your house that they were inspecting?

    It seems obvious, but insurance companies seem to have a way to weasel themselves out of anything and assign the blame (and the bill!) to the customer.

    --
    Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
  22. Water by Etherwalk · · Score: 1

    It can, however, be used to go over a community and note which houses have water sitting on the roof...

  23. All hail our corporate overlords! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seriously, what in the hell is wrong with the moderation here? People post the truth and get buried while corporate shills post lies, and they get voted up to a +3? This site is dead. It used to be so good before it was taken over by a corporation that cares more about protecting our corporate rulers than it does the people. Insurance companies are a rip-off. I don't know anyone that has ever collected a single penny from home owner's insurance, and since I do structured wiring, I'm in a lot of houses that are replacing wiring after storm, earthquake, or other damage that should be covered. I've been in hundreds of homes over the past twenty-two years I've been doing this. Not once have I ever heard a single person mention insurance reimbursing for damage. Not a single damn time you liar. You spew lies. You know they're lies, but that doesn't stop you and your kind from hurting all of us with your lies. You people have made life in the modern US a living hell. We are forced at gunpoint to give you money for nothing. For nothing.