Could Artificial Intelligence Cause You To Lose Your Homeowners Insurance?

We’ve all become accustomed to unique (and often questionable) applications of artificial intelligence over the past few years. But one new trend in the sector is drawing quite a bit of backlash from those who say AI tech has caused them to be dropped by their insurance providers.

Albert’s story

One homeowner recently experienced this frustrating and potentially disastrous turn of events and wrote an article in hopes of warning others about the threat. According to Albert Cahn, he had dutifully maintained all of the crucial aspects necessary for his home but was nonetheless contacted out of the blue by his insurance broker, who informed him that his policy was dropped.

“When I finally reached my insurance broker, he told me the reason Travelers revoked my policy: AI-powered drone surveillance,” Cahn wrote. “My finances were imperiled, it seemed, by a bad piece of code.”

According to the insurance company, the drone had surveyed Cahn’s house and found moss on the roof. After coming to the conclusion that the moss posed a threat to the home’s structural integrity, Travelers decided to cancel the policy entirely.

Cahn said this all happened without his knowledge and despite the fact that he personally sprayed moss killer on his property, eradicating the threat.

“Looking in your windows”

Unfortunately, Cahn’s experience isn’t an anomaly. Many others have been unceremoniously dropped by their insurers due to the findings of an AI-powered drone.

One California homeowner has spoken out about what she says was an unfair assessment by her insurance company that there was an “increase in hazards with clutter or unsanitary conditions” at her home.

“It almost feels like someone’s looking in your windows, you know, when they tell you that they flew a drone over your home and looked at it,” she said. “It’s like, whoa.”

Chris Agee August 10th, 2024

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