Insurers are taking on more risk than they should. If – or when – a major disaster hits, the catastrophe will have far-reaching consequences, says an anonymous modeller and whistleblower
  • brem@lemmy.worldEnglish
    111·
    10 days ago

    It’s probably a good thing that everyone isn’t freaking out at the same time, but then again it sure would be nice if we had enough people freaking out to actually do something about it.

    It’s too late to keep Earth as healthy as it once was, but we can at least slow the impact to preserve as much as possible.

  • Salvo@aussie.zoneEnglish
    6·
    10 days ago

    I’ve noticed that Automotive insurers have bet heavily on LLMs to replace experienced estimators on repair work.

    Lots of vehicles are being written off that can be repaired and lots of repairs are being authorised above the value of the vehicle.

    Meanwhile estimators are being forced back into the repair industry, or have taken early retirement.

    Retail punters purchasing wrecks at auction and repairing them privately and as a result second-hand parts supplies are drying up. This is also throwing their new LLM based algorithms way off on their estimates for repair costs.

    I’m just waiting for the LLM bubble to burst. Anyone who invested any time or money into this scam being marketed as “AI” is going to end up like those Bitcoin and NFT investors…

    • fake_meows@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      2·
      10 days ago

      Lots of vehicles are being written off that can be repaired and lots of repairs are being authorised above the value of the vehicle.

      I started watching this one YouTube channel that’s an independent body repair guy / vehicle rebuilder. He buys vehicles from insurance auctions and puts them back together. His commentary and transparency was fascinating.

      One of the things I have been struck by is the cost of all these parts and pieces. For example the front bumper and clip area of the vehicle will have two $800 headlamps with upgraded LEDs, various crash and parking sensors, an important vehicle engine wiring harness junction, a grill shutter motor etc etc. So you get into a relatively minor front end collision and you’re doing a new AC system, new radiator and radiator support PLUS paint and body work PLUS a bonus $3000 in electronic gadgetry that pretty much always needs replacing.

      At full retail markup that writes off every car that has a small repairable collision, like the price to get a collision repair place to fix all that is really prohibitive. Lots of the electronics he has to source from the dealerships at absurd pricing.

      Lots of the vehicles he’s working on start, run and drive fine and don’t even need suspension or alignment work. He’s basically just replacing all this expensive cladding.

      The vehicles seem disposable.

      • Salvo@aussie.zoneEnglish
        1·
        9 days ago

        Yep. And a lot of the modules and sensors are designed to prevent people from getting into accidents.

        Funnily enough, the professional labour is the most expensive part. Professional repairers can get discounts and rebates on the parts, but at the end of the day, qualified and experienced technicians need to get their hands dirty to repair what needs repairing, replace and recalibrate what needs replacing and prep, paint and install the bodywork.

        Your YouTube guy makes money off YouTube that subsidises the labour, which makes him repairing write-offs worthwhile.

        This doesn’t work in all markets. For some jurisdictions, once a vehicle has been written off, it cannot be registered for road use ever again. Some let any vehicle get registered for road use; most countries are somewhere in the middle.

        • fake_meows@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          2·
          9 days ago

          In my jurisdiction, if a vehicle is written off once by the insurer, the repaired vehicle can no longer carry insurance against future collision damage. You can buy liability insurance only.

  • felixwhynot@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    10 days ago

    Sounds like they’re having a bit of fraud as a treat.

    I think the buck stops with reinsurance companies IIRC. Until then the house of cards builds higher

  • MountainVeil@slrpnk.netEnglish
    2·
    10 days ago

    I’ve heard it said that the insurance industry is the true barometer on the threat of climate change, but I never really could buy into the idea that they would be immune to the tendency to ignore risks in favor of profits. This article just backs that up.