Same. I was looking at cars and told my insurance, who then said, “If you get a KIA, you never have to worry about losing your car keys, since you can search online on how easy it is to break in.”
That throwaway joke threw me into the rabbit hole of the Kia challenge. Definitely a shit show.
WantsToPetYourKitty@lemmy.world 2 months ago
It’s funny that even though theft rates have plummeted since the mass software upgrade, premiums have stayed high. They have savant-level mathematicians evaluating risk and even with compelling data showing otherwise, they choose to keep labeling these cars high rates and charging exorbitant premiums.
ayyy@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
The whole “insurance price is determined by geniuses” thing is just bullshit. They benefit greatly from perpetuating the myth but never really demonstrate competence. Their calculations are very non-specific. For example determining risk by ZIP code in places where one side of the tracks/street/infrastructure built with structural discrimination in mind is just not granular enough. Another example would be that some model of vehicle came with optional emergency braking, but taking the option doesn’t change insurance calculations at all, but having the feature as standard for all models reduces the price for those models.
“Insurance actuaries are servants” is just an extension of the lie that “free” markets are 100% efficient and always correct.
WantsToPetYourKitty@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Well I mean actuaries are like savants. Years ago in uni my calc III college prof was one. Amazingly sharp dude. Do I think insurance companies over-generalize their risk assessments? Yupp. Do insurance companies likely ignore their actuaries and set premiums to make outrageous profit? Probably.
Disclosure: I hate insurance companies. Also that professor was super weird
Petter1@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Well, the cars do not get stolen, but the windows sure as hell get smashed to check if it works. This costs money as well.