Personal Lines

Without a Reserve Funding Analysis, the insurer becomes the de facto reserve fund.

Drivers will increasingly demand big discounts for low mileage.

Families insure homes against fire, cars against collision, personal property against theft. Why not insure the equity in their homes?

No. TV ads emphasizing the speed of application suggest otherwise, but you don't pick a dentist based on how fast he does a root canal.

"Connected homes" allow for, say, remote control of lights but can undercut improvements in alarms and leave openings for hacker vandals.

Do insurance companies really have enough driving data to justify pricing and risk rating for usage-based insurance? Or are they guesstimating?

The Google car is nothing more than a mashup of widely available innovations. Similarly bold killer apps will upend every information-intensive industry.

In a world of driverless cars, where accidents plunge, at least 75% of $200 billion in U.S. annual auto premiums could disappear.