In the future, AI could also mean auto insurance

By Kristen Hall-Geisler for TechCrunch

Solaria Labs, Liberty Mutual Insurance’s tech incubator, has created an API developer portal to bring together public data and “proprietary insurance information” to help users find potentially safer routes — and help them assess damage when that doesn’t work out.

The AI in the API gives users repair estimates post-crash. “The AI Auto Damage Estimator app technology was trained using anonymized claims photos so the software could be built,” wrote Ted Kwartler, the assistant vice president of Liberty Mutual Innovation, in an email. So if you do end up in a crash, you can take a picture of the crumpled fender and upload it to the app. The AI will compare it with thousands of photos to determine which one is most like your car’s damage and tell you on the spot what the likely cost of repair will be.

The API also aggregates public data on things like auto theft, parking citations, and crashes to help drivers find the safest routes and parking places. The “proprietary insurance information” is added to make the collected data useful for users. “It’s a combination of insurance expertise and consumer testing to help guide the decision of what services to make available and how to organize the data,” Kwartler said.

Photos are anonymized for the purpose of training the AI, and the data used by the API to determine routes is publicly available. “Liberty Mutual will not share personally identifiable usage data we collect with any third party except to service customers’ auto policies, for research, or as required by law,” according to Kwartler.

Developers who want to get their hands on this AI can sign up for updates at the Solaria Labs website. It should be available in the coming months.

First appeared at TechCrunch