ZestyAI Unveils Driveway Condition

For insurance carriers, ensuring the safety and stability of a property is paramount. A well-maintained home translates to a lower risk of costly repairs and replacements down the road. Understanding a property’s condition allows insurers to confidently estimate the likelihood of future claims and set appropriate premiums.

Physical inspections have traditionally been the gold standard for property risk assessment. However, these inspections come with a hefty price tag, require significant time investment, and are a burden on policyholders. In reality, less than 15% of an insurer's portfolio typically receives this high-touch, in-depth evaluation each year.

In the past, carriers relied on agent-provided photos to supplement these inspections, offering a glimpse into a property's overall condition. While helpful, these snapshots were limited in scope. The rise of aerial imagery provided a broader perspective, enabling insurers to assess aspects like roof condition and debris accumulation at scale.

At ZestyAI, we're on a mission to revolutionize property risk assessment by harnessing the power of data. We continuously develop innovative solutions to extract valuable insights, such as detecting changes from building permits and evaluating secondary structures. And today, we are excited to unveil our latest groundbreaking feature: Driveway Condition.

Introducing Driveway Condition

Driveway Condition is a new feature designed to evaluate the state of a property's driveway, a crucial area for property insurance underwriters.

Driveways in poor condition can pose a significant slip-and-fall liability hazard. Beyond that, a neglected driveway can be a red flag for overall property maintenance, indicating a higher risk of other potential issues. For insurers, Driveway Condition offers a valuable proxy for assessing various risk factors.

Our Driveway Condition model is a robust system that analyzes various factors to categorize a property's driveway as good or poor.  

• Good: This classification denotes a well-maintained driveway with professional construction and minimal aesthetic issues.
• Poor: This classification identifies driveways exhibiting significant wear and tear or structural damage. Poor construction practices may be evident, including unclear delineation from surrounding areas, uneven terrain, and potentially hazardous pathways. Additionally, the presence of large cracks and uneven surfaces create a tripping hazard.

Our analysis indicates that a large majority of properties exhibit well-maintained driveways, falling within the "good" classification. Conversely, properties with significant deterioration ("poor" classification) represent less than 10% of the total. The Driveway Condition model demonstrates exceptional coverage, achieving a hit rate exceeding 95% across the contiguous United States and Hawaii.

Benefits of Driveway Condition for Insurance Carriers

• Enhanced Risk Assessment: Driveway Condition serves as a reliable indicator of overall property care and maintenance. It can potentially impact underwriting decisions across various loss types.
• Streamlined Underwriting: The three-tier rating system empowers insurers to streamline the underwriting process. Properties categorized as "good" can potentially be fast-tracked through approval, while "fair" or "poor" classifications can trigger further evaluation, such as a manual review or an inspection. Driveway Condition can also be used in conjunction with other criteria to create a more comprehensive risk profile.
• Reduce Liability: Identifying properties with potentially hazardous driveways allows insurers to proactively address potential liability risks and work with homeowners to make needed repairs

Driveway Condition: A Powerful Tool for Smarter Risk Management 

In today's data-driven world, insurers require comprehensive tools to assess property risk accurately. ZestyAI's Driveway Condition is a powerful addition to the underwriting toolkit. By leveraging this innovative feature, insurers can gain a deeper understanding of a property's condition, optimize their underwriting processes, and ultimately make informed risk management decisions.

Driveway Condition is included as part of our Location Insights product, delivering highly accurate property intelligence on parcels and structures for all properties in the contiguous US and Hawaii – instantly, and without the need for on-site inspections. Location Insights identifies various high-risk features, such as roof quality, swimming pools, trampolines, lot debris, and overhanging vegetation. This comprehensive data facilitates accurate underwriting, fostering transparency for customers and reinsurers, and is available on-demand in our web app, Z-VIEW, as a batch for projects such as re-underwriting in Z-PORTFOLIO, and via our API.

Partner with ZestyAI for a More Efficient Future

At ZestyAI, we are committed to providing cutting-edge solutions that empower insurers to streamline operations and make smarter decisions. Contact us today to learn more about how Driveway Condition and our other industry-leading features can transform your property risk assessment strategies.