How does Kin use aerial imagery?

Insurance companies have always relied on information to help them figure out how much it costs to insure your property. That’s why insurance applications often ask about your home’s roof and foundation, as well as other features like its size and security systems. The more data they have, the more accurate your quote.

Kin gathers even more data through aerial imagery. The information we receive from this technology not only makes it easier for homeowners to get insured, it also helps us start the claims process faster – especially after a major disaster.

Aerial imagery makes it easier to get insurance

Getting home insurance isn’t always easy, especially for people in catastrophe-prone states. Just ask homeowners in places like Florida, where premiums seem to always be going up. The problems Florida has seen appear to be happening in other states, too.

Our commitment to helping homeowners in these areas led us to look for a data-collecting solution beyond the common application questions used throughout the insurance industry. We found it by partnering with an aerial imagery and geospatial data service provider. 

The imagery we get from our provider can show us details on homes people hope to insure that help us evaluate the risk. For example, we can:

• See if the roof is missing shingles or otherwise looks in need of repairs.

• Determine if the home has any attractive nuisances, like trampolines or swimming pools.

• Measure the roof’s pitch.

Capturing this level of information to decide if a home meets our underwriting criteria means we have a better understanding of just what kind of risk the home presents. The result? We can often say yes to homes when other insurers can’t.

Using aerial imagery to handle claims faster

Claim handling is where home insurance companies really prove their worth. Aerial imagery is how we make sure we’re able to quickly take care of our members when they need us most. Our response to Hurricane Ida is a good example. During that storm, aerial imagery let us:

• Send wellness check text messages after the storm passed.

• Review damage quicker once members responded to the wellness check.

Since Ida, we’ve refined our process so that we were able to support more than 50% of total claimants within the first 5 days of Hurricane Ian recovery, many of whom were able to file their first notice of loss via text.

For more details about how we use aerial imagery for insurance, check It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s … Kin! on our YouTube channel.