Insurance in the U.S. goes back to the mid-1700s and Benjamin Franklin. It has become one of the most essential parts of our lives and one of our most important economic industries.
We depend on insurance companies and policies to protect us and our assets in times of loss and catastrophe.
As it is such a critical piece of our social and economic fabric — it is also one of the most regulated and scrutinized industries — we fundamentally want and need to trust insurance.
For the most part over the centuries, consumers and businesses who purchase insurance have felt a relative transparency and obvious correlation between the relationships of risks and insurance; if you live in a flood zone or have a history of speeding tickets, insurance costs more.
However, as carriers are touting proprietary advancements in big data and artificial intelligence (AI), insurance becomes more complex, and questions arise. As society at large is challenging a lack of equity and fairness across races, genders and social statuses, insurance, too, is under scrutiny.