Algorithm Created To Reduce Ambiguity In Car Rental Insurance
New Recommendation Engine offers consumers more choices in what’s available
Unlike insurance for car owners, there’s a great deal of ambiguity surrounding car rental insurance. That’s especially telling in the case of what a client has in mind in renting a vehicle, especially when one factors in mileage, length of the rental period and anything else that might affect the need for a car.
That’s why Clearsurance, an organization that specializes in reviewing the insurance industry marketplace, announced on Thursday a new high-tech form of software to help take the guesswork out of deciding on the type of coverage clients actually need. It’s called the Recommendation Engine, which uses copious amounts of consumer data to help personalize a coverage package every time a customer wants to rent a vehicle. The data is heavily protected and the company has a policy of ensuring none of that information is leaked to third-party users.
“We’ve developed these latest features with the consumer in mind,” said Tim Hey, Clearsurance’s vice president of traffic growth and analytics. “Data privacy is a major concern across all industries today. Because insurance deals with highly personal information, we made it a priority to leave that information in the hands of the consumers themselves. We’ve created a platform that people can trust as they make these important purchases.”
By law, most car rentals must carry liability insurance, which is usually quite cheap for those who don’t have that type of coverage. Car rental companies often like to offer a collision damage waiver, which frees the consumer from being charged for vehicle damage. But those waivers as well as other forms of coverage can vary in cost as well as other details regarding the extent of protection.
Taking information from nearly a thousand insurance companies and providers, the Recommendation Engine helps take the guesswork out of selecting coverage based on a consumer’s specific needs. The software is also easy to use and is geared to be highly personalized to fit exactly what a client is looking for. The array of available data, which the company claims is quite extensive, helps to ensure users that a mismatch in insurance options doesn’t take place.
“Many insurance consumers are eligible for discounts as a result of an affinity to specific groups and unique personal attributes that qualify them to save money on their personal insurance policies,” said Michael Crowe, the company’s CEO. “Clearsurance’s recommendation engine enables the consumer to identify discount attributes and get recommendations from insurance companies that offer such discounts.”