Can AI Help When Thieves Like Your Luxury Car The Most?
Have you ever opened a letter from your car insurance company — and your jaw dropped right after reading the first 2 sentences? I did, and chances are that sooner, or later — you will go through a similar experience, too. So read carefully a true story below…
My car insurance policy was about to renew — as expected. The renewal notice arrived on time, and the first sentence of the cover letter sounded quite nice. It said: “thank you for your loyalty — which we greatly appreciate!”
Then came the second sentence, that at the first glance, looked like a poor imitation of a “dumb & dumber” routine. It said: “please note that we have increased your deductible to $5000 from a $1000 deductible in a previous year”
Now wait: 500% increase? Why? After all, I had no insurance claims over the last 5 years, no accidents, and not even a speeding ticket! So, I grabbed the phone and called the insurer to voice my displeasure. Little did I know how much their customer service rep will be unapologetic — to put it mildly…
The explanation that followed couldn’t have been better scripted — even if Jim Carrey did it himself. Apparently, the deductibility hike was necessary — due to increased thefts of similar cars in a city I live. It was not linked to my driving record, whatsoever!
Unimpressed and still baffled by the “infinite wisdom” of such logic, I did two things:
· Called another insurer and got a better rate
· Switched my car insurance, instantly — to benefit from the lower rate and $500 deductible. No, it’s not a typo: it’s 1000% lower than what my previous insurer offered to me, as a “loyal client”.…go figure!
Yet there are few important lessons we could all learn here — so I decided to dig a little deeper and share with you my recommendations.
Problem
Luxury cars are being stolen, indeed — at an alarming rate. What’s new, however, is the way it’s done. The thieves are stealing the cars not by breaking-in and activating alarm systems — but by lifting the frequencies of key fobs used to open and start the cars, remotely.
For more details, and a diagram of the relay theft process — please see the narrative in a drawing below:
The important thing to remember is that all electromagnetic signals can be easily blocked. You can place your key fob in a metal can, wrap it into a tin foil, or place it in a signal blocking pouch/wallet. Such pouches are made of flexible metallic fabric and it’s the simplest way to create your own Faraday Cage
Solution
Metal cans and RFID wallets not only do the trick — they also may serve as an excellent branding and marketing tool. What better reassures the worried car owner than a friendly logo of a car company, or an insurance provider — imprinted on a gifted RFID pouch?
I said it many times before: it’s the END VALUE that counts the most! And the best brand reinforcing message ALWAYS relates to customer’s peace of mind. Better yet, a branded RFID wallet is no longer a cost center. It could become a profit center — in comparison to other marketing channels.
Take it one step further — and luxury car manufacturers could also offer an On/Off smartphone switch. The next revision of a mobile app from Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, or Tesla — could allow to block/unblock remote key entry. The owners would simply activate the fob just for the time they need it!
In conclusion:
The insurance company’s dumb and dumber routine flies in a face of even the most rudimentary Marketing 101 and/or BOS Value Innovation. These are not new insights. Such concepts have been thought at most business schools for the last 20 years, and I spoke about such in many of my posts, already!
No wonder, insurance companies’ churn rate and customers’ defections — are as bad, as telcos’ predicament. The true answer is not in waiting for Godot and hoping that AI is going to somehow miraculously analyze the thefts, and predict the next robbery — before it even happens. There are simply not enough training cases readily available to make such system accurate.
Perhaps some useful patterns will emerge in the future — pinpointing to specific cities, neighborhoods, or streets. Meanwhile, I strongly recommend minimizing the clear and present danger. Finding the right balance between using your own billions of neurons and reaching out for the artificial ones — is the key!
One more thing: I was less than impressed by the customer service of my original insurer. Instead of offering a basic empathy to my concerns — all I heard back is the same tired script, repeatedly. Chances are, that even experimental Google’s AI Assistant, Duplex — would do a much better job…
Luxury car CEO’s should also listen to my advice or be at the mercy of insurance companies. Keeping customers reassured is the key to strengthening your brand. Especially, when confronted with serious challenges. Rising insurance premiums are not going to help solving your problem, quite to the contrary. So, take the charge and do it — or someone else will do it for you. If the root cause of the problem can’t be 100% eradicated — at least you can diminish its impact, significantly.
Don’t get me wrong. The promises of Artificial Intelligence are all around us. But you also see & hear a lot of hand-waving and “imagine-the-future” narratives that are full of fluff. So, basically, what I do — is help separate wheat from chaff.
And to all luxury car CEOs that are trying to solve the relay problem, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of building OUTSTANDING Advisory Boards. My message: BOD members are not your friends — they are your investors! The only impartial advice to CEOs may come from … the Advisers they choose! Please see my comments in:
· If I could only offer a single advice to a progressive CEO — this would be it!
Those who are truly open to guidance end up solving their problems much better than they would have on their own. And even by offering a sounding board, it may help companies’ CEOs clarify and sharpen their own thinking. From experience, I find that even two opinions are often enough to make a better decision, especially for complex & ambiguous problems.
Unique pattern recognition abilities allow me to see what’s still missing & how to maximize business offerings & profitability. And looking at existing problems with a pair of fresh eyes — often brings a set of creative solutions, that were never even considered in the past.
Oleg Feldgajer is President & CEO of Canada Green ESCO Inc. Oleg is positioning the company to become a leader in financing AI enhanced green energy projects and ventures. CGE’s mission is to guide DISRUPTIVE businesses in ENERGY & TRANSPORTATION toward profitable business models. Oleg is passionate about such mission, and firmly believes that without AI based innovation, we will all prematurely choke on polluted air and dirty water. CGE delivers 100% financing (levered and unlevered) to its clients — and utilizes large equity pools, and non-recourse debt. Oleg offers creative, fresh ideas to open-minded businesses — that embrace both: logic AND opportunistic intuition. CGE stands against mediocrity & its modus operandi is quite simple: If CGE is not invited to join your BOD, or Advisory Board — we failed!
