Artificial intelligence can help with contents insurance claims after Hurricane Helene

TAMPA, Fla. - As those in the Tampa Bay area continue to recover and move forward after Hurricane Helene, insurance claims are weighing heavily on many people's minds. 

"Daunting is probably an understatement, seeing these properties, you know, accumulate on the curb," said Attorney Charles Gallagher. 

The hard part can be claiming your "contents" to insurance adjusters, listing every item lost with price estimates. 

READ: Sarasota Police recall rescuing Hurricane Helene victims

"Contents are going to be a big issue regarding this hurricane. So personal property, furnishings, clothes, things that you own that aren't part of the actual structure itself," said Gallagher. "It's just gutting. It's horrible to see. But in the same token, the challenge is going to be significant. How do you go ahead and capture everything you had in a home over a lifetime, over 20, 30 years? How is that possible?"

But, there's an artificial intelligence tool that can help. 

"It is nearly impossible to think of coming up with your entire list of belongings off the top of your head," said Dr. Jill Schiefelbein, an AI expert and professor. "But, what you can do is using artificial intelligence that can categorize things based on images, take a picture of an object or a group of objects. Click on those segments within a picture and then immediately get results of what brand it is, where you can find it, how much the cost is."

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The apps that do this, much like Google Lens or Meta's Jasper AI, can find you estimated prices or similar items. You can even use ChatGPT to ask things like: "What’s in an average American kitchen?"

But, Gallagher said you should still fact check it. 

"I think it's a great idea. I think I would have it be your starting point, not your end point," Gallagher said. "And so maybe the AI mechanism provides you with photographs, inventory. But, that's a first draft. You need to go ahead and go behind that and say, ‘yeah, yeah, I agree with that.’ Or 'no, that's totally wrong.'" 

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