Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. An attendee plays the Monster Hunter Wilds video game on the Sony PlayStation 5 Pro console during the Tokyo Game Show 2024 at Makuhari Messe in 2024 in Chiba, Japan. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . With the start of the new year, Californians will pay a new fee every time they buy a product with a nonremovable battery -- whether it's a power tool, a PlayStation or even a singing greeting card.

The escalating frequency and severity of natural disasters, exacerbated by climate change, underscore the critical role of insurance in facilitating recovery and promoting investments in risk reduction. This work introduces a novel Adaptive Robust Optimization (ARO) framework tailored for the calculation of catastrophe insurance premiums, with a case study applied to the United States National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time an ARO approach has been applied to for disaster insurance pricing. Our methodology is designed to protect against both historical and emerging risks, the latter predicted by machine learning models, thus directly incorporating amplified risks induced by climate change. Using the US flood insurance data as a case study, optimization models demonstrate effectiveness in covering losses and produce surpluses, with a smooth balance transition through parameter fine-tuning. Among tested optimization models, results show ARO models with conservative parameter values achieving low number of insolvent states with the least insurance premium charged. Overall, optimization frameworks offer versatility and generalizability, making it adaptable to a variety of natural disaster scenarios, such as wildfires, droughts, etc. This work not only advances the field of insurance premium modeling but also serves as a vital tool for policymakers and stakeholders in building resilience to the growing risks of natural catastrophes.

With inflation sparking an increase in the cost of repairs, labor and claims, fees for insurance are similarly spiking across the board. Car insurance premiums rose 13.7% nationally over the past year, according to a study from Bankrate.com. Home insurance, meanwhile, climbed 12.1% year-on-year, Policygenius found. But Jonathan Matus argues that it doesn't have to be that way. He's the founder of Fairmatic, a company that's applying AI to -- at least according to him -- reduce risk in the car insurance industry.

"This does not include a broad range of'hidden' costs, including reduced vehicle value (typically anywhere from $500 to $2,000), higher insurance premium, legal fees, driver turnover (the average driver replacement cost $8,200), lost employee time, lost vehicle-use time, administrative burden, reduced employee morale and bad publicity," said Yoav Banin, chief product officer at Nauto, which provides artificial intelligence driver and fleet performance solutions. Emphasis on truck driving safety is well placed, considering other challenges that the trucking industry is facing. Ranking first is a chronic shortage of truck drivers nationwide that could force fleet operators to hire less-experienced drivers who require operator and safety training. Driver compensation and truck parking ranked second and third, but immediately behind them in fourth and fifth position were driver truck fleet safety and insurance availability, which depends on safe driving records. Historically, fleet operators managed safety risks with training programs, manual coaching sessions and manager ride-alongs with drivers.

The phrase "asleep at the wheel" could soon lose all meaning as Tesla and other automakers push self-driving cars closer to reality. CEO Elon Musk says select Tesla drivers could get their hands on "full self-driving" software as early as Oct. 9. The upgrade won't make the cars truly autonomous, but Musk dreams that one day people will safely fall asleep on their way home in a Tesla. That raises an obvious question: If a self-driving car does crash while you're snoozing, what happens? The answer could radically disrupt the insurance industry, potentially making some forms of auto insurance obsolete and saving drivers hundreds of dollars a year. We're still years away from driverless cars speeding down the freeway, but simple automation is already present in many vehicles today.

You wake up; your wristwatch has recorded how long you've slept, and monitored your heartbeat and breathing. You drive to work; car sensors track your speed and braking. You pick up some breakfast on your way, paying electronically; the transaction and the calorie content of your meal are recorded. Then you have a car accident. You phone your insurance company.

With somewhere around 2,000 artificial intelligence (AI) startups out there, applications have been identified across every single sector you can think of. While few industries are as mundane as insurance, it starts to become interesting in the context of using AI in insurance. On one hand, the predictive powers of AI threaten to all but replace human actuaries resulting in reduced labor costs and more accurate predictions. On the other hand, autonomous cars threaten to decimate traditional auto insurance premiums. The insurance industry is roughly divided into Life, Health, and Property & Casualty (P&C).

You wake up; your wristwatch has recorded how long you've slept, and monitored your heartbeat and breathing. You drive to work; car sensors track your speed and braking. You pick up some breakfast on your way, paying electronically; the transaction and the calorie content of your meal are recorded. Then you have a car accident. You phone your insurance company.

VisionTrack has a clear objective to help fleets prevent incidents, reduce fraudulent claims, cut insurance premiums and, ultimately, save money. Its combined video and telematics system gives fleet operators total visibility and can be used to produce vital evidence in the wake of a collision. The company is a specialist supplier and manufacturer of vehicle CCTV technology, vehicle telematics and GPS tracking systems. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, VisionTrack's system can provide advanced driver assistance and support driver training. It can recognise and alert the driver to potential hazards, such as an impending collision, plus identify and record dangerous driving behaviour such as tailgating and mobile phone use.

In a future of autonomous vehicles, the industry expects ride-hailing services could eliminate the need for many to carry insurance at all. Ann Arbor -- Insurers are bracing for change as they plan for a future with self-driving cars. Although the hope is that autonomous vehicles will decrease traffic incidents and improve road safety, it could take years before the benefits of expensive-to-repair, technology-packed vehicles reduce insurance premiums. Meanwhile, autonomous vehicles promise to shift liability for accidents from drivers to the car itself, threatening insurers' traditional business model. "There's angst, anxiety, worry (because) ... we're heavily in the auto business," Neil Alldredge, senior vice president of corporate affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, told auto insurers earlier this month at an Ann Arbor conference on the topic.