It just keeps getting more and more interesting. New P2P insurance startup, Lemonade, hired world renown behavioral scientist Dan Ariely as Cheif Behavioral Officer. The P2P aspect of Lemonade take it to a very social level, where ones actions obviously impacts the rest. False claims have been a huge pain point for insurance companies, so it only makes sense to hire the man who put together the research on the Truth about Dishonesty. I have a feeling that Ariely's impact will be apparent in the startups' underwriting and policy pricing.
The insurance industry as it currently exists is, by all accounts, terrible. It’s existing business model is broken at the start, with a misalignment of incentives between the insurers (who want to keep your money so they make money) and you — who’re kind of hoping that they’ll actually pay you when you need them to. Well, the still-stealthy Lemonade continues to build out an impressive team giving some hope that its new model for insurance (the company’s tagline is “Insurance that doesn’t suck.”) will live up to its promises. Its most recent hire is Dan Ariely, the famous behavioral scientist, who will serve as the company’s Chief Behavioral Officer. Ariely is tasked, in part, with helping design systems and processes that ensure that the interests of the insurer and the insured are aligned.