I spy, with my aerial eye

Governments and superheroes aren’t the only ones with sophisticated surveillance (looking at you, Batman). Nearly every home in the US is being photographed by companies connected to the insurance industry, often without the owner’s knowledge.

Where the pics are coming from: Drones, manned airplanes, and high-altitude balloons. And, similar to when a comedian does crowdwork, no place is safe – the industry-funded Geospatial Insurance Consortium has an imagery program it says covers 99% of the US population, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The photos are sorted by computer models to spot damaged roof shingles, yard debris, and undeclared swimming pools or trampolines – then used to calculate rates or decide not to renew policies altogether.

• Privacy advocates are none too happy about the process, which is compounded by many insurers who won’t let affected customers look at or dispute the photos, per the WSJ.
• Insurers say customers agree to home inspections when they buy a policy, and that photographing properties from the sky is less intrusive than home visits used in the past.

📸 Big picture: Insurers are attempting to de-risk portfolios and recover from some of their worst years in history. US home and auto insurance companies racked up $32.2 billion in net losses over the first nine months of 2023, $7.6 billion worse than in the same period a year earlier – and ~$30 billion worse than in 2021.

+Go deeper: Location, claims history, credit score, pets, and rebuild costs also influence rates. Dive into the process here.