Self-Inspection of Property via VIEWAPP: How a Policyholder Can Complete It Without a Specialist's Visit
For an insurance company, a property inspection before drawing up the contract is needed to obtain reliable information about the object and assess the risks associated with it. At the same time, a specialist's visit is far from always required for this. Inspections can be organized remotely, transferring the execution of the procedure to the policyholder themselves.
The main condition for such an approach is to replace free-form shooting based on the principle of "take a photo and send it" with a structured scenario that defines the sequence of actions and controls the result. This is possible with the VIEWAPP service.
How a self-inspection is carried out
The insurance company forms a scenario in advance for a specific object and task. It may include questions, mandatory photographs, video recordings, and other actions.
For example, when inspecting a country house, one can sequentially capture the plot of land, the buildings located on it, the rooms inside the house, windows, doors, utilities, heating sources, and other elements. For commercial or industrial real estate, the set of steps will be different and may include equipment, storage areas, engineering systems, and other characteristics.
The policyholder receives a ready-made scenario in a mobile application. Before each step, the system shows exactly what needs to be done. If several photographs are required, one cannot proceed further until the mandatory number of shots has been taken.
For premises, repeatable blocks are used: the user indicates which premises they are inspecting, performs the necessary actions, and, if necessary, adds the next one. Therefore, it is not necessary to know in advance the exact number of rooms or other elements of the object.
A self-inspection can also be carried out without a constant internet connection. The scenario is preloaded onto the device, materials are saved in the application, and are transmitted to the server after the connection is restored.
What is controlled during shooting
The main difference between a digital inspection and the usual transfer of photographs is control over the origin of the materials.
Images are created directly through the application, with no possibility of uploading a ready-made image from the gallery. The system records the date, time, coordinates, and device characteristics. For certain stages, video can be used if it is important to show not only the condition of the object but also its location or the sequence of the walkthrough.
An additional level of control is provided by geolocation. Coordinates are collected during the inspection process, so the insurer can see the user's route and the place where the materials were created. For real estate objects, it is possible to compare the shooting with the boundaries of the cadastral plot. This helps ensure that the required object was indeed photographed.
When analyzing materials, an expert is assisted by a complex of anomalies. The system can identify signs of screen shooting, insufficient sharpness, and other problems with the quality of materials, as well as inconsistencies in the inspection data. Such signals are highlighted for additional attention by the expert and help to identify more quickly the materials that require verification.
The insurer may request additional materials
A self-inspection does not mean that the work ends after the materials are submitted.
If, during verification, a photograph is found to be insufficiently detailed or a certain element needs to be additionally captured, the insurer can send the user a specific request. On the photograph, the required area can be marked and an additional step can be formed, which will appear in the application.
Such a mechanism makes it possible to clarify results remotely, without organizing a repeat visit by a specialist and without forcing the policyholder to go through the entire scenario again.
Mutual benefit of self-inspections for underwriting and policyholder
A self-inspection usually takes the policyholder from 10 minutes to half an hour, depending on the object and the number of required steps. At the same time, it does not need to be adjusted to the specialist's schedule — the inspection can be completed at a convenient time.
If an expert visited, it would be necessary to coordinate the meeting time and wait for the specialist at the object. For the insurance company, this also adds the specialist's travel time and the costs associated with the visit. The remote format reduces these costs and at the same time relieves the policyholder of the need to wait for a specialist.
The result is a structured inspection report
After the procedure is completed, the insurer receives not separate photographs in a messenger, but a systematized set of materials tied to a specific object.
The report may include data from information fields, photographs, video, metadata, and a history of actions. The document can be configured to meet the requirements of a specific insurance company. After the inspection is completed, the report can be sent to the policyholder for signing with a simple electronic signature via SMS.
As a result, a self-inspection represents a single digital process:
- A self-inspection begins with a scenario that the insurer forms in advance for a specific object.
- The policyholder goes through the proposed steps, takes the necessary photographs and videos, and the system records the shooting data and checks their compliance with the specified conditions.
- If the information obtained is insufficient, the insurer can request additional materials.
- After the inspection is completed, all collected information, photographs, video, and the history of actions are formed into a single inspection report.
Such an approach makes it possible to transfer part of the inspections to the policyholder themselves, while preserving a standardized procedure for collecting information and controlling materials and benefiting from the absence of physical visits.