MyVal has been crowned the winner of this year’s Insurtech Australia InsurtechLIVE pitch competition. 

The Sydney start-up’s app uses artificial intelligence to accurately document the value of home contents, and highlights items exceeding policy sublimits. 

“People just don’t understand sublimits. I’ve experienced it personally, and that’s what we’ve tried to bring into the app – all these complexities that don’t have to be complex,” MD Dan Novick told insuranceNEWS.com.au. 

The tool simplifies documentation, valuation and insurance management, and securely “puts all this data into a virtual vault”. This accurate record eliminates surprises and arguments at claim time, Mr Novick says. 

“It’s giving a snapshot ... I know what I’ve got and what I’m covered for, and if there’s a claim, it’s simple. Without using the app ... it’s very difficult and complicated. 

“You have the proper record of what you’ve got for a more accurate sum insured. You’re paying the right premium and understand where your limitations are and the most you’re going to get paid out ... You’re not going to be disappointed, you have the knowledge and the information of what you’re actually being covered for.”  

The MyVal app went live for the public this week and the team is now working on business and travel versions.  

Users take pictures of valuables and the “app does the rest”, using AI to identify and give a detailed description and estimated market value for each item, Mr Novick says. 

He told the sold-out InsurtechLIVE conference in Sydney yesterday that a bad claims experience involving a Persian rug inspired him to start the insurtech. 

“The flood was devastating, but dealing with the insurance claim was even worse,” he said. 

“The paperwork, the proof of payment, the documentation, it was overwhelming. 

“After many weeks ... my claim had been approved, but then came the shock. My wife's favourite Persian rug was only covered for $1000. I was frustrated – I had the highest possible sum insured, so how could this happen?” 

He was referred to the product disclosure statement, which listed sublimits. 

“Half my house wasn’t even properly covered. I was both overinsured and uninsured at the same time. I didn’t even know that was possible ... I was paying a premium for an inflated sum insured while losing money on high-value items not covered on the policy.” 

The MyVal app compares against an average of 30 policy sublimits, and it will soon be able to benchmark against an individual’s own policy. 

“It’s highlighting straight away if it’s over your sublimit per item. It’s giving you what the sublimit is on an average, and it will give you your actual one for your policy,” Mr Novick said. 

The app also rates proof of ownership, to address potential fraud. 

“We’re capturing all the metadata – proper, accurate information about where the picture is taken, what the picture is – and then we are also ranking the amount of information you’ve got for these higher-value items. The data and values are correct ... It’s all documented properly, and so I think it’s a win-win for the consumer and insurer.”

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