<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /></head><body style='font-size: 10pt'>
<p>Many of us are deducting home office costs on our Schedule C's. It's probably worth considering how much you are saving by doing so compared with the risk and expense of noncoverage if you have a clause in your policy similar to Rob's.<br /><br />--Alan</p>
<div id="signature"></div>
<br />
<p>-------- Original Message --------</p>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th align="right" valign="baseline" nowrap="nowrap">Subject:</th>
<td>[Hidden-tech] Great Use of LLMs for Insurance Policy Scrutiny; Many Hopeful Implications</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="right" valign="baseline" nowrap="nowrap">Date:</th>
<td>2025-02-02 11:59</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="right" valign="baseline" nowrap="nowrap">From:</th>
<td>Rob Laporte via Hidden-discuss <hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="right" valign="baseline" nowrap="nowrap">To:</th>
<td>"hidden-discuss" <hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<div id="replybody1">
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000;">
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-right: 13.5pt; margin-top: 5pt; margin-bottom: 9pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hi All,</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-right: 13.5pt; margin-top: 5pt; margin-bottom: 9pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The following intrigue-laced home insurance drama suggests great uses for LLMs, as well as entrepreneurial vistas.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-right: 13.5pt; margin-top: 5pt; margin-bottom: 9pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Insurance Policy Skulduggery</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin: 5pt 13.5pt 9pt 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Customized LLM tools like OpenAI GPTs, Google NoteBook LM, and Claude Projects </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">enable brilliant unpacking of insurance policies and their tiny annual text changes that can undermine your coverage</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and increase risk</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Given news about surprise clauses denying or reducing coverage for CA wildfire victims, and given that all, even non-CA, insurance corporations will have to increase rates (due in part to how re-insurance works to insure insurance companies), I thought it wise to use LLMs to scrutinize my formerly trustworthy Amica home and auto policies. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin: 5pt 13.5pt 9pt 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I uploaded all past and current docs to three top LLMs, and discovered that little word changes meant that my home would not actually be covered. The details are many and important, but I'll mention just salient issues:</span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;">
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre; margin-left: 36pt;">
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-right: 13.5pt; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Language regarding home office use changed such that, say, a demolishing fire would not be covered</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, or at best would result in costly court battles to get the coverage one had in prior years. And guess what increased enormously since the pandemic? Home office coverage subdivides by important distinctions too involved to get into here.</span></p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre; margin-left: 36pt;">
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-right: 13.5pt; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A little new text about security devices rendered a future claim easily dismissed.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The new policy itemizes various wireless security and fire subsystems, inputting some I did not have, which gave a $35 discount. In prior years, none of those devices were listed. ChatGPT explained that this is one of several tricks insurance companies use: If I had not found it, and my home burned down, the insurance company could claim the misrepresentation is a kind of fraud nullifying the contract. And one of the features Amica pre-filled for me was a "Wi-Fi connected fire alarm" I don't have.</span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;">
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: circle; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre; margin-left: 36pt;">
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-right: 13.5pt; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes, you could fight that in court, but you'd likely have to settle for less than full coverage or else risk losing all at trial. </span></p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre; margin-left: 36pt;">
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-right: 13.5pt; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 9pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Other little text changes since last year impacted full replacement costs, personal property coverage, town building ordinance costs</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> during rebuild, and more. All of the changes either reduced coverage or injected ambiguity that corporate insurance lawyers love in denying claims. </span></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin: 5pt 13.5pt 9pt 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I called the insurance company rep (and got permission to record as they too record), she claimed that they had not gotten my contact form submission of questions I sent via a linked Google doc. I had gotten a reply that a rep would get back to me--after the renewal and auto-pay date I disabled. While spoke with a rep, I arranged emailing it directly to her, and she claimed she did not get it--while Google showed 6 new live viewers streaming in (the doc was viewable only via that emailed link). After some talk, I pointed out that several people just started looking at the doc right now, prompting the live viewers to drop off one after another like cockroaches when the light goes on. She said she'd have to refer this matter to the local branch who would call me Monday. A long hold early in the conversation--after I explained my LLM use--suggests she had already looped in managers and probably legal, who were not only viewing the doc but also must have been listening live. It seems insurance companies are gearing up for a trend of people using LLMs to scrutinize policies. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin: 5pt 13.5pt 9pt 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lesson: LLMs empower us to vet contracts rapidly.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-right: 13.5pt; margin-top: 5pt; margin-bottom: 9pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Similar LLM Uses and Related Career Opportunities</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin: 5pt 13.5pt 9pt 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One can vet one's town property taxes.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A neighbor into LLMs is currently making a little interactive app which (1) shows how much more or less one's home tax appraisal went up relative to one's street or any selected area, and (2) shows the maximum, minimum, and range of increases in a town. This enables detecting errors costing homeowners, and then getting LLM guidance on resolving the issue/s. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin: 5pt 13.5pt 9pt 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One can quickly assess Terms of Service (ToS) and Privacy Policy changes.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I signed up for a crypto IRA ~5 years ago. Subsequently, they had some shady changes in storage and banking custodians. A few months ago, I could not log in to view or act unless I agreed to a new ToS. An LLM highlighted new risks in the new ToS, which were buried in the many pages. Now, after each login that requires clicking agreement, I email and post to customer service that I do not concede to the new terms. (I'll be moving from them soon; and BTW, how screwy is it that a long-term financial contract can be changed at any time?).</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Business Opportunity:</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> An enterprising soul could launch an LLM service that automatically scrutinizes one's ever changing ToS and Privacy Policies. I recall one scholar's research showing the typical person would need ~85 days per year to actually read all these shifting terms and policies. I bet people would pay $10+/mo to get alerts and summaries of risks for all the services they easily select for tracking.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin: 5pt 13.5pt 9pt 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine the many ways</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> people with LLM proficiency could launch service businesses that help people and businesses</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> manage vital information.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-right: 13.5pt; margin-top: 5pt; margin-bottom: 9pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Broader Implications for We The People</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin: 5pt 13.5pt 9pt 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A bright side of LLMs, especially open-source ones that aren't censored, is that we can verify what officials, agencies, or governments said and when. News is for sale, but now, or very soon, truth is quickly available. There's a reason that the protagonist Winston in Orwell's </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1984</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> works in the Ministry of Truth editing current and past news. And there's a reason the Internet Archive's WayBack Machine, which offers searchable, past date-stamped views of all important websites and pages, was attacked last year by lawfare and heavy DDoS attacks to take it down. </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin: 5pt 13.5pt 9pt 36pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LLMs could be potent truth machines supporting the informed consent that is the lifeblood of Democracy.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-right: 13.5pt; margin-top: 5pt; margin-bottom: 9pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh yes, LLMs pose menace too, but let's not overlook their bright potentials.</span></p>
<div> </div>
<div class="v1zmail_signature_below">
<div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="v1size" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="v1font" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Best Regards,<br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span class="v1size" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="v1font" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; color: #aa3025;"><strong><span class="v1size" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="v1font" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Rob Laporte</span></span></strong><span class="v1size" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="v1font" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="v1size" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="v1font" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">CEO | R&D Manager</span><span class="v1font" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><strong><span class="v1size" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="v1font" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">DISC - Making Websites Make Money</span></span></strong><span class="v1size" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="v1font" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><a href="mailto:Rob@2disc.com" rel="noreferrer">Rob@2disc.com</a>, <span class="v1size" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="v1font" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">413-584-6500</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="v1size" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="v1font" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.2disc.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.2disc.com</a></span></span><span class="v1size" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="v1font" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif, sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"> </div>
<div><strong style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"><span class="v1size" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="v1font" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif, sans-serif;"><span class="v1colour" style="color: #990000;">NOTE:</span></span></span></strong><span class="v1size" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="v1font" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif, sans-serif;"><span class="v1colour" style="color: #990000;"> Emails can be blocked by spam filters throughout the web. If you don't get a reply within an expected span of time, please call.</span></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="pre" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; font-family: monospace">_______________________________________________<br />Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: <a href="http://www.hidden-tech.net" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.hidden-tech.net</a><br /><a href="mailto:Hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net">Hidden-discuss@lists.hidden-tech.net</a><br /><br />You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list.<br />If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members<br />page on the Hidden Tech Web site.<br /><a href="http://www.hidden-tech.net/members" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.hidden-tech.net/members</a></div>
</body></html>