The Future of Inspections: A Conversation with JMI Reports & Betterview

Betterview’s recent webinar with JMI Reports (on-demand here) centered on streamlined property inspections and enriched reporting. Through Partner Connect, Betterview’s integration with JMI lets insurers rapidly identify property risk and instantly order physical, virtual, and self-inspections. I caught up with Betterview COO Dave Tobias and JMI President Emeritus Tim McKendry to explore how insurers can optimize inspection efficiency and reduce expenses. 

BV: Thanks for joining me, Tim and Dave. What are the biggest challenges in property inspections today? 

Tim: We all know that inspections are a crucial part of underwriting. But they can also be a real headache, which is what JMI and Betterview set out to solve. It’s really about three factors: time, spend, and logistics. Coordinating a boots-on-the-ground inspection team for every property is going to cost a lot of money and take a lot of time. This has always been true, but since COVID it’s gotten even more difficult. 

Dave: I would add that not just COVID, but recent advances in technology, have made these inefficiencies really stark. Insurers now see that there are better options out there, and they’re no longer satisfied with the status quo. 

BV: What technological advances do you mean in particular? 

Dave: Some examples Betterview focuses on are computer vision models to remotely assess property risk, ordering inspections from within your policy platform, and straight-through-processing properties that don’t need an inspection. We can do this all through our Property Intelligence platform, as well as integrate some really important tools from JMI. 

Tim: I think one of the most exciting advancements for inspections is the ability to use mobile technology, empowering policyholders to be a part of the inspection process. That’s what JMI offers through QuickVUE, which sends a text link to policyholders to take pictures and verify property information. And that’s just one of several inspection options – both virtual and physical – that are available through our integration. It’s all about unifying processes that were previously siloed into one easy experience. 

BV: How crucial is this unification of processes to the success of the integration, given its emphasis during the webinar? 

Dave: It’s incredibly important because that’s the whole point of the integration between our two companies – and perhaps the whole point of Partner Connect, our larger community of partners. We seek out companies that are great at what they do and see how their tools can complement ours to create a holistic policy experience. It turns out, solutions that work great separately can work even better when they’re combined. 

Tim: I echo Dave’s sentiments. I want to emphasize we value traditional boots-on-the-ground inspections and would never entirely replace them. But this integration aligns the whole process with modern workflows, saving time and money, and ultimately leading to smarter policy decisions. 

BV: Could you explain the mechanics of the integration? 

Dave: Sure. It’s easy to use, but it also performs a lot of complex tasks. Basically, we’re talking about a few different steps: 

• Identify Risk: First, you analyze our computer vision detections, scores, and third-party geospatial data to determine a property’s risk level. If the property has red flags – like staining on the roof or vegetation in a wildfire zone – you might want to order a boots-on-the-ground inspection. If it’s a lower risk, sending a QuickVUE link to the policyholder might be enough. 
• Order Inspections: This is the coolest part, in my opinion; once you’ve identified the needs of each property, you just click a button, and instantly the inspection process begins. This works for ordering physical inspections and self-inspections, and also for straight-through-processing. 
• Integrate Data: Again, directly on our platform, you can access the imagery from inspections, as well as reports from JMI enhanced with our data. This creates even more efficiencies. For example, an underwriter could flag every property that the inspection deemed a good risk and have them fast-tracked for approval. 

Tim: That was a thorough explanation of the process, Dave. I would only add the real strength of this integration is the time it saves by bringing work to the front end of the process. If underwriters take a little time upfront to analyze property risk, they can determine where to best spend their inspection dollars. They can even proactively determine which areas of the property inspectors should focus on. This upfront work ultimately saves insurers huge amounts of time and resources. 

BV: What do you most look forward to in this partnership? 

Dave: I’m most excited about the solutions we've created together. “Better Together” is an unofficial motto here at Betterview, and what we’ve built with JMI really embodies that. Yes, our technologies are impressive on their own. But by adding them together, we create something new and even more beneficial for insurers.  

Tim: Couldn’t have said it better myself, Dave. I’m excited for more customers to start using JMI and Betterview together. They’ll discover how smooth and seamless the inspection process can be. 

Learn more about the partnership between JMI and Betterview and explore our integration today.