How aerial imagery can help insurers support customer during disasters

Weather-related catastrophes such as hurricanes, windstorms, flooding, tornadoes and fires can severely impact thousands of insurance policyholders in a community—simultaneously. Property and casualty insurers can benefit from tools and data that enable them to assess damage and address claims quickly and decisively to support their policyholders when they need it most – and even mitigate risk before and after the disaster occurs. 

Detailed location imagery and data–before and after disaster strikes

Aerial imagery and location derived data are indispensable tools for effective natural disaster preparation, response and recovery, and is considerably more precise than the information provided by widely-available satellite imagery. 

Aerial imagery companies utilize planes outfitted with specialized cameras to capture detailed, high-resolution images of large geographic areas over long periods of time.

This type of aerial imagery and location intelligence technology provides a consistent, regularly updated source of truth. With this information, insurance companies can gather comprehensive property specifications from precise moments in time, and utilize features such as 3D modeling and artificial intelligence-powered insights to visualize important details and environmental changes over time, or damage caused by natural disasters. 

Some aerial imaging and location data companies provide multiple data capture points per year—with some companies also providing imagery and data that document up to more than a decade of change over time. Insurers can continually tap into these insights to compare past and recent data, detect changes over time, and understand how seasonal weather events may have affected a property and its surroundings. These comparisons can be helpful to assess whether and to what degree calamities have impacted a specific area or property, and to understand how and when damage occurred. The historical component of aerial mapping, and location intelligence can also help insurers document other types of environmental changes that have the potential to affect property values. 

Loss control with remote inspections

Because aerial images can be accessed remotely from just about anywhere, and on a range of devices, they can be used to conserve time and resources by enabling evaluations and inspections to take place off-site, rather than requiring adjuster deployment and travel each time information updates are needed. 

The precise assessments that aerial imagery and insights enable can help prevent errors that may occur through traditional on-site processes and allow claims work to continue even when a site may be inaccessible or unsafe for in-person visits. Viewers can also easily rotate or zoom in on large-scale maps; aerial imagery is so precise that insurers can view details they need to quickly, and confidently determine next steps when disaster strikes. This also allows teams to triage claims accurately and in order of priority, without delays or guesswork. And, when it is time to deploy field crews, teams can plot vehicle access routes to keep workers safe and send them where they’re most critically needed. Location intelligence technology can also increase safety–not just for the insurance provider’s team, but for the property owners and residents they insure, by detailing a location’s ongoing status, condition, and accessibility.

Support for emergency response can mitigate damage

These tools and images are also valuable for first responders and emergency management by providing them with a 3D model of the on-the-ground after a disaster, allowing them to assess damage and navigate to where they are needed most during disaster situations. The quick delivery of data to emergency services, impacted communities, and insurers can both mitigate damage by increasing the efficiency of tactical response and expedite rebuilding and recovery efforts by focusing assistance and resources where they can provide maximal damage and loss prevention and expedite the most urgent repairs.

Mitigate future risk

When it comes to risk modeling to mitigate potential future risks, currency and accuracy of data is critical to truly understand the situation, which is why aerial imagery companies often hold a database with years of historical post-catastrophe imagery, as well as continued, regular proactive captures of new events. Using current imagery, historical post-catastrophe content, and wide-coverage AI data packs, insurers have access to a rich dataset of areas and how they’ve been impacted over time to better inform risk mitigation and resilience strategy planning for policyholders. 

Keep customers updated–and satisfied

Weather-related disasters can cause extensive loss, damage, and disruption to the lives of those impacted. They represent a crucial inflection point in the relationship between insurers and policyholders, and can make or break customer satisfaction, loyalty, and brand preference.  Insurers need to be prepared to expedite information and answers to policyholders about the status of their claims in these moments of crisis. Aerial imaging and location insights can help carriers proactively indemnify, which can help maintain important policyholder relationships and satisfaction levels, retain ongoing business, and preserve a provider’s reputation. 

Weather catastrophes can strike anywhere, at any time. Solutions that can support fast, effective response and claims processing by insurers can help communities fast-track recovery efforts and get back to business—while reinforcing positive relationships.