The project will enable industry participants to download flood footprints. These footprints can then be used for rapid flood impact assessments and will facilitate the understanding of insured flood risk and ultimately help to broaden the range of flood insurance solutions.
The project is a joint effort involving satellite operators, earth observation service providers and the insurance industry. It is supported by Allianz, EQECAT, ESA, Guy Carpenter, Munich Re, PERILS, SERTIT, Swiss Re, Vista and Willis.
Commenting on the project, Luzi Hitz, CEO of PERILS, said: “We are glad to be able to act as a distribution platform for satellite earth observation information for major global flood events. This fits perfectly with PERILS’ overall strategy to provide ready-to-use data to the insurance industry to help improve the understanding of Nat Cat risk.”
Eduard Held, Head of Products at PERILS, added: “This project is going to satisfy a longstanding industry need for detailed flood information during and after large events. While it has been possible to access satellite images in the past, this is the first time that insurers will be able to access images which have been standardized to better suit their specific requirements.”
Dependent on the scale and duration of flood events, high-resolution flood boundaries will be made available on a daily basis while events are developing, facilitating an immediate assessment of the possible impact of the events. In addition, after the flood event, a map showing the maximum extent of the flooding during the entire lifetime of the event will be produced.
During an initial 12-month trial period all interested parties will be able to download the flood footprint information free of charge.
About PERILS
PERILS is an independent Zurich-based organisation providing industry-wide natural catastrophe exposure and claims data. The PERILS Industry Exposure & Loss Database is available to all interested parties via annual subscription. The database contains industry property sums insured and loss information for eleven European countries on a CRESTA zone level and per property line of business. PERILS industry loss estimates, provided via the PERILS Industry Loss Index Service, can be used as triggers in insurance risk transactions such as industry loss warranty contracts (ILW) or insurance-linked securities (ILS).
(source: PERILS)