Satellites have a storied history of providing visual information and insights about the world around us. But what was missing was the ability to turn the visual information they provided into a source of truly cutting-edge insights about our changing world. Recognising the value that could be unlocked across a wide range of industries and use cases, means the future of data validation in the insurance industry may well come from outer space. Satellites provide us with images and vision from what is going on in the natural world; and if the satellite imagery can be combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) the result will be game changing data feeds. This is because AI image recognition has become super human on certain benchmarks.
One example of satellite images being used to test, validate and improve the data used by insurance companies was Orbital Insight producing flood extent and depth maps for Hurricane Harvey in Houston. Orbital Insight was named one of the most innovative companies of 2017, and the company imagines so many ways data can better inform the world. The innovative flood maps give insurance companies an idea of damages and what the claims will be as a result of the floods. Rather than waiting to record the extent of the damage, the flood map will help insurance companies predict the damage and be proactive in getting their payouts ready. Orbital Insight is also able to look back on historic floods and compare the data to improve the quality of their damage predictions.
Another example from Orbital Insight was looking at the Tianjin explosions in 2015. The satellite imagery was able to look at the physical environment before and after the explosion, and work out the total number of cars and buildings that were lost as a result of the explosion. More than eight thousand new cars from Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen, Renault, and Toyota, parked in lots located near the blast site, were largely burned as a result of the initial explosions.
A final example of the use for satellites in insurance, is Orbital Insight building an algorithm in their AI to analyse satellite imagery from Mexico in order to determine which houses are in poverty and those which are not. This will better help insurance companies predict the extent of damages of natural disasters in these areas, because houses in poverty are more likely to be destroyed in these events.
A lot of data that insurance companies are reliant on comes from third party sources. The future of this data collection will come from satellites, aerial footage (drones) and radar. These sources will help build the confidence of company data as these companies will become less reliant on government data. With innovative companies like Orbital Insight leading the way, the surface has only been scratched for surveillance in insurance, and the picture of the world around us will only become clearer in the future.
