Munich Re partners with GIC to help insurers recover quickly after major catastrophes

German reinsurer Munich Re has partnered with re/insurance industry consortium Geospatial Intelligence Center (GIC) to provide insurers with access to automated damage classification analytics, helping them recover quickly after major catastrophes.

GIC, which is spearheaded by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), provides its members with access to advanced imagery and data to enhance the underwriting assessment, expedite claims, and improve fraud detection following a hurricane and other disaster events.

By collaborating with Munich Re, GIC will be able to provide its members with a damage assessment heat map layer to complement its survey-grade imagery post-disaster.

Munich Re’s analytics solution can processes GIC’s advanced aerial imagery with machine learning models to help both before and after a hurricane.

“This collaboration with Munich Re is a true value-add to our member insurers, providing them with an additional layer of critical insight when assessing damage after a major catastrophe,” said Ryan Bank, managing director of the GIC.

“We first piloted Munich Re’s remote sensing technology during Hurricane Michael and quickly saw its potential for optimising claims cycle time for our member insurers. In more than 40 percent of all property claims, its damage assessment was delivered before the insurer received the first notice of loss from the policyholder,” Bank added.

Roman Buegler, head of Munich Re's Innovation Lab, said: “We are proud to team up with the Geospatial Intelligence Center to help its member insurers - and ultimately their policyholders - get back on their feet more quickly after major catastrophes. If there’s one thing we know, it’s that speed is key. Our lab combines its dedicated resources of global experts and innovative technology to ensure the success of its partners. We look forward to a successful, long standing partnership.”

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