Insurance early warnings + rooftop geocoding

Without looking it up, do you know how much insurance losses natural catastrophes caused in 2022? What's your guess?

According to a report published by Swiss Re, the world's leading provider of reinsurance, "Natural catastrophes caused an estimated USD 115 billion of insured losses in 2022—coming in well above the 10-year average of USD 81 billion." A number that large, leaves a lot of room for improvement.

One of the biggest challenges insurance providers face is accurately predicting where and when these devastating disasters will occur so that they can take appropriate measures to mitigate losses. Fortunately, there are several tools available to help. One such tool is Smarty's rooftop geocoding. Rooftop Geocoding integrates with early warning systems to effectively identify and manage risks.

Early warning systems are designed to help insurance companies identify potential risks and take measures to prevent losses. These systems use a variety of sources, such as weather data, sensor data, and historical data, to identify risks and provide alerts when certain conditions are met. For example, an early warning system might be set up to monitor weather patterns and provide alerts to insurance agents when a severe storm is approaching their area. This warning allows insurance providers to take a variety of preventive measures, such as messaging clients to suggest they secure loose objects boarding up windows to pausing new policy sales to people who may be affected by the storm. With enough lead time, these actions go a long way toward minimizing potential losses.

However, early warning systems, and insurers' ability to implement mitigation strategies, are only as effective as the data they use. If the data is inaccurate or incomplete, insurance providers run the risk of having to pay out on claims that could possibly have been prevented. This is where Smarty’s rooftop geocoding shines.

Most geocodes use ZIP Codes or address matching to approximate the location of the building in question, and sometimes that’s okay. But when large sums of money, property damage, and the success of a business are on the line, approximate isn’t good enough.

For example, flooding is a common cause of property damage, and hence, insurance claims. However, traditional mapping methods for flood risk assessments are often inaccurate, often relying on approximations to "pinpoint" a property. This is especially true in areas with complex terrain or urban environments. Their approximations might place a building on the wrong edge of the property, or at the bottom of a hill—which would place it in a high flood danger zone and preclude it from coverage—when the building is, in reality, away from the body of water or at the top of the hill.

Smarty's rooftop geocoding uses advanced technology to precisely pinpoint the rooftops of insured structures. This precision allows insurance agents to be more accurate, create better risk assessments, customize premiums based on risk, increase customer satisfaction, save money, detect fraud, and improve underwriting.

Improved accuracy

Smarty’s rooftop geocoding is the most accurate in the business. It uses detailed satellite images, street-level photos, address matching, and more to pinpoint the exact location of a property – its actual rooftop. This level of accuracy can be crucial for insurance agents when determining risk and setting premiums.

Better risk assessment

Using Smarty’s rooftop geocoding allows insurance agents to more accurately assess the risk associated with a particular property. By knowing the exact location of a property, insurance agents can determine the potential risks associated with that location, such as proximity to flood zones, whether the property is in the path of a major storm, or if it’s in a high crime area. This information can help agents adjust premiums as needed and verify compliance to reflect the level of risk associated with each property.

Customized premiums

Similar to allowing for better risk assessment, precise rooftop geocoding allows insurance agents to customize premiums based on specific risks associated with a particular property. This means that insurance agents can more accurately adjust premiums to reflect the unique risks associated with each property. For example, a property located in a high-fire risk area may have a higher premium than a property located in a similar location, but further away from the fire-risk zone. This level of customization can help insurance agents provide more accurate and fair premiums to their clients.

Increased customer satisfaction

Rooftop-accurate geocoding can also help insurance agents provide better customer service, which will lead to increased customer satisfaction. By accurately identifying the location of a property and assessing the risks specific to that location, insurance agents can provide more accurate premiums and better, more customized coverage to their clients. This added personalization helps to build trust and loyalty among clients, leading to increased customer satisfaction and retention.

Save money

Using rooftop geocoding can also help insurance agents save money. You've already seen how Smarty's super-accurate rooftop geocoding can improve the service an insurance agent provides. This improved service can help reduce the number of claims filed and reduce the cost of payouts. But what's more, correct rooftop geocoding can help reduce the time and resources required to manually verify a property's location, reducing operational costs for insurance agents.

Fraud detection

By accurately identifying the location of a property, insurance agents can verify that the property is located in the correct area and that information provided by the client on a claim is accurate. Such precision can help prevent fraud and reduce the number of false claims filed.

Improved underwriting

Finally, Smarty's rooftop geocoding can also help insurance agents improve their underwriting processes. Knowing exactly where a property sits, an agent can better assess the risks associated with the property. This allows agents to make more informed decisions about which risks to accept and which to decline. This added knowledge can help reduce losses and improve profitability for insurance companies.

Experience the difference

Armed with the knowledge of how much the pinpoint accuracy of Smarty's rooftop geocoding can help to mitigate insurance losses, it’s time to experience the difference yourself. Try it out for free by visiting the Smarty Rooftop Geocoding page and experience all the ways it can help you save money, help your clients, and improve your business.