data derived from satellites is revolutionizing the way we work, allowing us to confront natural catastrophe’s faster and more responsively.
In the past, when a large natural catastrophe occurred, insurance companies often relied on external modelling companies to provide data, often with a waiting time of several days. However, with the advent of free, open-source satellite imagery, specially developed for catastrophe detection, the post event analysis is now much faster. It is often much more accurate too.For example, it’s now possible to map wildfires at a resolution of 375m, with a delay of just three hours between the acquisition and delivery of the data. During the recent Canadian wildfires for example, the fast deployment of these types of datasets meant ultra-quick estimates of the affected areas. Challenges and Limitations? Despite the vast improvements however, data quality can still be a challenge. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, often used to detect floods, is a good example. Despite reaching resolutions down to just a few centimeters, backscatter data (signals reflected back from different surfaces back to the satellite) often suffers from high speckle noise caused by the refraction of microwaves against vertical surfaces, such as buildings. As a result, SAR-derived imagery is less accurate in urban environments, where it is often needed most. Another constraint comes from the availability of resources. The size of the datasets and the complexity of turning raw, remote sensing data into post-processing imagery often requires large amounts of data storage, a lot of computing power, specialist software and dedicated expert personnel. Looking to the Future The abundance of data from different satellites, each one with slightly different capabilities and limitations means that exploiting this data is not without its challenges. Nonetheless, there is no doubt data derived from satellites is revolutionizing the way we work, allowing us to confront natural catastrophe’s faster and more responsively. In the future, developing specialist know-how is going to be paramount for all risk assessment professionals trying to make best use of the enormous amount of data we have at our disposal. This data can enable us to develop a clearer and deeper understanding of the dynamics of complex natural catastrophes. Vast increases in the availability and quality of satellite data is helping (re)insurers to price risks more accurately and create increasingly detailed risk models. And perhaps most importantly, these enhancements are helping companies and local governments in high risk areas to better understand the nature of the threats they face, and take more informed actions to prepare for an event and respond quickly and effectively in its aftermath. Want to know more? You can reach Giacomo at giacomo.favaron@xlcatlin.com- Share This Article:
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