Improving interoperability: the impact of multiple data feeds on exposure management

Dynamic exposure monitoring tracks physical insured assets (moving and static) and combines with different data feeds, such as weather-related data or geopolitical events, to help insurers get a more accurate, dynamic picture of their risk data and support better assessment and monitoring of exposures and overall aggregate positions in real-time.  

While many third-party data providers focus on improving one part of the exposure picture, such as more accurate satellite imagery of an area, we believe that true real-time exposure intelligence relies on combining these feeds with live digital asset tracking to enable a richer picture and better alerting ahead of key risk events unfolding.

Best practice in exposure management technology increasingly incorporates dynamic exposure monitoring and offers seamless integration with external third-party data providers. This integration augments the core data record of insurers' contracted portfolios and delivers additional data points and insights. For instance, an expanded dataset might incorporate risk scores tied to specific geographic coordinates or integrate a map layer, providing a quick snapshot on the stability of a particular region.  

In the event of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, wildfire or earthquake, a dynamic solution would combine satellite imagery and diverse data streams, sharing detailed feedback on the scope of the impact on your assets. Taking the recent escalations in the Red Sea as an example, Insurwave's platform could share accurate, real-time updates on the situation and its impact on your exposure as it unfolds.

Combining technology and dynamic data sets with your portfolio can unlock new insights and help you view your exposure through a different lens. Through this powerful combination, dynamic exposure monitoring platforms can empower insurers to navigate events in near real-time as they are unfolding and, in the days after that, accurately quantify exposure and factors affecting premium adequacy more effectively than ever before, offering clear insights for future risk mitigation.

Insurwave's platform helps insurers by utilising a combination of advanced artificial intelligence and data visualisation technology to: 

• Digitise and onboard assets centrally to enable easy administration and tracking. 

• Connect multiple third-party data sources to provide a real-time and enriched view of insurance portfolios and their contracted values, able to be searched and filtered at both a global and regional level and across defined industry zones such as joint war committees. 

• Automate real-time alerts to crucial risk events and affected assets and portfolios. 

• View and analyse risks by creating customised zones on our risk map for specific insights into how assets behave or are affected. 

Through these features and others, we seek to aid the advancement of an industry that is rapidly changing and a discipline (exposure management) increasingly at the forefront of data and analytics to protect and balance portfolios. As approaches to exposure management continue to advance, so does the appetite for innovation within the broader underwriting community, propelling insurers to identify emerging trends and opportunities and deliver new products and services with speed and agility. 

“The surge in exposure data sources, granularity and accuracy is fuelling the demand for advanced exposure management technology. As the quest for enhanced risk assessment, underwriting precision, operational efficiency, compliance, and user experience intensifies, insurers will continue to seek tools that match their aspirations,” explained Richard Archer, Insurwave’s Chief Strategy Officer.

Gallagher Re’s market data revealed that 2023 marked the fourth consecutive year in which global insured losses from natural catastrophes exceeded the $100 billion mark, but this only tells half the story. By creating a view that combines the static world (fixed assets such as property) with the physical, moving world, Insurers have an invaluable opportunity to paint a fuller picture of their exposures – tracking and understanding them in a much broader context. 

In the marine sector, vessels that would usually travel through the Red Sea had to alter their journeys around the Cape of Good Hope and through the Indian Ocean, adding thousands of miles to their routes, which equates to roughly 50% longer voyage times. In isolation, the impact is substantial, potentially affecting the quality of any perishable goods on board in addition to the fuel usage, which impacts any ESG-related commitments operators may have.  

By using more sophisticated exposure monitoring tools, operators and insurers can gain a broader view of potential exposures and identify new trends or patterns. For example, this longer duration of voyage time, in turn, increases operators' exposure to other emerging weather and terror-related events. 

Similarly, in aviation, the load factor is a crucial metric for airlines and is an example of an additional type of data that can further enhance analysis, as a higher or lower percentage load factor in the event of a loss can have a huge impact on potential exposures. 

“When it comes to real-time exposure management, you’re creating an environment where you’re no longer viewing your exposure through your rear-view mirror and can instead view it through the windscreen,” concluded Mark Costin, Commercial Director at Insurwave.