Financial services company Indwe Risk Services has adopted risk management technology – and more specifically drone technology – to propel help it identify and understand risk.
RiskTech, the latest risk management offering from Indwe, harnesses advanced technology and risk expertise to provide clients with accurate risk assessments and the best risk advice.
“Insurance is not unlike any other sector,” says Claude Hamman, head of specialist risk advisory at Indwe. “The times are changing, and demand for information is increasing.
“Drone technology takes our expertise to the next level. Any advantage we can give our clients works in their favour, and now we are employing tech to help us to become even better at what we do.”
Drones provide a safer, faster and more accurate way to acquire high-quality data about a site and its surroundings. These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be safely and quickly deployed to conduct aerial assessments and provide a 360-degree perspective of a site and its impact on risk profiles.
Using drones to zero in on a specific structure or location has advantages from a risk assessment point of view too. When drone technology is paired with other technologies like 3D modelling, thermal imaging, and terrain analysis, risk specialists can analyse trends to identify risks and recommend controls that will reduce both the impact and likelihood of a risk.
“Drone technology gives us a whole new perspective of a site or location,” says Hamman. “The information extracted from the process can be integrated with the conventional approach to risk. This enables us to better assess risks, fine-tune insurance cover to mitigate the impact and likelihood of these risks, and fast-track claims.”
Drone technology changes the game when it comes to post-loss scenarios like site inspections, field assessments, and claim adjudications, and also raises the bar when it comes to proactivity in pre-loss scenarios.
Drones can be quickly and safely deployed to monitor areas threatened by natural disasters. Governments working with insurance companies can monitor a situation such as floods and fires and alert local residents to potential danger.
Hotspots and weak spots can be identified in structures and a property’s risk can be determined if it falls within a high fire or lightning area. This allows an owner to seek a reduced risk profile or to take appropriate actions to lower overall risk and justify premium discounts.
Drone technology – along with other autonomous assessments like ground-penetrating radar and leak-detecting pipe crawlers – forms part of Indwe’s RiskTech solutions.