82 83 Lloyd’s Lab Impact Report 83 D A A constellation of eyes a lum watching out for disaster ta Cohort 7, 2021 a n How ‘persistent monitoring’ satellites can help manage and mitigate the impacts of climate change. n i With global weather events coming thick and fast, rapid Interpretation is also key. ICEYE have a team of d c reactions to 昀椀re and 昀氀ood have never been more of a meteorologists who are constantly watching the weather challenge for the insurance industry. In major 昀氀ood or 昀椀re and other factors which drive 昀氀ooding. They issue m a events, the public may not have access to the area for forecasts of where they expect 昀氀ooding to happen, days, or even weeks. This prevents insurers and including to several parametric insurers. reinsurers from understanding the loss, and most If ICEYE’s team expect 昀氀ooding, they can task the importantly of all, delays payments to those a昀昀ected. o s constellation of satellites to start taking radio images of Space monitoring has been seen as a possible answer a 昀氀ood area. ICEYE’s team will also enrich the satellite e for a decade at least. However, it is only now that a new data by overlaying it onto digital terrain models; as well generation of satellites, such as the group operated by as adding in data from 昀氀ood and rain gauges, and they d a ICEYE, a recent graduate of the Lloyd’s Lab; are able to will also track social media imagery, which can in itself provide rapid 昀椀re, fully interpreted and frequent enhance details of precisely where 昀氀ood areas begin e information about 昀氀ood, 昀椀re and hurricane-hit areas via a and end. constellation of satellites that are small and a昀昀ordable Overall, the data hugely speeds up the time to action, ls n enough to enable persistent monitoring. sometimes by a factor of weeks. ICEYE operates the world’s largest synthetic-aperture A number of Lloyd’s insurers are now taking advantage of d radar (SAR) satellite constellation, one that can provide this facility to develop innovative covers for vulnerable data and imagery for any location on Earth, multiple times communities. For example, a parametric insurance facility a day. By combining satellite imaging with multiple has been jointly put together by the Insurance p auxiliary information sources – including river/tidal gauge Development Foundation, the United Nations, as well as data, ground sensors, watershed maps, elevation models Swiss Re and Allianz. Satellite data provided a simple and open-source imagery – it is possible to deliver easily trigger for payouts to be made, creating a grouped oi ingestible hazard data while a 昀氀ood is still ongoing. insurance product for vulnerable rural groups in Ghana, A critical failing in previously generations of imaging who now have 昀椀nancial protection in case of 昀氀ood, where satellites was they were equipped with optical sensors, before they had nothing. This 昀椀lls a protection gap, and which cannot penetrate cloud cover or smoke. In addition, also helps the local community to adapt successfully to n these cannot produce reliable images at night. Radar an increasingly extreme climate environment. imaging sensors, in contrast, can capture data at night Although ICEYE is primarily at present used to monitor t and in all weather conditions. 昀氀oods, the SAR constellation can also be used to track For insurance companies and government bodies, this is deforestation, and to monitor wild昀椀res. It can also unlocking the possibility of observing and reacting to measure ice build-up and melting speed. Finally, the ongoing 昀氀oods as never before. Persistent monitoring of system can persistently monitor movement in the ground, 昀氀oods through the use of SAR satellites contributes to tracking subsidence around, for example, dams and faster, fact-based event response and can enable waste heads from open-cast mines. This data is accurate automated claims noti昀椀cation, support the partial to within millimetres, and can be used to help predict risk automation of claims handling, enhance customer service of collapse in these high-impact environments – critical and facilitate rapid loss assessment and more accurate both for insurer and for insured. reserving. The depth of data provided can also go further, Space technology is beginning to enable innovative and support solutions to provide safety nets for activities within insurance and around the management of communities at risk of 昀氀ood. climate change, that enables better recovery from catastrophes than has even been thought possible. © Lloyd’s