The strategic deal will advance flood risk management, assist disaster response and speed up claims payments globally, Swiss Re said in a statement.

The partnership will advance Swiss Re’s natural catastrophe services by enabling early warning systems and near real-time flood monitoring.

It will initially focus on floods and will soon expand to other perils, such as wildfires, wind and earthquake damages, Swiss Re said.

The collaboration brings together Swiss Re’s risk knowledge with data from ICEYE, expanding its geo and remote sensing capabilities, the Zurich-based reinsurer said.

Swiss Re will gain access to ICEYE’s synthetic aperture radar data on flood events globally, high-accuracy observation-based flood maps, snapshots of developments of individual floods and water depth estimations within 24 hours of an event.

The reinsurer will then make footprint assessments of the events available on its proprietary geo risk platform, enabling faster loss assessment and payouts for insurers.

Source: Business Insurance