Why location intelligence, digital mapping is making underwriting more efficient

Digital mapping is defined as the science of collecting location intelligence data to formulate a digital image with the primary function of producing maps with highly accurate renderings of any given area. Developed in 2003, digital mapping has catalyzed a watershed movement of development for insurers, and as it continues to evolve so do its applications in the industry.

Insurers call upon this visual tool to minimize risk exposure and optimize the underwriting process, but it also serves as a platform for new processes and technologies to be built to enhance their work—this became particularly relevant during Hurricane Ian as insurers turned to digital mapping to provide impacted customers with support and insights before Ian even made landfall. Closer to home, insurance companies employ the use of digital mapping on a daily basis to help property owners successfully protect their land and assets.  

The value of digital mapping during times of disruption 

Digital mapping and location intelligence safeguard insurers' ability to understand historical data and remotely apply those insights to risk modeling and underwriting. And insurance companies have continued leveraging these geospatial assets to keep pace in a competitive landscape amid the increasingly severe impacts of climate change and the global pandemic which drastically impacted social behavior and, therefore, risks. 

While the COVID-19 pandemic halted almost every day-to-day aspect in society, external variables that impact insurance customers, like weather events or property damage, did not cease. For incidents like these, insurance companies still needed to be able to provide coverage and support to customers while adhering to social distancing mandates. Risk assessment and underwriting, some of the most essential work carried out by insurers, were among the most heavily interrupted practices due to the pandemic. Historically, insurers were required to be onsite to inspect land attributes like roofing, pools and other high-risk characteristics that would impact a claims quote, and satellite imagery simply is not recent or detailed enough to utilize as a source of reliable information. Digital mapping technologies provided a scalable solution that made it possible for insurers to perform their work from the safety of their desk without sacrificing the level of detail and accuracy required in this line of work. 

Minimizing risk exposure with digital intelligence

Insurers have been leaning into aerial imagery to help evolve work processes from damage reparation to risk mitigation. Through these shifts, the industry has moved from "repair and replace" to "predict and prevent," underscoring the integral role high-quality digital mapping technologies play. These renderings can help insurance providers better understand the scope of risk associated with the land without ever having to step foot on the property in question. Conversely, if abnormalities are identified within these maps that are not historically aligned with the customer's previous quote, underwriters are alerted in a matter of seconds and can deploy an insurer to the site to assess the changes against the previous quote.

This holds especially true for areas highly impacted by worsening weather events that have leveled cities and left insurance customers reeling, desperately in need of accurate quotes pre-weather events and a speedy claims process in its wake. The destruction Hurricane Ian left Floridians and insurers to deal with was some of the most devastating damage caused by a natural event. Florida-based insurance company, Kin, incorporated the host of capabilities aerial imagery has to offer, supporting their customers in a holistic way that saved lives and activated the claims process before Ian made landfall and once it dissipated. 

Digital mapping: today and tomorrow

Self-survey applications, photo estimate solutions, customer communication apps and virtual inspection platforms have been gaining traction as insurance firms become more digitally literate. As the industry seeks to disrupt and replace legacy models and systems by adopting emerging technologies like AI and digital mapping, insurers are creating more efficient processes that put the customer at the heart of the claims lifecycle.

A strong business case can be made for insurers to continue testing different technologies to enhance service offerings. For example, when ChatGPT emerged, almost every industry went to the drawing board to determine how this technology could be used in their business, including insurers. Several insurance companies have begun to redefine their workflows to account for the capabilities ChatGPT and other AI functions bring to the table, with many seeing tremendous success analyzing detailed information from policy documents and refining underwriting. And when it comes to digital mapping, ChatGPT levels the playing field as the potential for intersectionality will allow companies to adapt visual models virtually. The integration of this tech augments the work being done by human talent and provides greater oversight of work to mitigate errors and detect fraud. ChatGPT acts as a critical eye to sift through the influx of visual information digital mapping provides insurers to accurately perform their jobs.

The advent of the World Wide Web was a defining moment for digital mapping and location intelligence technology that catalyzed a new era of ongoing digital transformation at a record pace. But, with the ever-evolving digital landscape happening right before our eyes, we're likely to see a new wave of advancements in digital mapping and location intelligence technology that will, once again, redefine the insurance industry's way of working.