Zurich extends Previsico partnership boosting flood resilience across the UK public sector

This comes as flood risk in the UK continues to increase, as highlighted in the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment Technical Report. This states that unless we take further action, under a 2°C by 2100 warming scenario, annual damage from flooding for non-residential properties across the UK is expected to increase by 27% by 2050.

Previsico’s solution uses a combination of rainfall nowcasts and forecasts to deliver continuously updated warnings. It will be a game-changer for the public sector, particularly supporting local authorities who are responsible for local flood response plans. Zurich will fund the service, enabling its customers to reduce significant losses and disruption for the general public.

Surface water flooding makes up almost 60% of UK flood risk, with Environment Agency warnings only covering the other 40% for major rivers and the sea. Previsico’s system will offer 48 hour forecasts every three hours at specific district level. As soon as the system identifies a location is at risk of surface water flooding, a warning is sent to a relevant contact. This means that resilience measures can be put in place and valuable assets such as property can be protected or art and vehicles moved.

Jonathan Jackson, CEO, Previsico, said:

“This extension to our partnership follows the success of our work with Zurich in the private sector with firms such as BT. It will enable Zurich to provide warnings down to individual property level (25m) up to 48-hours in advance for insured properties, a first for the public sector, as well as giving local government support with warnings for roads and parks. It also delivers against Zurich’s ESG strategy.”

Andrew Jepp, Managing Director of Zurich Municipal, said:

“Surface water flooding is a growing risk which we know causes major disruption to our customers and the services they provide. At Zurich Municipal we are continually looking at ways we can support our customers understand and reduce the risks they face. Our new partnership with Previsico will help our customers to take targeted action to build resilience in their communities.”

Zurich Municipal works closely with Zurich Resilience Solutions, which helps companies and the public sector to manage their risk through undertaking flood risk analysis and advising customers on implementing resilience measures.

Previsico’s next generation live flood forecasting solution, brings together the latest weather data from the Met Office and IBM. Its advanced flood modelling capabilities address the increasing global issue of surface water flooding for insurers, their public sector and major corporate clients.

Notes to editors

About Previsico

Previsico provides real-time, street-level surface water flood forecasts to mitigate flood impacts globally, including live actionable street-level flood nowcast and forecast warnings. It was voted into the ‘Hot 100’ global InsurTechs by Intelligent InsurTech and won the prestigious ‘Innovation of the Year’ award at the British Data Awards 2021, against strong competition in all sectors, including FTSE 100 firms, tech unicorns, public sector bodies, and not-for-profit organisations. A spinout company from Loughborough University, Previsico was launched earlier in 2019 following 20 years of academic research, with the support of the Cabinet Office, the Met Office, and the Environment Agency. Previsico’s mission is to be the leading global provider of cutting-edge flood prediction that saves lives and livelihoods, with the whole of the UK live and much of the USA mapped. Previsico is also targeting the Asia market and opened an office in Hong Kong in 2020. Led by serial tech entrepreneur Jonathan Jackson, CEO, Previsico employs a diverse, fast-expanding, and highly skilled team with strong business acumen and research expertise.

For more information about Previsico, its products and services, or to arrange a demo, contact Jonathan Jackson, CEO: jonathan.jackson@previsico.com

• www.previsico.com

About Zurich UK

Zurich UK provides a suite of general insurance and life insurance products to retail and corporate customers. We supply personal, commercial and local authority insurance through a number of distribution channels, and offer a range of protection policies available online and through financial intermediaries for the retail market and via employee benefit consultants for the corporate market. Based in a number of locations across the UK - with large sites in Birmingham, Farnborough, Glasgow, London, Swindon and Whiteley - Zurich employs approximately 4,500 people in the UK.

• www.zurich.co.uk

About Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich)

Zurich Insurance Group is a leading multi-line insurer serving more than 55 million customers – both people and businesses – in more than 210 countries and territories. Founded 150 years ago, Zurich is transforming insurance. In addition to providing insurance protection, Zurich is increasingly offering prevention services such as those that promote wellbeing and enhance climate resilience. Reflecting its purpose to ‘create a brighter future together’, Zurich aspires to be one of the most responsible and impactful businesses in the world. It is targeting net-zero emissions by 2050 and is one of the world’s most sustainable insurers, as shown by the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment. In 2020, Zurich launched the Zurich Forest project to support reforestation and biodiversity restoration in Brazil. The Group has about 56,000 employees and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information is available at www.zurich.com.