Sustainability in claims: Are drones definitely up there?
The insurance industry has been adopting more eco-friendly solutions over the last few years and it undoubtedly has a significant role to play in realising sustainability. It’s increasingly important to our planet that claims, for example, are economically affordable - for both the insurer and for the customer and that the impact does not leave a negative effect on the earth. The introduction of more sustainable claims initiatives, such as the use of drones, is allowing the collection of data for assessing claims - but with a lower carbon footprint. The drone approach also has additional benefits for insurers as well, in terms of resource efficiency, which ultimately reduces costs to the industry and the customer.
Flying high above the curve, Zurich teamed up with specialist drone flight company, Iprosurv, in 2018. We have stringent service level agreements in place, to ensure we can be on-site and filming in the early stages of the incident, and the drones help with cause and origin investigations. They have offered us a new insight into the claims process, as they provide a richer picture of the extent and context surrounding the damage - subsequently, they are a key part of a more sustainable claims operation. We do not expect drones to replace real people, but rather to make the claims process more efficient and environmentally-minded. The advantage of utilising drone technology, especially coupled with high definition cameras, is that we can look at risks when assessing exposure prior to inception, evaluate the ongoing risk, and post loss incidents in the claims environment. The benefit stretches to the assessment for wide area damage such as flooding, storms, fire and civil disturbance.
‘Greener’ and faster surveys
Recent examples of how drones are being deployed by Zurich are as follows:
In Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, a light industrial factory which was harbouring an illegal cannabis farm, caught fire and caused considerable damage to both the unit itself and our policyholder’s unit next to it. We were instructed by the customer to deal with the various aspects of the loss. Instead of a costly and lengthy site visit, involving multiple parties and the expenses associated with this, a drone and a single operator were deployed to take high definition videos, images and carry-out 3D modelling of the extent of the damage. We were able to review and assess the claim quickly - at a cost of £1.5 million. The customer was provided with a fast response and interim payments in just a few days, as we were able to review the 3D model to ascertain the potential cost of repairs and materials required. This had a dramatic effect on the policyholder’s business, The claim was settled on a cash basis at the request of the insured, allowing them to reinstate in a method suitable to them in their own chosen time frame. If drones hadn't been deployed, the previous method to review and assess claims like these would have required the loss adjuster to visit the site and subsequent visits may have also been required in order to take additional photos or our claims team/broker may have needed to attend themselves to verify information. The single drone and operator is outperforming the traditional method, by mitigating the necessity for multiple car trips and cutting down on the harmful greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere.
Sometimes fires are unavoidable accidents, but often there are things that can be put in place to help minimise the risk to people and living spaces. A high-rise block of flats in Essex, unfortunately withstood a fire and as part of the claims process, we deployed a drone to the site. During the survey, we were able to evidence and capture video footage that one of the adjoining flats had a BBQ on its balcony. This permitted Zurich to bring this serious issue to the property management company’s attention, so that they could investigate and advise residents against use due to the potential danger. A true testament to the benefit of using drones from a risk management perspective.
Hassle-free service
Elsewhere we have seen meaningful benefits in our personal lines business as well. In March this year, we introduced the use of drones in our ‘Express’ team - an initiative developed to dramatically reduce the time it takes to make a claim and provide a ‘hassle-free’ service for our customers. A policyholder contacted Zurich to report storm damage to their roof which was part of a block of flats. On investigation, there hadn’t been any record of storm conditions at the time the customer said the damage happened. Far from declining the claim, we captured aerial images using a drone and documented the damage which had impacted the roof. We were able to quickly agree that the damage was caused by a storm. Using the drone helped to reduce the cost of inspection, as there was no scaffolding required to gain access to the hard to reach area of the roof. Drone technology benefited the customer as it helped to provide a faster claims resolution time and there was minimum disturbance created for the residents at the block of flats - compared to alternative methods.
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