Modern Insurance Magazine Issue 60

EDITORIAL BOARD
Preparing for
Climate Risk
The Met Office predicts coastal flooding from
storms is expected to increase under climate
change, worsening the impacts of storm
surges 1 . Around 5 million people already live
in flood risk areas in England and Wales 2 , so
it is critical that insurance providers gain the
deepest understanding of the perils they and
their customers face.
Geospatial data intelligence is evolving to meet this need, but so too
are the platforms to access this data – making it swifter and simpler for
insurance providers to act on a holistic and cohesive view of risk built
from multiple data sets.
Surge events are sudden by their very nature, but it’s now possible to
visualise perils in real-time to make a full, fast and accurate assessment
of environmental risk, putting insurance providers on the front-foot
to help manage the risk. Geospatial data visualisation tools such
as LexisNexis® Map View help insurance providers to understand
their exposures and accumulations at a glance, predicting which
policyholders could be vulnerable in the path of a storm or flood.
One peril that has really come to the forefront in the last few years is
flash flooding, causing devastating floods to basements 3 . In response
to this rising threat, the LexisNexis® Basements Indicator goes further
to help property insurance providers identify whether a basement
or an underground level may be present in a home or a commercial
building. This is essential knowledge not only for pricing, but also for
risk mitigation as a peril advances.
Meanwhile, subsidence prone areas are set to double by 2050 4 .
Therefore, access to detailed information about trees (which can add
to subsidence risk around a property) is valuable. Insurance providers
can now understand the location, canopy cover and height of trees 3
metres and taller in the proximity of the properties they are insuring.
Windstorms are amongst the most damaging natural hazards leading
to insurance surge events. However, new modelling solutions - such
as the LexisNexis® Windstorm Model - predict maximum wind gust
speeds as a better predictor for property and structural damage,
compared to sustained wind speeds.
Climate change is already affecting our daily lives, and these changes
may become more marked as weather extremes continue. However, a
host of geospatial data intelligence has kept pace with these changes,
allowing insurance providers to make more informed decisions when it
comes to pricing policies accurately and fairly, mitigating risk as perils
approach whilst revealing potential hotspots for claims.
Caroline Elliott-Grey,
Product Manager, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Insurance, U.K.
and Ireland
1 https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/understanding-climate/uk-and-globalextreme-events-wind-storms
2 https://reachandrescue.com/flood-statistics/
3 https://www.ncl.ac.uk/apl/news/item/london-basement-extensions/
4 https://www.bgs.ac.uk/datasets/geoclimate-ukcp09-and-ukcp18/
A Resilience Strategy
for the Future
Our supply chains have evolved to meet the
pressures of the past few years, with glass
supply across Europe and Asia providing
global sourcing flexibility. We’ve increased our
stock holding capacity across the UK as part
of our long-term strategy towards improving
resilience, including the expansion of our
infrastructure with new, strategically located
branches and warehouses, allowing us to
deliver glass in the quickest possible time.
An increased focus on our digital capabilities - considering
automation, AI and robotics - futureproofs our customer journey,
working to fulfil the expectations of customers in this digital age.
This also provides an additional layer of resilience at various stages of
the customer journey.
In an environment where recruitment is more challenging than
ever, developing and retaining our existing team is a priority. Whilst
attracting new talent to the business, we also seek to provide our
existing team with development opportunities as a key part of our
resilience strategy.
Climate change is affecting the predictability of seasonal demands
in windscreen repair and replacement. Our business resilience
strategy has certainly had to adapt to allow for this increase in peaks
and troughs in the volume of jobs, all of which is dependent on
fluctuations in the weather.
We are acutely aware of the need to look at every aspect of our
operations and supply chain to drive towards net zero. We are
working with our suppliers and recycling partners to pave the way to
a circular economy by recycling 100% of the 3,300 tonnes of glass
that we replace each year.
I am excited for the release of our sustainability report, which enables
us to set our short-term and long-term ESG targets and measure the
progress that we have made as a business.
Watch this space!
Simon Hunt,
Commercial & Services Director, National Windscreens
MODERN INSURANCE | 19