Munich Re leverages technology to keep up with evolving risks

Evolving risks, both natural and man-made, have impacted the daily operations of insurance carriers worldwide. Whether it’s a growing occurrence of auto accidents or the increasing frequency and severity of weather events, carriers are handling a rising volume of insurance claims, which is taxing human resources and, in many instances, demanding improved industry methodology.

In response, Munich Re provides a suite of innovative risk assessment tools that will

1. Better measure, monitor, and manage potential and actual damage caused by
   — Automobile accidents
   — Equipment malfunction
   — Natural catastrophes
2. Simplify, expedite and lower costs associated with the underwriting process
3. Accelerate and take some of the stress out of the claims process for the policy holder, creating a better customer experience

Here are a few of the exciting solutions being developed within the Munich Re group across the globe to digitally assess risk and better mitigate it in an effort to prevent loss.

According to the National Safety Council, 40,000 people lost their lives to auto accidents in 2018.¹ In an effort to lessen that number in the future, Munich Re created LossDetect®, an automated text-mining tool that helps carriers identify ways to increase safety and reduce collisions for their fleet owning clients. Our award-winning product analyzes unstructured auto claims data to determine cause of loss and matches it with one or more of our Smart Mobility program’s solutions for reducing auto collisions.

Click here for more information about LossDetect® and Munich Re’s Smart Mobility program.

Originally developed for military use in the 1950s, thermal imaging has been adapted for use in several industries, including the insurance industry. Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB) is at the forefront of thermal imaging innovation with its Infrared Thermography service. Instead of using thermal imaging to simply identify existing issues in electrical and mechanical equipment, HSB’s Infrared Thermography service identifies issues before they become failures and suggests corrective actions for them, helping to prevent loss and maintain uninterrupted service.

Click here for more information about Hartford Steam Boiler’s Infrared Thermography service. 

2017 hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria resulted in US$ 215 million worth of damage² and illuminated the challenge carriers face in protecting cities and businesses from natural catastrophes. Munich Re is rising to this challenge with its Remote Industries hurricane tool suite.

Remote Industries uses high-resolution aerial imagery, computer vision, and machine learning to provide a more cost-effective way for carriers to manage hurricane and tornado claims. Ultimately, it delivers a better customer experience for their insureds. Munich Re Remote Industries is now able to predict where and how likely property damage in a hurricane will occur two days before it makes landfall. It can also accurately detect how much damage to a roof or building was caused. The solution is based on high-resolution imagery collected by manned aircraft across the US and Caribbean.

Click here to watch a brief video about the Remote Industries tool. Additional information about Remote Industries can be found here.

In 2018, the state of California experienced its worst wildfire season on record, with more than US$ 16.5 billion in losses in the month of November alone.³ Munich Re’s new wildfire risk map will be instrumental in mitigating future instances of this unpredictable disaster.

Munich Re’s Wildfire HD Risk Score—part of the Munich Re Risk Suite, a comprehensive set of software solutions for risk management—is calculated using our claims experience and scientific assessment of the impacts of climate change. Features include higher resolution to better resolve Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), easy-to-visualize maps for risk acceptance, and API availability for flexible integration to your existing tools and processes. And it takes into account the latest knowledge on the impacts of climate change.

Click here for more information about our Wildfire HD Risk Score and Risk Suite.

The most comprehensive tool in Munich Re’s arsenal of natural disaster risk assessment vehicles is NATHAN, the Natural Hazards Assessment Network.

With overall losses of US$ 160bn and US$ 80bn in insured losses in 2018 from natural catastrophes, insurers need to evaluate whether they need to realign their risk management and underwriting strategies.⁴ Our Natural Hazards Assessment Network, part of the Munich Re Risk Suite, helps insurers assess the risks of natural hazards around the world, from location-based individual risk through entire risk portfolios. It speeds up business processes and enhances both portfolio management and claims management, and it provides underwriters and risk managers with a common baseline for benchmarking and comparative risk assessment for further underwriting action. It also provides location risk intelligence to enhance risk analysis. 

Click here for more information about NATHAN for Location Risk Intelligence.

Contact your Munich Re client manager or one of our experts below to learn how these solutions and other Munich Re risk assessment tools can benefit your clients.

Smart Mobility program and LossDetect®

Mike Scrudato, Strategic Innovation Leader–Incubator, MScrudato@munichreamerica.com

Bruce Weisgerber, Mobility Solutions Center Leader, INC–Smart Mobility Accelerator, BWeisgerber@munichreamerica.com

Infrared Thermography service

Ronald (JR) Smith, AVP Thermographic Services, ronald_smith_jr@hsb.com

Remote Industries

Roman Bugler, Senior Project Manager–Co-lead, RBuegler@munichre.com

Larry Calhoun, General Adjuster–Property Technical Team 1, LaCalhoun@munichre.com

Wildfire HD Risk Score

Sergey Obolensky, Senior Sales Manager–RID1.5, SObolensky@munichre.com

Munich Re Risk Suite and Natural Hazards Assessment Network

Dr. Jürgen Schimetschek, Project Manager–RID1.5, JSchimetschek@munichre.com