Previsico goes live in New York to mitigate future losses following record flooding
- Published
- October 30, 2023
Previsico’s model showed high levels of accuracy for the recent record flooding in New York, which led to the close of major infrastructure, including LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy Airport
31 October 2023: Previsico today announces it has gone live in New York with its flood forecasting technology, following the recent record flooding there and US$2.mil of further funding to support its accelerated growth in the US market.
The accuracy of the New York modelling and the future benefit it can provide to insurers and their clients is hugely encouraging, as Previsico’s aim is to mitigate surface water flood losses for insurers and their customers in the US, one of the world’s most affected markets.
Previsico focused on New York because it has previously experienced serious flood issues and losses over the years, even before the recent record flooding. Other states, such as Nevada where Las Vegas recently suffered multiple and lethal flash floods, will follow as demand increases.
Jonathan Jackson, Previsico’s CEO, said: “Our move into the US market demonstrates our determination to continuously improve and extend our unique flood forecasting service. Working in partnership with the US insurance market, we will be able to help save people, properties, and businesses from the devastating impacts of flooding by mitigating its impact, particularly the effects of surface water.”
Today, half of all US economic losses from flood are due to pluvial flooding (Nature.com 2022). However, actionable flood warnings are only available for major river systems and coastal flooding with flash flood warnings only via weather alerts. These, while useful, do not take account of local conditions that makes them less actionable for loss prevention activities. In addition, a threefold increase in damage to commercial property from climate-related risks is now predicted by risk analysts XDI 1000 by 2050.
The technology offered by Previsico gives insurers the ability to alert customers of immediate risks to their properties, so they can move valuables to higher ground or set up temporary flood defences in the case of an imminent flood – a win-win for insurers and their customers.
Previsico has already gained great traction worldwide, following 20 years of academic research, and is now supporting insurers such as Liberty, Zurich, Generali, and their clients with live actionable flood warnings for surface water flooding to mitigate losses.
Working with Lloyd’s Lab in London, UK, underwriters agreed Previsico’s warnings can mitigate 70% or more of commercial loss for businesses with a flood plan and resilience measures.
Previsico’s next generation live flood forecasting solution brings together the latest US weather data from IBM, IoT devices on the ground, and its advanced flood modelling capabilities to address the increasing global issue of surface water flooding for insurers, the public sector, and major corporate clients and SMEs.