Hurricane Irma covers Florida

Florida's state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has joined the Geospatial Intelligence Center, an insurance industry consortium spearheaded by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

In a statement, the NICB said that, as the GIC's newest member, Citizens now has access to advanced imagery and data to better serve its policyholders to expedite claims and improve fraud detection following a hurricane or other disaster.

The GIC combines the technical expertise of Vexcel Imaging, a photogrammetric and remote-sensing company, and Esri, which provides geographic information systems, to provide the tools and analytics to help insurers make decisions when writing a policy and dealing with disaster claims, according to the NICB.

In the days after a disaster, GIC aircraft fly over impacted areas to capture and assess damage to provide members with unprecedented imagery and data on impacted properties. The NICB, working with law enforcement and disaster scene commanders, has provided the center with access to disaster areas as soon as it is safe to fly. The center provides imagery and data to members within 24 to 36 hours of the aircraft touching down.

In 2017, Citizens tested the program after Hurricane Irma and sped up the claims process by several weeks. With the post-disaster survey-grade aerial imagery, Citizens was able to better identify high-damage areas, which helped with the placement of RVs and tents at Citizens response centers, the NICB noted.

“The GIC provides the technology needed to provide a fast assessment of damage in the aftermath of a disaster,” said NICB chief operating officer Jim Schweitzer. “We are proud that Citizens recognizes the value of getting quick access to disaster areas, particularly those affected by hurricanes in Florida, to better serve its policyholders and get them on the road to recovery faster.”

The bureay explained the center provides members with tools to compare before and after high-resolution imagery for catastrophic events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, hailstorms, and wildfires.

The imagery is free to first responders and emergency personnel to allow them to better assess the extent of damages and coordinate their response. The bureau said the information also provides valuable evidence to help fight fraudulent claims, which are a frequent problem after catastrophes.