Live flood alert insurtech Previsico has announced that it will be connecting to the “revolutionary” Meteosat Third Generation satellite system, which will enhance the way it can deliver timely and accurate flood warnings.
Currently, Previsico provides real-time, property-level surface water flood forecasts to insurers (including big names like Zurich, Liberty, and Generali) and property owners, which would enable them to mitigate flood impacts. The forecasts are given up to 48 hours in advance and are kept updated with new weather data.
Previsico explained in a release that with existing weather forecasting technologies, it can still be difficult to predict storms that can change weather patterns by the hour. But Meteosat’s Third Generation system provides 50 times more data than any of its previous satellites, which would greatly improve the accuracy of future forecasts.
The first such Third Generation satellite was launched on December 13, a release said. Ultimately, the plan is to have three satellites in geostationary orbit 36,000 km above the African equator to comprise the system, which would provide images of Europe every 2.5 minutes.
“The cost of flooding to the global economy is significant, well-known, and forecast to increase greatly in the future due to increasingly volatile weather caused by global warming,” said Previsico CEO Jonathan Jackson. “Yet many of these flood impacts are entirely avoidable with the right technology in place. The data from Meteosat will enable Previsico to take our already world-leading service to the next level.”
Last August, Previsico launched its live flood forecasting alert service in the US. The insurtech partnered with Nexus Alpha USA for its American debut, with the service running a pilot in New York. The flood alert service will be rolled out into other states once demand for it grows, the company stated.
