Aerial data collection company DataWing Global has claimed that insurers could significantly reduce their response times and lower costs by 40% if they use drone technology for their damage assessments during the upcoming 2018 storm season.
DataWing suggests that by working with independent drone pilots, insurers could inspect roofs and other home facilities 2-3 times faster than with current methods, and avoid the costly and dangerous process of sending out ‘ladder teams’ to inspect each home in person.
Drones can fly over properties, take pictures, and deliver the data via cloud, and can be used to maximise efficiency by grouping assessments with similar times and geographies, allowing companies like DataWing to act upon a claim in less than 4 hours and supply data to an analysis team within 12-18 hours.
Re/insurers have increasingly been relying on drone technology to deal with the billions of dollars of annual losses caused by the storm season, and Goldman Sachs estimates that the insurance claims drone market is currently worth $1.4 billion.
Delays in dealing with claims are particularly problematic following large-scale events like hurricanes, but DataWing maintains that drone technology could allow insurers to respond to claims within 12 hours, rather than 60-90 days, even in such extreme circumstances.
DataWing currently uses SmartSky, an internal scheduling program, to maintain constant communication with its pilots and to monitor their availability, and implements strict compliance standards to ensure the quality of its data collection.
Steven Fargo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at DataWing Global, commented: “DataWing is helping insurance carriers in three main ways: increasing adjustor efficiency in completing claims, decreasing safety risk by allowing personnel to stay off of the roofs, and also achieving faster payment turnaround for the benefit of the insured.”
“Our mission is to help homeowners get their lives back together, faster,” added DataWing’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Landon Phillips.
