ICEYE, a provider of satellite data and services to inform decision-making and analysis, has partnered with insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment fund manager, Fermat Capital Management, to explore how world monitoring data can bolster sector returns, enhance relations and improve climate resilience.
ICEYE is the owner of the world’s largest SAR satellite constellation, which provides access to a high level of persistent monitoring for any location, enabling more granular data and insights into natural catastrophes.
The strategic collaboration between ICEYE and Fermat sees the former provide the latter with near real-time flood hazard data and support R&D into other natural perils.
Specifically, ICEYE will provide the ILS investment fund manager with high-resolution flood data for large events, including information on flood extent and depth at the building level.
ICEYE is able to provide granular hazard and damage data thanks to its SAR satellite constellation, while a range of auxiliary sources will also support the exploration of new potential use cases.
John Seo, Co-founder and Managing Director at Fermat, commented: “ICEYE has established a proposition that is unique in the market. Its SAR satellite constellation and AI capabilities generate critical natural catastrophe intelligence in near real-time.
“We are excited about the potential of this new relationship. It enables us to provide our investor clients with additional insights. Just as importantly, it creates significant opportunities to broaden the private re/insurance and ILS market’s role in enhancing resilience to climate shocks.”
Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder of ICEYE, said: “Our alliance with Fermat, a pioneer of insurance-linked securities, marks our entrance into this highly dynamic and expanding marketplace. Fermat has been at the center of the ILS sector since its inception, and through our collaboration, we aim to facilitate the continued evolution of this market by enabling a deeper understanding of natural catastrophes.”
Andy Read, Global Head of Government Solutions at ICEYE, added: “By providing ILS fund managers and investors with high-resolution insights, ICEYE is enabling a stepchange in how the capital markets approach high-gradient perils such as flood.
“Alternative capital plays an important role in maintaining the resilience and stability of the re/insurance market in the face of natural disasters and therefore, ultimately, of communities themselves. Understanding the impact of flooding in near-real time is essential to the ongoing evolution of this sector and for developing solutions that will help communities better manage and respond to floods and other climate shocks.”
