World-leading provider of natural catastrophe data and satellite data – ICEYE, has announced that its satellite data and imagery will be explored to provide the inputs to support the parametric insurance trigger for a recently announced UNDP backed project in Ghana.
It was recently announced that Allianz and Swiss Re – two members of the Insurance Development Forum (IDF) will lead the project, which will enhance the capabilities of the government to respond to and better support those impacted by urban flooding.
The project is expected to boost Ghana’s socioeconomic resilience by de-risking development investments in the Greater Accra Region.
Now, ICEYE has revealed that it is set to provide high-resolution hazard data in the event of a flood.
The company will combine its SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) imagery with data from unnamed sources, and then verify both the extent and depth of any flooding that occurs.
ICEYE noted that the comprehensive and accurate nature of its solution will help to reduce the basis risk, “ensuring that payouts are both timely and in line with expectations.”
Even more importantly, the flood data will also help inform response and recovery decisions throughout the region.
Angela Lusigi, UNDP Country Representative, commented: “At UNDP Ghana, we are committed to supporting integrated development solutions that build resilience across society to protect Ghana’s development progress. This project to develop an innovative insurance solution for managing flood risks and to provide rapid payouts as a safety net for poor and vulnerable urban communities is welcome.
“It will serve as a boost to government and private sector efforts to provide wider access to insurance and risk finance. By blending the financial-solution expertise developed by the government, with the long-term development and governance support offered by UNDP in partnership with the private sector, we will be able to advance Ghana’s ambitious development agenda.”
“This alternative risk transfer scheme will be the first of its kind in the region and shows the desire of all parties involved to innovate in order to break barriers, bring down basis risk, and improve disaster recovery outcomes. That includes the demand from the government to try something new, the innovation of all partners to construct this programme, and the power of ICEYE data to enable it,” says Lukas Sundermann, Senior Product Manager for Public Sector Solutions at Swiss Re, speaking on behalf of the IDF project team.
Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder of ICEYE, added: “We are extremely proud to be part of a project to help ensure the safety and financial security of those most exposed to floods in Ghana.
“By rapidly combining data from our satellite constellation with auxiliary information, we can inform decision making with an entirely new level of accuracy, consistency and resolution that has never been possible before. ICEYE’s data will be central to the success of this important project for the insurance sector and the global development community.”
