Lloyd’s using Google Earth maps to plot exposures

The Lloyds insurance market has obtained a licence from Google to offer underwriters the means to see Lloyds data on Google Earth maps, allowing underwriters to plot their exposure to hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorist attacks and other catastrophes.In a press release posted online, Lloyds says its 42 managing agents can use Googles popular mapping service to ensure they are better prepared to manage the worlds risks.Insurers can input their data and see at the touch of a button what they could be liable for in the event of a calamity such as an earthquake in San Francisco, a hurricane in Florida or another terrorist attack on New York, Lloyds notes.Paul Nunn, Lloyds head of exposure management, says: This is really geared to helping syndicates build the ability to manage their portfolios of risk more effectively.One of the big issues that came out of the record 2005 hurricane season was that Hurricane Katrina caused a few surprises to insurers because they were largely using property catastrophe models to manage their accumulation of risks.While such models can be very useful, they did not capture all the ways that people sustained losses because people were relying on one approach, rather than looking at their exposure in a more holistic way.Lloyds believes that Google Earth, because it allows underwriters to see aerial, colourful and three-dimensional views of their properties, can help plug that gap.The market is offering software to use in conjunction with Google Maps; the software features a continuous colour scheme that helps draw underwriters eyes to areas of most exposure, plotting this on a map of a territory so that they can take this into account when writing new risks.The software is three-dimensional, so large exposures can be shown vertically as well as by colour coding. Policy information and other data can also be layered on top to help managing agents keep abreast of what risks they have in their portfolios and where they are most vulnerable.When applied to showing hurricane loss potential, Nunn likens the visual effect to a white picket fence stretching, for example, along the hurricane-prone east coast of the U.S. The fenceposts would appear at different heights and be highlighted in different colours to indicate the pockets where insurers were most heavily exposed.It should give underwriters increased confidence that theyre not going to be caught out by a hotspot. Nunn says. Underwriters already do this on physical maps in two dimensions. Now they can add a third dimension.