Floodbase adds SAR data to enhance its parametric flood triggers

Insurtech Floodbase, which acts as a data provider and reporting agent for parametric risk transfer arrangements, is set to integrate 24/7, all-weather synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data into its flood solution, enhancing the coverage and granularity which can make parametric flood insurance and risk transfer triggers more accurate.

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data differs to optical satellite imagery in a number of ways, while optical imagery is similar to photography, SAR data involves signals that are responsive to surface characteristics, like structure and moisture.

As a result, SAR data can be used to measure flood waters and another benefit is that SAR data can be collected at night and through clouds, as well.

Floodbase has partnered with Capella Space Corp., an American space tech company with data and satellite solutions for government and commercial applications.

The partnership with see high-resolution SAR satellite data collected by Capella Space Corp. used in Floodbase’s end-to-end solution for parametric flood insurance.

Floodbase said this will, “enable enhanced payout trigger certification of parametric insurance products by capturing the magnitude of flooding at high resolution and regardless of cloud cover.”

Floodbase uses a number of data sets already for its parametric flood and other peril risk transfer data solutions.

The company explains, “Floodbase’s multi-sensor fusion approach allows the company to seamlessly add additional sensors for payout trigger certification to optimize policy design for clients. Leveraging Capella’s automated tasking API, Floodbase can quickly task SAR imagery when need at night or through cloudy conditions to validate flood maps and verify the magnitude of floods at specific locations. This will strengthen Floodbase’s ability to produce reliable, large-area flood maps, regardless of weather or time of day.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Floodbase to leverage the value of Capella’s all-weather SAR imagery and automated tasking system to help close the flood insurance gap,” explained Dan Getman, VP of Product at Capella Space. “The combination of Floodbase’s large-area parametric insurance solution with Capella’s high-resolution SAR imagery will unlock new parametric use cases to support at-risk communities of severe flooding events.”

“Floodbase has a high bar for accuracy and reliability when evaluating new sensors. We were incredibly impressed with the resolution and reliability of Capella’s SAR sensor, and especially excited about the ability to automate tasking via API,” added Annbjørg Medhaug, Chief Product & Strategy Officer at Floodbase. “A Parametric flood insurance solution built on Floodbase and Capella data will be superior than competing solutions for a broad range of use cases and clients, and I’m excited to scale the combined solution.”