As flooding becomes a growing concern in property insurance, this partnership will provide insurers with top-quality environmental data

Cytora, the leading digital risk processing platform, has partnered with innovative environmental data specialist, GeoSmart Information.

The integration of GeoSmart Information’s data into Cytora’s digital risk processing platform will mean insurers have access to almost complete flood and climate risk data, enabling more comprehensive risk evaluation and decision-making.

GeoSmart Information focuses on creating and distributing advanced flood risk maps and data, which assess flood risk at the level of individual properties. As climate change and an increase in storms heighten flood risks for homes and businesses, this data becomes increasingly crucial for property insurance underwriters. It aids insurers in risk selection, claims certification, and determining flood risk premiums.

Cytora’s partnership with GeoSmart Information is the latest in a series of partnerships that Cytora has signed as part of its mission to build one of the world’s most comprehensive data ecosystems for insurers. It also follows a period of significant growth for Cytora including agreeing a major collaboration with Chubb and the launch of the latest enhancement to its platform which leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) alongside Cytora’s proprietary AI to bring a new level of efficiency to risk assessment, underwriting and claim management processes.

Juan de Castro, COO at Cytora, says: “At Cytora, we are committed to empowering insurers with the most advanced tools for assessing and managing risks. Our partnership with GeoSmart Information and the integration of their data into our platform is a testament to this commitment.

“At a time when there is heightened uncertainty as a result of climate change, it equips insurers with a powerful resource for understanding and mitigating flood and other environmental-related risks, ultimately helping them provide superior insurance solutions.”

Mark Fermor, Director at GeoSmart Information, says: “With flooding the biggest natural peril we face in the UK, and risks doubling this generation, it is vital that insurers access more complete flood risk data to inform pricing and underwriting and risk mitigation decisions.  We are delighted to be working with Cytora to make our more complete property-level FloodSmart Analytics data accessible through their leading-edge platform for the insurance industry, helping to ensure an enhanced and faster decision-making process for Cytora’s customers when it comes to managing such risks effectively.”

Groundwater Flooding and GeoSmart

Groundwater flooding occurs when the water table rises to the surface, typically after prolonged rainfall. This type of flooding is particularly challenging because it can persist for extended periods, causing significant damage to buildings and their contents through mould and rot. Unlike fluvial flooding, which can be managed with river defences, groundwater flooding requires different strategies as it can occur behind such defences if the groundwater table rises. GeoSmart has developed a high-resolution national groundwater emergence map to help insurers and other stakeholders understand the full scope of potential flood losses. This map provides detailed risk analysis at an individual property level, considering multiple flood sources and their combined effects. Such comprehensive data is crucial for creating accurate portfolio risk assessments and informing insurance premium calculations

  • GeoSmart’s Groundwater Flood Risk Map: GeoSmart has introduced the GW5 groundwater flood risk map, which offers unparalleled detail at a 5-meter resolution. This map uses the latest LIDAR data to reveal the complex relationship between terrain and groundwater “ponding,” allowing for better risk calculations and resilience planning.
  • Climate Change and Flood Risk: GeoSmart’s datasets now include projections of flood risk under various climate change scenarios, focusing on future epochs like 2030, 2050, and 2080. These projections are crucial for understanding the long-term impacts of climate change on flood risk and are increasingly being incorporated into conveyancing reports to provide a comprehensive view of potential risks for property transactions.
  • Growing Interest from Insurers: There is a rising interest among insurers in using GeoSmart’s groundwater forecasts to provide advanced warnings to policyholders. This proactive approach helps in planning mitigation and flood response activities, highlighting the growing recognition of groundwater flooding as a significant risk factor.

GeoSmart Information is a leading, independent provider of high-quality flood risk data and analytics. Data as a service with multi-metric loss modelling predictions of flood depth, probability, with risk indices and climate change impacts. GeoSmart enables enhanced underwriting decisions from strategic to individual customer interactions.