Stratospheric, AI-enabled robotic cameras on balloons could help you get your insurance claim check faster
Near Space Labs, a Brooklyn, New York-based startup, invented stratospheric, AI-enabled robotic cameras that fly on weather balloons.
The task for insurance adjusters is enormous in the wake of back to back hurricanes Helene and Milton, which caused catastrophic damage across several southern states.
Revolutionizing Insurance Adjusting: How New Technology is Accelerating the Claims Process
In the aftermath of back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton, insurance adjusters are facing an unprecedented challenge. For decades, they have relied on traditional methods to assess property damage, including flying small airplanes equipped with high-resolution cameras to view damage to roofs, structures, and neighborhoods.
However, a new wave of technology is poised to modernize and accelerate this process, using drones, artificial intelligence, and weather balloons to provide faster and more accurate assessments.
Enter Near Space Labs and Swifts
Near space Labs, a Brooklyn-based startup, has developed a revolutionary system called Swifts, which uses stratospheric, AI-enabled robotic cameras that fly on weather balloons. These balloons, which fly twice as high as airplanes cruise, provide high-resolution imagery over thousands of square miles, capturing what 800,000 drones would in a single flight. This means that insurance companies can access critical information immediately after a disaster, assess damage, and pay out claims within days instead of weeks and months.
The Benefits of Swifts
The SWIFT system offers several advantages over traditional methods. For one, it is faster, allowing insurance companies to respond quickly to disasters and provide relief to affected individuals and communities. Additionally, Swifts are more cost-effective, as they can capture vast amounts of data in a single flight, reducing the need for multiple flights and personnel. Finally, the system is more accurate, as the high-resolution imagery provides a detailed and comprehensive view of damage.
Beyond Disaster Response
While Swifts is designed to accelerate the claims process after natural disasters, it also has the potential to revolutionize the way insurance companies assess and price risk. By providing a cheap and abundant source of imagery, Swifts can feed into customer AI datasets, allowing for more accurate risk analysis and pricing. This is especially attractive to investors, who see the potential for significant returns.
Investment and Funding
Near Space Labs has already raised $24 million in funding from investors such as Third Sphere, Crosslink capital, Wireframe Ventures, IAG Firemark Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and Leadout Capital. The company has flown over 1,000 commercial missions to assess risk and is ramping up its operations for disaster response. By next year, Near Space Labs plans to have scaled its operations to the point where it can respond immediately to major climate disaster events.
The Future of Insurance Adjusting
The introduction of Swifts and other new technologies is poised to transform the insurance adjusting process. With its ability to provide fast, accurate, and cost-effective assessments, Swifts has the potential to revolutionize the way insurance companies respond to natural disasters. As the industry continues to evolve, it is likely that we will see even more innovative solutions emerge, further accelerating the claims process and providing relief to those affected by disasters.
In the future, we can expect to see even more advanced technologies being integrated into the insurance adjusting process. For example, the use of machine learning algorithms to analyze data from Swifts and other sources, allowing for even more accurate risk assessments and pricing. Additionally, the integration of other technologies such as satellite imaging and IoT sensors will provide even more comprehensive views of damage and risk.
Overall, the introduction of Swifts and other new technologies is poised to transform the insurance adjusting process, providing faster, more accurate, and more cost-effective assessments of damage and risk. As the industry continues to evolve, it is likely that we will see even more innovative solutions emerge, further accelerating the claims process and providing relief to those affected by disasters.
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