How air quality data can help with better insurance underwriting?

Environmental intelligence is the combination of environmental and sustainability research that is driven by real-time data for air quality, weather, pollen count, and much more.

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With each passing year, deteriorating environmental factors have had a major impact on the planetary well being. Few of these factors include, but are not limited to, pollution, resulting in a deterioration of air quality and weather patterns.

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Air quality is indirectly responsible for 7 million deaths worldwide and loss of productivity that runs into billions. Poor air quality with unfavorable weather conditions together has a detrimental impact on our everyday lives.

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People turn to insurance companies only after the damage is done for standard claims - when a storm/wildfire has destroyed a home or when hospital bills from pollution-related ailments are piling up.

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This is where environmental intelligence can play a key role in frictionless data-driven decision making that boosts customer engagement, improves customer satisfaction and retention.

How is this possible?‍

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Better insurance underwriting with real-time air quality insights

Real-time air quality insights can help insurance companies with better underwriting, especially for health insurance plans. When assessing risk for health insurance plans, an important factor that is usually left out is the kind of air that customers are routinely exposed to.

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Toxic air quality levels have a significant impact on public health. According to the World Health Organization, 90% of the world’s population breathes in polluted air that causes a myriad of health risks from chronic coughing, wheezing, chest congestion, asthma to lung cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), heart diseases, and more. Pollution-dense areas have also seen higher Covid-19 mortality rates as per recent studies.

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Poor air quality is harmful not only to high-risk groups such as senior citizens, chronic patients, pregnant women, and children. It is also harmful to healthy individuals. Therefore, it is important to integrate air quality data when underwriting insurance. Insurers can deliver the best-suited insurance coverage with confidence as they are making data-driven decisions.‍

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Customizable user-specific insurance coverage

Real-time insights have the potential to be a major value add in providing customizable insurance coverage. For example, a person who lives near a current high-risk wildfire can be reached out to by an insurance agent and offered an increase in insurance coverage for that customer specifically.

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Now, insurance players can also be more aligned with the real-world scenario. Environmental insights help quantify the problem with real-time actionable data. The need for environmental intelligence in insurance is imperative with the growing levels of toxic air pollution, changing weather patterns, rampant wildfires across the world, and climate change.

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Personalized location-based environmental alerts

Integrating environmental intelligence can help insurance companies provide personalized preventative alerts for air, pollen, and weather for a user-specific location.

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Insurance customers can use these insights to take preventative measures to protect themselves and their loved ones. Preventative measure for -

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1. Toxic air pollution

    a.  Install indoor air filters at home & work and make sure to implement proper HVAC management.

    b.  When the air quality index is high, it is best that one stay indoors, limit outdoor activities, and exposure to pollution.

    c.  Wear a mask. Masks not only protect against Covid-19 but also help cut down the particulate matter you breathe in when you are in a highly polluted outdoor area.

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2. Extreme weather conditions

Timely weather forecasts of thunderstorms, hail, heatwaves, and more will help people stay indoors and plan their daily activities. With extreme weather conditions, it can be a matter of life or death and irreplaceable damage to home and property.

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3. High pollen count

     a.  High pollen count can aggravate hay fever in sensitive groups. When the pollen count is high, it is advisable to stay indoors and regulate your indoor air filters.

     b.  Asthma patients can be notified to use their inhalers when the pollen count is high.

When consumers adopt such preventative measures, the need for insurance claims will reduce marginally.

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Better customer satisfaction

Personalized environmental alerts will help insurance customers prevent disastrous incidents. These alerts will keep your customers informed and help build customer engagement with your app, website, etc.

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Improved insurance coverage with personalized alerts will also help in building trust. Building trust with your customers is significant to any company, resulting in customer satisfaction and retention.

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Now that you understand how environmental intelligence can empower insurance products and customer experience. Speak to our experts today to further explore first-to-market custom innovation opportunities that will help you secure market gain.