Forbes McKenzie, CEO of MIS, looks back on the past year and what is planned for 2021 and beyond
This year has been a year like no other, and for us here at MIS we have delivered intelligence against a staggering 70 events; from witnessing the most active hurricane season on record, to earthquakes and wildfires, right through to the impact of explosions, political unrest, terror and of course the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
To deliver intelligence for exposure management, claims, disputes and litigation in the event of such incidents, geospatial data and aerial, drone and satellite imagery is vital, and the benefits of these assets have been magnified during 2020. Clients are using our intel in their workflows like never before and this year alone we have delivered financial exposure analysis worth more than $1bn to global insurer clients, as well as responding to intelligence gaps created by the pandemic by creating the world’s only reliable database of regulation at US County level.
Client confidence
Our intelligence is based on curated, best-in-class imagery and data, which allows us to assess individual areas or entire portfolios remotely. Incredibly accurate exposure data is available within hours and we are taking big steps towards claims payment automation.
Culturally, we feel that trust in real time intelligence, IoT and improved imagery has really rocketed this year and we have quickly become a favoured source to deliver reliable and timely post event analysis. This can be seen from our ongoing relationships with the world’s leading insurance brands, the European Space Agency, and also the UK Department for International Trade, with whom we have been involved in a number of virtual trade missions this year.
Alongside these milestones, 2020 has also been a year of progression at MIS. In addition to rebranding our company and expanding our internal team, we have developed our machine learning and data science capability – a move which will help us deliver real time, highly accurate exposure analysis to support automation and decision making at scale via our Global Event Observer (GEO) tech build.
As we look ahead to 2021, we can already see that insurers are ready to focus on returns and the value of Insurtech – something which we will support by directing our attention on ecosystems. With parametric solutions moving further into the mainstream as well, we are – thanks to our already established GEO technology – well positioned to help new entrants enter into the market in a cost-effective manner. These worthwhile partnerships will help us and the industry as a whole really move the dial forward.
