Rapid-payout flood cover for SMEs

Catastrophic flooding costs $41bn in uninsured losses annually - and that number is growing. Traditional insurance methods have failed to close the growing "protection gap". Modelling the costs of catastrophes is often too difficult and traditional forecasting consistently fall short. When a risk becomes too difficult to model, there are two results: costs increase to unaffordable levels, or insurers walk away entirely. Either way people are left without the cover that they desperately need.

Parametric insurance has been hailed as the answer, but historically it needed lots of expensive equipment, data and people. Smaller businesses simply couldn’t afford the infrastructure. FloodFlash founders Adam and Ian realised that with the right data modelling and technology, this form of insurance could help millions around the world. They started FloodFlash with one mission: to make the world more resilient to catastrophic loss.

FloodFlash is a new type of rapid-payout flood insurance. It uses cutting-edge data modelling and connected tech to bring parametric insurance to the mass market for the first time. The result is fast, easy and flexible cover that pays claims within days of a flood.

Rapid-payout flood insurance is changing the way that UK businesses and landlords recover from flooding. Here’s how it works:

• Select: the client choose the trigger depths and payout values for their cover
• Install: FloodFlash engineers visit and install a mobile-connected sensor
• Measure: when the sensor detects flood water at the pre-agreed depth, the payout is sent

The sensor provides flood data accurate to the insured property. That accuracy means FloodFlash only engage in risk-based pricing and can pay claims much faster than possible in traditional indemnity insurance. Here are the key features:

• high-accuracy, ultra-sonic depth measurement
• long-life battery to last 7-12 years
• internet connectivity to send up-to-date flood data
• memory chip to store data for when networks fail
• tamper and storm resistant
• simple, fast installation

One of the key benefits to FloodFlash is that its high-resolution data supports risk-based pricing. This means that it provides quotes for 99% of properties regardless of their flood risk or claims history. Beyond that there are three key benefits that make FloodFlash a great choice, even when traditional options are available:

• Fast: FloodFlash pays claims within days of a flood. The fastest claims to date (Q1 2020) happened in just 26 hours and 15 minutes after Storm Ciara in February 2020
• Easy: there are no long documents or negotiation either at inception or at claim. The simple policy structure makes for much more transparent cover
• Flexible: clients control every aspect of their cover: the trigger depths, payout values, where the sensor is placed and how they spend the payouts are all in their hands