Insurers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to help risk manage coverage offerings of all kinds, including motor, property and cyber. This technology is also providing brokers with more ways to help clients reduce risks. Some industry stakeholders, including insurers, are strong advocates for more AI use across government and the private sector as a key to fighting Australia’s climate driven natural catastrophes.
"We see AI not just as tools for assessing risk, but as powerful enablers for actively reducing it,” said Vinod Sukumaran (pictured above). Sukumaran is head of Business Intelligence and Data Technology for Allianz Technology SE in Australia.
“It’s about moving from hindsight to foresight – by delivering faster crisis response, personalised coverage and predictive damage mitigation, we empower customers to make smarter decisions under pressure and build greater resilience, together,” said Sukumaran.
Local government policy is supporting this approach. The Australian government’s National Disaster Risk Reduction Framework is establishing better shared information platforms, harmonised data standards and advanced modelling tools using AI.
For example, the National Joint Common Operating Picture (NJCOP) is already providing near-real-time data sharing and operational visibility. According to its website, the NJCOP’s National Situation Room (NSR) provides “24/7 all-hazards situational awareness, impact analysis and decision support capability, through its crisis operations, anticipatory analysis and planning capabilities.”
The National Bushfire Intelligence Capability, developed by CSIRO and the Australian Climate Service (ACS), is building a scalable, national view of bushfire risk. For example, a Post-bushfire assessment app for use by government agencies and other “relevant organisations” that can conduct “rapid assessments and detailed surveys on bushfire affected areas in the field.”
The focus of government agency initiatives, like some led by the ACS, is to deliver integrated risk platforms that combine hazard, exposure and vulnerability data to support both operational and strategic decisions across government and industry, according to Keir Garrett, .
Garrett is regional vice president of Cloudera Australia and New Zealand, a data and analytics technology firm. She said data, paired with AI and delivered through secure, flexible, modern data architectures is key.
“Together, these initiatives are laying the groundwork for a new kind of public infrastructure: one where trusted, AI-ready data can move securely and seamlessly between agencies, sectors, and frontline teams,” said Sydney-based Garrett.
She said these tech initiatives aim to help give decision makers, including government emergency services and insurer’s nat cat teams, the clarity and confidence to stay ahead of fast-moving situations and act before issues escalate.
“For example, AI can forecast flood impacts using geospatial data and rainfall patterns, helping responders pre-position resources,” she said. “Predictive models can estimate infrastructure damage or population displacement under different crisis scenarios.”
She said that the advancements she is seeing across the public and private sectors, including among insurers, suggest that “with the right infrastructure, Australia has a chance to lead globally in responsible, AI-enabled public service.”
Garrett said “trust” is central to the success of these AI initiatives and depends on agencies ensuring transparency across the entire data lifecycle.
“Metadata, lineage, explainability, and robust governance frameworks are not optional,” she said. “They are the foundation for building confidence in AI-generated decisions, especially in high-stakes environments like disaster management.”
However, one major problem holding back the utility of AI models in the battle against nat cats could be a lack of data.
“Everyone's working off a different base [of data] and because we don't have a consistent approach, it makes assessing the risk difficult in the first place,” said Andrew Stafford, operations manager for FM Australia, the global specialist property insurer.
In an interview with Insurance Business, Stafford said this is one major obstacle to better resilience and mitigation efforts. He agreed with calls by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) for a national flood database.
Are you a broker or insurer implementing AI driven technology to help with your insurance offerings? Please tell us what you are up to below, particularly if your work includes nat cat risk management.
