As wildfires increase in frequency and severity, Liberty Mutual Reinsurance and satellite disaster management solutions provider ICEYE have partnered to launch a new parametric wildfire insurance solution.
The partnership addresses the urgent need for faster risk solutions in wildfire-prone communities, leveraging high-resolution satellite data to provide immediate, fast payments and address critical protection gaps.
Liberty’s remotely sensed parametric real estate wildfire solution enables rapid response, providing immediate liquidity when it’s needed most.
The solution is initially being rolled out in the US and Australia where wildfire risk is particularly high, but is targeted to expand alongside ICEYE’s product range expansion.
ICEYE’s global constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites is the foundation of the solution, providing continuous monitoring of areas affected by wildfires.
The satellites are capable of capturing high-resolution images through smoke at night and in all weather conditions, ensuring reliable and uninterrupted data collection.
Following a wildfire event, SAR imagery is combined with detailed property footprint data and advanced automated machine learning algorithms to provide objective, building-level damage assessments.
The process classifies each insured property as “destroyed” or “undamaged” based on predefined criteria, with results delivered within hours.
This transparent binary approach eliminates the need for on-site visits, loss adjusters, or subjective assessments. Instead, it enables fast and consistent appraisals at the individual property level and triggers payment procedures within days when agreed parameters are met.
Leveraging this technology, Liberty’s parametric wildfire insurance provides scalable protection that complements traditional insurance.
It serves a broad range of clients, including homeowners associations, residential communities, municipalities and public risk pools, as well as owners of critical infrastructure and reinsurers/insurers looking to mitigate wildfire risk on residential and commercial properties.
“By pushing the boundaries of technology, we are delivering a new generation of parametric wildfire coverage that is faster, more responsive and completely data-driven,” said Jean-Christophe Garaix, director of parametric and agriculture at Liberty.
“Our property wildfire insurance is remotely sensed and designed to address the growing threat of wildfire, providing reliable protection alongside traditional insurance, allowing for more efficient claims resolution.”
Anke Sielker, Head of Reinsurance Solutions at ICEYE, added: “We are delighted to be working with Liberty on this breakthrough solution. The product is based on fast and verifiable observational data from our SAR satellite constellation, providing rapid confirmation when agreed loss parameters are met. The result is fast, precise and consistent loss assessment at the individual property level and can be deployed in high-risk areas to support multi-asset portfolios or regional programmes.”
