Virtual Inspection Studio provides access to high-resolution aerial imagery and precise measuring tools to improve underwriting assessments and expedite claims 

San Diego, Calif. - July 9, 2019 - At the 2019 Esri User Conference, the Geospatial Intelligence Center (GIC), an insurance industry consortium spearheaded by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), and Esri today introduce Virtual Inspection Studio (VIS). A new tool available exclusively to GIC members, the VIS now enables insurers to enhance remote property assessments by utilizing ultra-high-resolution aerial imagery.

United States Automobile Association (USAA), showed their use of VIS during the plenary session at Esri’s User Conference on Monday, demonstrating how it proved instrumental in quickly assessing damage and settling claims quickly to help members get back on their feet after the 2018 California wildfires.

The GIC provides its members with advanced imagery and data to enhance the underwriting assessment process as well as to expedite claims and improve fraud detection following disasters. With the introduction of VIS, its members now have access to 360-degree views of properties as well as accurate measuring tools for distance and area calculations. 

VIS allows a virtual inspector to capture unique attributes such as roof size and type, deck and pool size, exterior type, and tree hazards. This enables inspectors the ability to measure the size of roof damage after a catastrophe to assist in claims processing, or the solar panel square footage for underwriting. A split-screen “before and after” imagery viewer shows a property prior to disaster damage, as well as conditions immediately after. Additionally, a data import capability makes it easy to visualize many locations at once, a valuable tool in quickly ascertaining where liability is greatest after a catastrophe.

“The GIC’s goal is to arm insurers with the most advanced data and imagery available to make rapid and accurate property catastrophe assessments in order to expedite claims settlements for clients when they need it most,” said Ryan Bank, managing director, GIC. “We are proud to partner with Esri to bring the Virtual Inspection Studio to insurers like USAA, adding another invaluable tool to their toolbox to help members thrive.”

The VIS can be used as a web-hosted application, or deployed in-house for tight integration with corporate data storage behind an insurer’s firewall. Reports can be exported to PDF with data saved directly to the internal customer policy database. 

The Geospatial Intelligence Center is demonstrating its aerial image solution today, July 9 - Thursday, July 11 at the Esri User Conference Expo, booth number 119, San Diego Convention Center. To learn more, visit geointel.org. 

About Geospatial Intelligence Center

The Geospatial Intelligence Center’s mission is to provide the most comprehensive, precise, and up-to-date geospatial information to insurers. This insurance industry consortium delivers geospatial imagery and analytics, leading to more informed underwriting, better claims decisions, reducing fraud and delivering faster catastrophe response. To learn more visit geointel.org.