Drones Are Being Used as Inspection Technology for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have caused billions of dollars in damage over the past few weeks, resulting in a historic humanitarian disaster. The flooding that Harvey brought to homeowners in Texas was especially devastating as many of the affected properties did not have flood insurance as they were outside of the hundred-year floodplain. Although the monstrously large Irma wreaked havoc on Florida homeowners, properties in this region are generally well-insured for flooding and hurricane damage.

The Role of Inspection Technology in Assessing Storm Damage
As insurers evaluate the damage from these storms, new types of inspection technology will play a critical role in this process. About a year ago, the Federal Aviation Administration eased restrictions on drone flying, which prompted a number of insurance carriers to test the possibility of using drones in insurance inspections. As insurance adjusters begin to assess the damage from Harvey and Irma, more drones are being used than ever before as inspection technology.

The benefit to using drones to inspect property is that it will allow adjusters to see areas that aren’t easily accessible and do it quickly. It will be interesting to see how the use of drones as inspection technology will impact the speed that claims are processed as well as the accuracy of property inspections.

The Value that Insurance Risk Services Offers
Our team at Insurance Risk Services has been partnering with insurance carriers for more than 35 years to provide them with accurate underwriting support so they can best determine which risks are worth taking. One way that we set ourselves apart from the competition is by providing value through in-person property inspections.

When underwriting a property, we physically visit the property to best help our partners determine the insurance risk of taking the property on. This process includes taking interior and exterior photos, exterior measurements, and in some cases completing an interior four-point inspection of the property’s electrical, heating, and plumbing systems. Having this information in hand is especially valuable when inspecting a property post-event. In this regard, we help our insurance carrier partners by serving as a tool for gathering data about a property before and after an event with relative ease.

We offer a full range of insurance inspection services and field underwriting support to provide you with the information that you need to make informed decisions. We, too, utilize the latest inspection technology to deliver the most accurate reports with a rapid response time. Contact us at Insurance Risk Services to learn why we are the preferred choice for your underwriting needs.