Axa using body cameras to help underwriters better assess buildings with dangerous cladding

Axa UK has started to provide body cameras to contractors carrying out safety work to buildings containing flammable cladding and insulation to help underwriters better assess risk.

A statement released yesterday (23 November 2023) said the recordings would provide information about materials used as well as evidence of working practices and site management for the areas being refurbished.

In turn, the insurer will use the detail to assist its underwriters in assessing and pricing risk for such buildings.

Axa said it was making the move as flammable insulation and poor workmanship can be hidden beneath external cladding, with evidence “often being impossible to trace once work is completed and contractors have left site”.

And the insurer hopes that using body cameras for buildings with dangerous cladding will help keep premiums as low as possible.

“Our business resilience team has been capturing videos of commercial risks in this way for the past three years for underwriters to review, so it made sense to extend this practice to these building remediations,” Dougie Barnett, Axa Commercial’s director of customer risk management, said.

“It means underwriters can clearly see what’s been done when they assess risk and provide a quote with confidence, both now and in the future.”

Cameras

Axa will use Motorola Solutions VT100 body cameras when responding to incidents.

The video can also be live streamed, meaning contractors can liaise directly with Axa risk engineers.

All records will be stored using cloud technology to ensure material captured cannot be edited or tampered with.

“Body cameras are proving to be an increasingly useful tool across a variety of industry sectors and use cases,” Fergus Mayne, UK and Ireland country manager at Motorola Solutions, said.

“By providing an objective record of events which can be easily captured, stored and utilised, body cameras are helping organisations to operate more effectively and provide value to their customers.”