Insurtech launches platform to address commercial property underinsurance

Insurtech Intelligent AI has launched a new data-driven platform to help address underinsurance in the commercial property market.

The Intelligent Rebuild Cost Validation service will provide commercial property owners with “more accurate” reinstatement values to cover their buildings, while reducing insurers’ and brokers’ exposures by enabling correct premiums, according to a statement released today (20 June 2023).

It came after research by Towergate, published in November 2020, highlighted that UK commercial properties such as shops, factories and warehouses were underinsured by an estimated £325bn.

The issue came to light due to lack of high quality rebuild cost data – Intelligent AI said that global events such as the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem by driving up the cost of construction materials and labour.

Anthony Peake, founder and chief executive of Intelligent AI, said its new platform was a “game-changer” for the property insurance market, “particularly benefiting commercial property owners, insurers and brokers most impacted by the underinsurance issue”.

’Greater confidence’

The new platform is fully automated and will work with Intelligent AI’s existing cloud-based underwriting platform.

This aggregates over 300 data points, including AI document analysis, open data, satellite image analysis and property characteristics.

The Rebuild Cost Validation service will also provide rebuild cost data that reflects real-time inflationary changes in construction costs.

“With fast and cost-effective access to real-time data for large property portfolios and providing valuable insights into areas of greatest underinsurance, the platform ensures more accurate premiums and reduced risk for insurers, while instilling greater confidence in property owners regarding claims pay-outs in the event of loss,” Peake added.