Ordnance Survey has produced maps that can help colour blind people working in insurance read maps.
Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD) is an inability to see certain colours; it affects approximately one in 12 men and one in 100 women in the UK and can make the traditional colours used for maps virtually indistinguishable.
A revolutionary new colour palette being developed by Ordnance Survey - working in conjunction with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) - promises to put an end to the map-reading challenge, with shades that are both CVD friendly and easy to read for anyone without colour vision deficiencies.
A number of insurers rely on Ordnance Survey data for a number of critical tasks – to help manage flood risk, to enhance risk accumulation and perils management, and to undertake a visual check when underwriting major new commercial policies.
The key is the ability to link different kinds of information to a specific location such as a postcode, street address or geographic coordinate.
Up until now, a range of different colour palettes was required to create maps accessible to people with varying colour vision deficiencies, but Ordnance Survey is well on its way to releasing a single palette that works for everyone.
With the new colour palette, insurance companies will be able for the first time to produce maps that are accessible to people with CVD, ensuring they can be read and easily interpreted by everyone who needs them. As a result, underwriters with CVD can rest assured that they are making the right pricing and rating decision.
Simon Duquénoy, senior technical product manager at Ordnance Survey says, “We are very proud of the progress we have made towards developing a single colour palette, which has required painstaking research, innovative thinking and a real understanding of user needs. It will take our maps to a whole new level of accessibility and mean that a skill that is simple, yet crucial to the insurance industry, will soon be within everyone’s reach.”
Last month, OS revealed it had launched OS OpenData, an online portal that will provide insurance companies with free and unrestricted access to a large range of mapping and geographic information (GI).
OS OpenData allows insurers to download a wide range of mapping and geographic information for free reuse direct to their computers; view maps and boundary information for the whole country; and develop web-map applications using Ordnance Survey’s OS OpenSpace API (Application Programming Interface).
No comments yet