The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and Tractable this week, announced a first-of-its-kind partnership to bring the speed and cutting-edge accuracy of artificial intelligence (AI) to disaster recovery in Fiji.
Tractable is an industry-leading applied AI company using computer vision to assess homes and will work with UNCDF’s Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme (PICAP) to help verify insurance claims leading to quicker claim settlement.
Tractable and UNCDF will collaborate to develop a smartphone application for Fiji residents to upload images of property damage immediately following a cyclone or flood, perils covered under the climate risk parametric micro-insurance product through the UNCDF-led program.
The images will be assessed by Tractable’s AI technology to verify damage with partner insurers to enable the quick release of funds, which policy holders can use to begin rebuilding again in just a matter of days.
Krishnan Narasimhan, PICAP program manager, said: “UNCDF catalyzes market players and supports the ecosystem to develop and deploy innovative climate disaster risk financing and insurance solutions, delivered through digital tools. We have been working with partners on testing frontier technologies, and this project with Tractable is yet another example of the developing body of innovative solutions coming through the Inclusive Insurance Solutions hub that UNCDF manages under PICAP.”
While parametric insurance does not always require claims verification, the AI solution will help market players, especially insurers, develop hybrid property insurance products with a quick turnaround time for claims payments, thereby reducing costs on assessments and timely claim settlement.
Not only will the solution significantly accelerate the time it takes to settle claims– which traditionally take months– but it also increases access to digital financial tools in often underserved and unserved communities.
The partnership will be implemented over the next 12 months and will focus on addressing critical questions surrounding the habitability of residential structures in Fiji after they’re damaged by weather events.
Alex Dalyac, co-founder and CEO, at Tractable said, “It’s an honor to demonstrate the real-world impact AI can bring alongside UNCDF, which is known for its effort in expanding the financial ecosystem in the areas of the world that need it most. Especially as climate change takes hold and increasingly challenges regions such as the South Pacific, we look forward to leveraging our AI to make disaster recovery a quicker and more equitable process around the world.”
Source: Press Release, UNCDF Pacific