New insurance, construction industry group to focus on drone use

American aerial imagery and data analytics company EagleView Technology Corp. has formed a new group to look at the use of drones in the insurance and construction industries.

The new Property Drone Consortium includes insurance carriers, construction industry representatives and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) are among those participating to “promote research, development and the establishment of regulations for the use of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) technology across the insurance and construction industries,” EagleView said in a statement Wednesday.

EagleView said it will provide research and development capabilities and its patented technology to the consortium.

“With over twenty years of developing aerial solutions that capture property information, EagleView believes it can utilize patented Pictometry image technologies to further the safe, efficient and scalable use of drone technology for property data collection,” Chris Barrow, president and CEO of EagleView said in the announcement.

“We believe this, coupled with the expertise of the charter members in property conditions, claims and underwriting disciplines, will enable the consortium to provide strong and stable information and education to drive regulatory change and development of the usage of drones for data collection throughout the insurance and construction industries.  With numerous carriers and providers of key industry services already committed, this technology initiative will have far-reaching benefits for all involved.”

Allstate Insurance is one participating insurer, and says that “drones used for property insurance can potentially create much faster inspections of homes both for underwriting and claims adjustment.”

“Ultimately, drones used in the claims process could provide faster payments to customers, especially in an area where widespread damage occurs quickly,” Allstate said in a company statement.

For example, drones can function in areas restructured because they have been hit by catastrophes or have ongoing severe weather preventing physical inspections.

“We still have a lot of work to do before introducing drones into our property claims service, but the potential for their use could change the industry in a big way,” Allstate’s claims vice president Shawn Broadfield said in the statement.

“Continuing this research puts us on the leading edge of product and service innovation in our industry and beyond.”