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Insurance and finance/
Specialized fields/
Event and claims verificationWhat happened, verified, so claims settle fast.
After a flood or storm, insurers need to know what happened at each property before loss adjusters can reach them all. Flood depth sensors at insured sites, drone surveys and local weather give a verified record of the event, so claims are prioritised, settled faster and treated fairly.
Plan a deploymentHow it worksStation Builder- Industry
- Insurance and finance
- Measurements
- 4
- Sources cited
- 4
Insurance and finance · Event and claims verification
Thousands of claims at once
After a flood or storm, thousands of claims arrive at once, adjusters cannot reach flooded areas for days, and disputes over depth and duration slow settlement. Insurers must handle claims promptly and fairly, and policyholders need money to recover. Measurement turns that risk into decisions made in time.
What is measured
Depth, weather and imagery
Flood depth sensors at insured properties and streets record depth and duration, weather stations record local wind and rain, and drone surveys after the event capture imagery where adjusters cannot yet go. Each reading carries its time and its quality flags.
- Instruments
- Flood depth sensors · Weather stations · Drone surveys
The base node
The event footprint
The node records depth and duration at every sensor, builds the event footprint, links it to insured properties and prioritises claims for adjusters. Every record is signed, so insurer and policyholder see the same evidence. Nothing is lost when a link drops; the node keeps it.
Radio and links
Working in the flood
Depth sensors reach gateways over a low-power link that keeps working in floods, a satellite path carries data when terrestrial networks fail, and the node and drone uploads use cellular where it works. Each link is chosen for the place, not from a catalogue.
- Links
- LoRaWAN · Satellite · Public cellular
How it works
From a flood to a settled claim
A river floods a town overnight. Sensors record depth and duration street by street; by morning the footprint is linked to every insured home. Clear cases are settled from the verified record within days, and adjusters go first to the most damaged homes.
From order to operation · Order
Scope the portfolio
The scope reads the insured areas, flood and storm exposure, claims history and adjusting process. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the sensor and drone plan, event footprint design, claims integration and a price per area and per year. Every assumption in the scope is written down and priced.
Plan a deploymentFrom order to operation · Survey
Survey insured areas
Crews survey streets and properties for depth sensor positions, weather station sites, gateway coverage and drone flight areas. Findings are mapped. Every finding is kept with the site record for the crews who follow. Findings shape the kit for each site before anything is built.
From order to operation · Permits
Consents and flights
Property owners and cities approve sensors, drone flights follow aviation and privacy rules, and data sharing with policyholders is agreed. Every consent is kept with the area record. Approvals are tracked site by site, so nothing waits unseen. No crew goes to site before its approvals are in place.
From order to operation · Build
Build and test
Depth sensors are calibrated, radios paired, gateways, nodes and the drone kit configured and enrolled with their identities, and the event footprint tested with past events. Test results travel with the kit to the site. Nothing ships until the whole kit has passed its tests together.
Open the Station BuilderFrom order to operation · Install
Install across the area
Crews install depth sensors at properties and streets, weather stations and gateways, and set up the node. Every sensor is surveyed to ground level and photographed. The site record is updated before the crew leaves. Crews follow the site safety plan throughout the work.
From order to operation · Commission
Commission with a past event
Each node proves its identity. Depth readings are checked against manual measures, and the footprint and claims prioritisation are tested by replaying a past event. Results are signed and kept with the site record. Acceptance is recorded with the owner before handover.
From order to operation · Operate
Verify and settle
During and after events, claims teams see depth and duration by property, prioritise visits, settle clear cases from the verified record and send adjusters where judgement is needed. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record. Every alert and action is kept on the record.
From order to operation · Maintain
Check before each season
Sensors are checked and batteries replaced before each flood season, depth references resurveyed, software updated in rings, and every event record kept for review. Spares and procedures travel with the crews. Maintenance history stays with each site for its whole life.
Book field servicesData products
For claims teams and policyholders
Claims and catastrophe teams receive event footprints; loss adjusters receive depth and duration by property; policyholders receive verified event records; adjusters and engineers receive drone imagery, each tied to property and time. Each product carries its site, time and quality flags.
See the data productsEvidence
Prompt and fair
Verification supports prompt and fair claims handling under the insurance core principles, depths follow hydrological practice and weather the WMO guide, and records are protected to the information security standard. Every reading and claim record is kept. Records are open to the people who must check them.
- Drawn against
- Insurance Core Principles · WMO-No. 168 · WMO-No. 8 · ISO/IEC 27001
What you get
Independent measurement feeds for parametric triggers
Calibrated, tamper-evident measurement feeds that a risk carrier may name as the index source. The group writes no insurance and makes no payout decision. Delivered as data licence, for insurers, reinsurers, brokers, risk pools. Scale: Portfolio scale. Service levels are written as numbers you can measure on your own dashboard.
Talk to salesNext step
Plan event and claims verification with us
Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for event and claims verification. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace.
Plan a deploymentOpen the Station BuilderOpen the Studio
01The place and its hazards
Where it runs, and what can go wrong.
Operating contextInsurers must handle claims promptly and fairly under the core principles of insurance supervision. Flood depths are measured to hydrological practice and weather to the WMO guide; drone surveys provide imagery where adjusters cannot yet go.
Hazards
- Thousands of claims arriving at once after an event
- Adjusters unable to reach flooded areas
- Disputes over flood depth and duration
- Fraud and inflated claims
- Policyholders waiting months for settlement
02What must be measured
What, where, how often, and under which rules.
Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below.
| Measurement | Where | Cadence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flood depth and duration | Sensors at insured properties and streets | Every few minutes during events | 12 |
| Local wind and rain | Stations in insured areas | Every few minutes | 3 |
| Post-event imagery | Drone surveys over affected areas | After each event | 2 |
| Claims and verification records | Each claim and its evidence | Each claim | 24 |
03The observation stack
From one base unit to a network.
The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol.
- 01
Base unit
A sensor: a flood depth sensor at a property on a low-power radio.
Build a station → - 02
Site
An area: sensors, a weather station, a gateway, a node and a drone kit.
Plan a site → - 03
Fleet
Insured areas across a portfolio on one event view.
Managed offers → - 04
Network
Insurers, adjusters and policyholders share verified event records through open standards.
The open protocol →
- 01Water level gauge
- 02Compact weather station
- 03Drone (UAS)
- 04LPWAN endpoint
- 05LoRaWAN gateway
- 06Edge node (Wedge)
- 07Cellular modem/router
- 08LEO flat-panel terminal
- 09Solar array
Radio and links
LoRaWAN
Depth sensors across streets reach gateways over a low-power link that keeps working in floods.
Radio and links
Satellite
A satellite path carries data when terrestrial networks fail.
Radio and links
Public cellular
The node and drone uploads use cellular where it works.
Edge computeThe node records depth and duration at every sensor, builds the event footprint, links it to insured properties and prioritises claims for adjusters, with every record signed.
PowerSensors run on batteries; gateways and nodes on solar with batteries that outlast power cuts.
04How it works
From the instrument to the product.
One observation’s path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks.
Event and claims verification: data path
– of 08
01 Instruments Measurement with sensor identity andcalibration 02 Field radio 03 Gateway 04 Node – Wrap in an observation envelope with timequality– Measure quality and uncertainty, attachquality flags– Buffer locally (store-and-forward when thelink drops) 05 Backhaul Commit with transactional outbox andpublish, delivered at least once 06 Site Consumer inbox deduplicates and applieseach record once into governed data 07 Data store Governed product through API, map orexport, correction-aware 08 Products OGC SensorThings APIGeoJSONACORD 09 Power and structure Supplies 12 V DC, 24 V DC, 48 V DC to thefield equipment 01 Water level gauge SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 02 Compact weather station SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 03 Drone (UAS) USB · Video 04 LPWAN endpoint Analogue I/O · SDI-12 · RS-485 Drone ground control station Not in the reference kit 05 LoRaWAN gateway Ethernet · RF · GNSS antenna 06 Edge node (Wedge) Ethernet · Fibre · USB · RS-485 ·BMC 07 Cellular modem/router Ethernet · USB · RS-232 08 LEO flat-panel terminal Ethernet Site MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B Governed data store Versioned, correction-aware Event footprints Depth and duration by property Verified event records Drone imagery 09 Solar array RS-485 SDI-12 SDI-12 MAVLink LoRaWAN Ethernet Ethernet Ethernet Ethernet LTE/NR Satellite IP| Item | Equipment | Data ports | Protocols | Power in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Water level gaugeRadar, pressure or float gauge for river, lake, reservoir or tide level. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC |
| 02 | Compact weather stationAll-in-one or compact station for temperature, humidity, pressure, wind and rain at a site. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC |
| 03 | Drone (UAS)Uncrewed aircraft carrying sensors or a radio relay, operated within airspace rules. | USBVideo | MAVLink | Internal battery |
| 04 | LPWAN endpointBattery-powered endpoint on LoRaWAN, NB-IoT or LTE-M that carries one or more sensors. | Analogue I/OSDI-12RS-485 | LoRaWAN, OMA LwM2M, CoAP | Internal battery, Energy harvesting |
| 05 | LoRaWAN gatewayMulti-channel LoRaWAN gateway that forwards uplinks to a network server and schedules downlinks within duty limits. | EthernetRFGNSS antenna | LoRaWAN, MQTT 5 | PoE, 12 V DC |
| 06 | Edge node (Wedge)Rugged edge node that boots from signed media, attests itself and establishes a site cell from little or no infrastructure. | EthernetFibreUSBRS-485BMC | MQTT 5, DMTF Redfish, IEEE 1588 PTP, NTP with NTS, OPC UA | 12 V DC, 24 V DC, 48 V DC, AC mains |
| 07 | Cellular modem/routerLTE or NR modem or router that uses a public carrier or private network as backhaul. | EthernetUSBRS-232 | 3GPP E-UTRA air interface, 3GPP NR air interface, OMA LwM2M | 12 V DC, PoE |
| 08 | LEO flat-panel terminalElectronically steered flat-panel user terminal for low-Earth-orbit broadband constellations. | Ethernet | — | PoE, 48 V DC, AC mains |
| 09 | Solar arrayPV modules with charge controller sized to the site’s load and climate. | RS-485 | Modbus | — |
How it scales
01 Instruments Arbitrary qualified sensors and instruments whosemeasurements are ingested with calibration, units,geometry, time, custody and uncertainty. ×n 02 Node The minimum useful deployable unit: server, ruggedappliance, radio node, sensor gateway, satelliteterminal, AI, scientific, vehicle or virtual node. Node Node agent 03 Site The minimum independently operable localgovernance and failure domain: one or more nodesplus local network, identity, policy, evidence,storage, products and operator surfaces.SITE
Node Node Node ×n 04 Cluster An optional scale or specialisation domain forscheduling, shared storage, accelerators or datalocality.CLUSTER
×n 05 Fleet Coordinates plans, acknowledgements,convergence evidence, update campaigns andcorrection propagation across nodes and sites.FLEET
Fleet controller ×n 06 Federation An exchange of products, capabilities, events orwork across approved, independently administeredtrust domains, using explicit trust, policy,data-locality, version and correction contracts.TRUST DOMAIN
TRUST DOMAIN
TRUST DOMAIN
×n Verifier Applications Data in the field Telemetry Control Data upstream Control Data upstream Control Exchange Evidence Events Exchange- Data in the field
- MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B; connectors for LoRaWAN, OPC UA and instrument buses.
- Telemetry
- OpenTelemetry OTLP.
- Control
- TLS 1.3 with mutual authentication; protobuf messages over gRPC or HTTP/2.
- Data upstream
- At-least-once publication with repeat-safe keys over the control channel or NATS JetStream; QUIC MAY be used on lossy links.
- Evidence
- DSSE-signed in-toto statements; SLSA provenance; SCITT transparency receipts.
- Events
- Event envelopes mapped to CloudEvents 1.0; channels described in AsyncAPI 3.
- Exchange
- OpenAPI 3.1; the OGC API family; SensorThings; STAC; WIS 2.0.
05From order to operation
Every step, from the first call to a running site.
The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance.
- 01 Order
Scope the portfolio
The scope reads the insured areas, flood and storm exposure, claims history and adjusting process. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the sensor and drone plan, event footprint design, claims integration and a price per area and per year. Every assumption in the scope is written down and priced. 2
- 02 Survey
Survey insured areas
Crews survey streets and properties for depth sensor positions, weather station sites, gateway coverage and drone flight areas. Findings are mapped. Every finding is kept with the site record for the crews who follow. Findings shape the kit for each site before anything is built. 1
- 03 Permits
Consents and flights
Property owners and cities approve sensors, drone flights follow aviation and privacy rules, and data sharing with policyholders is agreed. Every consent is kept with the area record. Approvals are tracked site by site, so nothing waits unseen. No crew goes to site before its approvals are in place.
- 04 Build
Build and test
Depth sensors are calibrated, radios paired, gateways, nodes and the drone kit configured and enrolled with their identities, and the event footprint tested with past events. Test results travel with the kit to the site. Nothing ships until the whole kit has passed its tests together.
- 05 Install
Install across the area
Crews install depth sensors at properties and streets, weather stations and gateways, and set up the node. Every sensor is surveyed to ground level and photographed. The site record is updated before the crew leaves. Crews follow the site safety plan throughout the work.
- 06 Commission
Commission with a past event
Each node proves its identity. Depth readings are checked against manual measures, and the footprint and claims prioritisation are tested by replaying a past event. Results are signed and kept with the site record. Acceptance is recorded with the owner before handover. 1
- 07 Operate
Verify and settle
During and after events, claims teams see depth and duration by property, prioritise visits, settle clear cases from the verified record and send adjusters where judgement is needed. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record. Every alert and action is kept on the record. 2
- 08 Maintain
Check before each season
Sensors are checked and batteries replaced before each flood season, depth references resurveyed, software updated in rings, and every event record kept for review. Spares and procedures travel with the crews. Maintenance history stays with each site for its whole life.
06Data products and integration
What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems.
Data products
- Event footprintsClaims and catastrophe teams
- Depth and duration by propertyLoss adjusters
- Verified event recordsPolicyholders
- Drone imageryAdjusters and engineers
Integration
- Claims systemsVerified records attach to claims.
- Catastrophe modelsFootprints calibrate event models.
- Policyholder channelsPolicyholders see verified records for their property.
Exchanged through OGC SensorThings API, GeoJSON, ACORD.
07Questions buyers ask
Before you scope it.
Can claims settle without a visit?
Clear cases can, from the verified record, where policies allow.
Does it help against fraud?
Measured depth and duration make claims verifiable.
What if networks fail?
Low-power radio and satellite keep data flowing.
Can policyholders see their data?
Yes, for their own property.
08Resources
The sources behind this page.
Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does.
- 1WMO-No. 168: Guide to Hydrological PracticesWorld Meteorological Organization
- 2Insurance Core PrinciplesInternational Association of Insurance Supervisors
- 3WMO-No. 8: Guide to Instruments and Methods of ObservationWorld Meteorological Organization
- 4ISO/IEC 27001: Information security management systemsInternational Organization for Standardization
09Related
Use cases and solutions.
Use caseStreet flood observatory
Ultrasonic depth sensors on poles report street-level water depth as open data and alerts.The full use case →SolutionIndependent measurement feeds for parametric triggers
Calibrated, tamper-evident measurement feeds that a risk carrier may name as the index source.Solutions for insurance and finance →SolutionDrone survey and 3D site twins
Survey campaigns planned to the ground sample distance, photogrammetry and LiDAR, and site twins kept current.Solutions for insurance and finance →SolutionEnvironmental exposure monitoring for health programmes
Heat, air and water exposure measurements around facilities and communities; no diagnosis or treatment.Solutions for insurance and finance →10Insurance and finance: specialized fields
Other fields of this industry.
Specialized fieldParametric insurance triggers
Tamper-evident weather and water stations that measure the indices parametric policies pay on, with signed data that insurers, reinsurers and policyholders can all trust.The full field →Specialized fieldPhysical climate risk for portfolios
Measured hazards at the sites of a portfolio, from flood and heat to subsidence, so lenders, investors and insurers assess and disclose physical climate risk with evidence.The full field →Specialized fieldBankable wind and solar resource
Met masts, lidars and irradiance stations that measure wind and solar resources to the standards lenders require, so renewable projects reach financial close on evidence.The full field →Bring us the site.
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