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What 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.

Industry

Insurance and finance

Measurements

4

Sources cited

4

1. 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.

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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 deployment

7. From 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.

8. 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.

9. 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 Builder

10. From 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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 services

14. Data 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 products

15. Evidence

    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

16. 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 sales

17. Next 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.

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.

1. 01

   Base unit

   A sensor: a flood depth sensor at a property on a low-power radio.

   Build a station →
2. 02

   Site

   An area: sensors, a weather station, a gateway, a node and a drone kit.

   Plan a site →
3. 03

   Fleet

   Insured areas across a portfolio on one event view.

   Managed offers →
4. 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.

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.

1. 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

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

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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.

1. 1WMO-No. 168: Guide to Hydrological PracticesWorld Meteorological Organization
2. 2Insurance Core PrinciplesInternational Association of Insurance Supervisors
3. 3WMO-No. 8: Guide to Instruments and Methods of ObservationWorld Meteorological Organization
4. 4ISO/IEC 27001: Information security management systemsInternational Organization for Standardization

09Related

Use cases and solutions.

10Insurance and finance: specialized fields

Other fields of this industry.

Bring us the site.

Plan a deployment, configure a station, model it in the Studio or talk to sales. The form names who receives your details.