Norwich Union has commissioned a revolutionary digital map of Britain to help pinpoint and understand exactly which areas of the country are at risk from river flooding.
Norwich Union has commissioned a revolutionary digital map of Britain to help pinpoint and understand exactly which areas of the country are at risk from river flooding.
The map, the largest ever undertaken in Britain, will be used to provide more accurate premiums for individual homes and businesses according to their risk of flood.
Data for the map will be collected by an airborne radar system, as part of the ‘NEXTMap Britain’Ž programme*. The data is used to produce a Digital Elevation Model, a map, which shows the height of the ground above sea level. This is then combined with a flood software model** to produce information on where floods are likely to occur, how they can spread and how far they can extend. It is the first time that the two technologies have been brought together to produce a model of this size.
Mapping of the country has already started and is taking place by region, with initial data being collected at either 28,000 or 20,000 feet, depending on the density of the population in the area.***
Commenting on the multi-million pound project, Clive Bolton, director of pricing for Norwich Union Insurance said: “This is a major step forward in the use of technology to approach the issue of flooding. One of the major obstacles to better flood prediction has been the lack of consistently accurate information on the height of land surrounding rivers. By investing in this technology, we’ll have the best available information about the risk of flood for insurance purposes.
“We’ll also be able to better understand whether a customer has been a victim of a one-off occurrence or is at risk from potentially frequent flooding. Equally, we may find that some properties, thought previously to be at risk, may not flood because of the height of the land. This new information will help us to set more appropriate premiums in future.
“As the UK’s largest insurer, we’ve already implemented a number of initiatives to address the issue of flooding and the mapping project is a further step forward. We want to reduce the number of preventable floods happening in the first place and are lobbying for improved flood defences and planning regulations. By commissioning this project, we hope to better understand the risk of flooding – in terms of severity and frequency.”
Changes to Norwich Union premiums will be reflected later this year, following collection and analysis of the initial mapping data.
The mapping project is being developed by Norwich Union in partnership with Intermap Technologies Corporation, Willis and HR Wallingford.
Media contact:
Liz Kennett/Jenny Chapman at Norwich Union on 08703 66 68 63
Notes to editors:
- * NEXTMap Britain’Ž, developed by Intermap Technologies Corporation in partnership with Norwich Union, provides the most current and accurate digital elevation and image data of England, Wales and Scotland.
- ** Developed by Willis
- ***The data will be collected by the airborne radar system at 28,000 feet for most areas and 20,000 feet for more densely populated areas.
- Norwich Union is the UK’s largest insurer. In general insurance it is more than 1.5 times the size of its nearest competitor, and has a 19 per cent share of the market.
- It has a focus on insurance for individuals and small businesses. It insures:
- one in five households
- one in five motor vehicles
- more than 700,000 businesses
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- Norwich Union Insurance Limited Registered in England Number 99122 Registered Office. 8 Surrey Street Norwich NR1 3NG
- Member of the CGNU Group of companies and of the General Insurance Standards Council
- Intermap Technologies Corporation are world leaders in photogrammetric mapping and digital terrain modelling. They have extensive international experience in both government and commercial projects in some 95 countries. Their products cover over half a billion square kilometres of the Earth. They have been commissioned to fly over the UK using their STAR- 3iŽ IFSAR airborne radar and collect the data with which to generate the Digital Elevation Model (DEM).
- Willis, the global insurance broker and risk consulting firm, is providing its award-winning flood risk modelling technology to Norwich Union.
- HR Wallingford are hydraulic modelling experts who will be validating the processes and results of the project.
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