The insurance technology setting a new standard for disaster response

Suncorp’s recently launched Disaster Management Centre, which forms part of Suncorp’s $25 million job and investment package in Queensland, physically connects Suncorp’s people with cutting-edge technology and data. The aim is to deploy resources faster so homes and communities can be rebuilt sooner — and be better protected in the future. 

While aspects of the technology have been operational since the 2022 East Coast flooding, this is the first time the technology, data and capabilities have been housed under one roof. 

“While we used a lot of this technology in responding to the severe events on the east coast of Australia in 2022, we asked ourselves how could we coordinate and use this information in a better way to help our teams, community partners and customers?”, explained Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston.  

Executive Manager of Claims Platforms Naele Feltham said bringing together all the required information into one place was key. 

“We require a lot of data sources to understand which customers have been impacted or potentially impacted after a catastrophe,” she said. 

“We rely on imagery from satellites, aerial imagery from drones and mapping visualisation data to understand regional, street and suburb impacts. We also require weather analytics to understand all the perils that could be impacted such as storm, hail or cyclone.” 

In addition to Suncorp’s aerometric aerial imaging, Suncorp has also partnered with the Early (weather) Warning Network to access its data, as well as drawing data from the ICE (Ice Cloud and land Elevation) satellite.  

“We’re able to bring all that data together in a centralised platform and apply machine learning and artificial intelligence to accurately provide data to our stakeholders and visualise exactly where impacts are to customers during weather events,” Ms Feltham said. 

Suncorp engaged partners Arturo and AWS (Amazon Web Services) to safely store this data in secure Australian data centres. It’s then displayed on a nine-metre-wide digital screen inside the DMC. 

“To be able to really zoom into street level, to understand impacts to customers and accurately provide data and visualisations to our stakeholders is crucial in the first few days,” said Ms Feltham. “It means we can get boots on the ground sooner." 

While the technology is world-leading, Suncorp Executive General Manager for Home Claims Customers Alli Smith said it was Suncorp’s people and purpose that ultimately bring it to life for customers and communities. 

“The connection of our people and the spirit of Suncorp within the innovation we're developing through the Disaster Management Centre will be extremely powerful in the future,” she said. 

“Not only in terms of how we prepare for natural disasters with our own customers, but also with the communities they live in and governments to make homes more resilient before weather happens.”  

Mr Johnston said the DMC was an example of not just innovation and technology supporting customers, but Suncorp’s purpose in action.  

"This is something we can be really proud of as a company and as a country in terms of the leading nature of what we’re doing,” Mr Johnston said. “The technology is important, but it's the heart and it's the purpose that really makes a difference.”