Project idea and background
One of the most important application fields of earth observation (EO) data is agriculture. Assessment of the health of a crop, as well as early detection of crop infestations, is critical in ensuring good agricultural productivity. Damage must be detected early enough to provide an opportunity for the farmer to mitigate. Satellite based imagery can potentially provide a quick and cost-effective means to identify the areal extent and amount of damage. This will, in turn, facilitate the insurance claim process and provide quicker financial relief to affected farmers.
Property losses from hail exceed 10 billion kronor per year. In a typical year, hail storms cause about 10Mkr worth of damage throughout Sweden and in exceptional years, the costs can exceed 25Mkr.
Worldwide, the use of EO data is fairly established, with consolidated practices and recognized production and assessment advantages. If combined with other sources of data, such as market information, farm census, insurance claims, EO data can make a significant contribution to developing and maintaining efficient agriculture practices.
In Sweden, the pecuniary and indemnification industries have been slow in realizing the benefits of remote sensing. This project, aside from the potentially groundbreaking method development, has the capacity of reaching and opening up a new sector of EO data users.
Problem formulation
Presently, all insurance claims in Sweden, regardless of policy holder, are evaluated manually by loss adjusters. The adjuster’s task is to find out the reason for a loss (e.g. due to hail) and the extent and severity of the damage. This is done by approximation in the field by the loss adjuster and converted into a loss ratio based on reference charts from field trials of the relevant crop.
Agria Djurförsäkring (Agria) is looking for a better method to calculate actual areas damaged by hail and to determine the extent of the damage. A clear benefit to policyholders would be a guarantee that all claims are assessed by an identical method regardless of the loss adjuster, the client or the crop. In addition, assessments would be carried out faster and cheaper than current manual methods allow. An ideal method can estimate losses in a wide range of crops and separate losses for various reasons.
Expected results
The successful completion of this project will result in the following:
• a feasibility study to determine the best method of damage detection and quantification;
• quantifiable determinations of detected crop damage within an affected test area. That is to say, actual amounts expressed in kilograms crop or something similar;
• measured results that have been validated with reference data collected by the user;
• a cost/benefit analysis;
• a description of a potential operational scenario.
Kontakter:
Michael Ledwith, Metria AB, 010-121 85 14, michael.ledwith@metria.se
Rasmus Troedson, Agria Djurförsäkring, 08-588 426 08, rasmus.troedson@agria.se
