ZestyAI launches non-weather water solution amidst rising severity of claims
ZestyAI, the leading provider of climate and property risk analytics solutions powered by artificial intelligence (AI), unveiled its newest solution to address one of the leading drivers of insurance losses – interior water. Z-WATER is an AI-powered model that predicts the frequency and severity of non-weather water and freeze claims for every property in the country.
“The landscape of non-weather water claims is shifting, with a concerning trend towards increased claim severity,” said Kumar Dhuvur, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of ZestyAI. “The rising cost of building materials and labor has inflated claim payouts. Additionally, the interconnected nature of our homes, with open floor plans, finished basements, and high-value electronics, means water damage can have a significantly higher price tag.”
Non-weather water claims rank as the third-leading cause of insurance losses nationwide, underscoring the industry’s critical need for a comprehensive predictive model. Until now, the industry has not had a property-specific model, leaving insurers grappling with the challenge of accurately assessing and mitigating the risk of non-weather water damage on a property-by-property basis.
Z-WATER goes beyond traditional models by incorporating the property-specific construction and architectural details that impact the total loss cost of non-weather water and freeze, along with the local infrastructure and water distribution network, for a holistic assessment of risk.
ZestyAI’s AI-powered model uses the interaction of these factors to deliver the best understanding of risk at the property level, helping the insurance industry:
- Set Fair and Adequate Rates: accurately tailor premiums to risk
- Take Action to Reduce Risk: align coverage and work with homeowners at high-risk properties to mitigate risk, such as installing water sensors
- Improve Operations: quickly process low-risk properties, and prioritize on-site inspections for those that warrant a closer look
Z-WATER is trained, tested, and validated on the largest catalog of actual insurance loss data sourced from across the country from multiple carriers. Z-WATER delivers the most accurate results of all interior water models, giving unparalleled insight into the risk of loss and an unprecedented level of granularity.
ZestyAI’s Z-WATER solution is the latest addition to a complete suite of ZestyAI products designed to evaluate property risk. These products focus on the highest catastrophe and non-catastrophe risks for properties in the United States. ZestyAI also delivers peril-specific models assessing the property-level risk for wildfire, hail, wind, and severe convective storms.