About the author
Gayle Watts
OnSiteIQ: Impact 25 2019 profile
March 5, 2019 Gayle Watts
This is a summary of the profile which first appeared in the Oxbow Partners InsurTech Impact 25 2019.
OnSiteIQ documents construction sites regularly in 360° data that is automatically mapped to the site floor plans, creating an interactive walk-through.
The company employs its own network of Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) certified data collectors, who collect the data using an off-the-shelf 360° cameras and OnSiteIQ’s mobile app. The data then gets analysed using an AI platform to identify leading indicators and various categories of risk on the jobsite. Users can also manually identify issues and make annotations, which can be shared with colleagues. Data can be collected regularly without obstructing the construction workflow. The data provides valuable record in the event of dispute resolution, litigation and defect claims which may surface down the line.
The company’s visual documentation platform permitted a client to complete a claims investigation 15% faster than using physical inspections and deny a delay claim based on the visual evidence captured by its platform throughout the construction process.
“OnSiteIQ’s visual documentation platform finally brings 21st-century technology into construction collaboration for property owners and developers. Their solution requires no training and takes no time away from our current processes”
Mitch Moinian, Senior VP, Moinian Group
Company in action
Case Study
Client situation: OnSiteIQ’s insurance client was only able to inspect one out of every ten projects they insured. Due to the ineffectiveness of the insurer’s loss control/risk engineering process, it had a high loss ratio.
What they did: Through an OnSiteIQ pilot, the insurer was able to inspect twice as many sites at 50% of the cost of a physical inspection and with a broader geographical distribution.
What impact it had: By inspecting more sites, the client was able to lower their loss ratio. The pilot also improved the level of the client’s engagement with safety issues, addressed numerous safety issues and generally improved the relationship between the client and the insurer.
The Oxbow Partners View
Risk engineering is ripe for technology innovation. In large parts of the industry, the function is still a clunky, manual process: risk engineers are dispatched (slow and expensive) and document findings in linear reports with photo attachments. Only the larger risks can be inspected more than once; many post-completion sites are inspected only once every few years. Recommendations are sent to the client but often not followed up. Reports cannot be analysed in a structured way for portfolio-level insights, and indeed connections between risk engineers and underwriters are often weak.
We think the OnSiteIQ proposition, whilst early stage, has great potential. We see an application both in the construction process (which the business is targeting now) and the post-completion risk inspection space. The opex and indemnity case on both is obvious for insurers and brokers, and the customer relationship point the company highlights is plausible also.