Digital Agriculture Services has launched a crop insurance solution in Australia that uses machine learning, automapping and geospatial data to improve policy accuracy.

DAS, backed by IAG's Firemark Ventures, says the tool locates insured paddocks and identifies crop types, yields and other details. 

It is aimed at insurers, underwriters, brokers and loss adjusters. 

"We devised it with the goal of preventing premium leakage, reducing mistakes in policy issuance, minimising fraud and speeding up claims," DAS founder and CEO Anthony Willmott said. 

Australia is an “ideal test case for how we can use geospatial data to organically enhance the viability of crop insurance and test whether technology can sidestep the need for it to be subsidised”, he says.  

“Australia is our first market for this solution, with plans to scale it globally.” 

DAS works with IAG, Guidewire and Insurance Facilitators, and says its new offering is a “win-win for ... insurers who want to decrease loss ratios and costs that lead to higher premiums, and producers who want competitive rates for insuring their land”. 

DAS’ Rural Intelligence Platform was launched five years ago. Its 140 customers include IAG, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Cargill.  

It says it offers the intelligence needed to “insure, lend, invest and sell better”, including data on locations, climate, productivity, sustainability, risk and carbon.