Home insurance premiums have surged in recent years, with the average combined policy now costing £232 according to the latest Go.Compare data (an 8.5% increase from the previous year).
As costs continue to rise, insurers face a challenge: how can they accurately assess risk, while maintaining fair and competitive pricing for customers?
How location data can address disproportionate pricing
Home insurance underwriting has evolved toward property-level risk assessment, and integrating location data into the underwriting process enables greater more precision.
Ordnance Survey (OS) and its National Geographic Database (NGD) can meet the requirements of this assessment transformation, with various building datasets included in the structured themes, such as NGD Address, Buildings, and Land Use.
OS buildings datasets describes millions of buildings nationwide, with over a billion data points from roof type and basement presence, to construction material and roof base height. These insights into sites, structures, and characteristics can also deliver precise elevation measurements, exact distances from water sources, and specific building characteristics.
All combined, NGD building data provides new levels of understanding and analysis; a means to optimise underwriting at a property level, and enable premiums that both insurers and customers can trust.
Aviva's transformation through precision
Insurance providers like Aviva have realised the benefits of integrating location data into automation, allowing accurate and efficient evaluation of individual property risks, resulting in more tailored, more competitive solutions for customers.
Historically, Aviva’s GIS team used OS raster maps to provide background mapping and geographic context. More recently, they overlayed OS data to achieve a new level of granularity, revealing insights such as individual building polygons and property boundaries, while also pinpointing specific addresses and key features, like ponds and substations. Aviva gained a much richer understanding of property-level risk, by combining these datasets, and enabled more bespoke, accurate pricing.
Beyond that improved accuracy, automation powered by OS location data has also streamlined Aviva's processes. Newly automated systems can instantly assess multiple risk factors, specific to each location, eliminating the need for manual evaluations that might miss critical details. This boosts efficiency and frees up resources for more complex cases requiring expert review.
The future of fair pricing
With OS data, and the support of OS Partners, insurers can improve and personalise experiences for their customers. When assessments are based on location-specific factors rather than broad postcode ratings, premium variation can be better understood. Precise location data enables clear explanations of pricing decisions, helping to build customer trust.
Insurers that recognise the advantages of leveraging location data can become more competitive, using this information to price with confidence as data-informed decisions drive both fairness and profitability.
While market pressures may continue driving premiums higher, precise location intelligence fills the gaps in traditional risk assessment; removing doubt, and building confidence in customers that pricing is fair and reflective of actual risk.
Aviva’s successes demonstrate that, armed with accurate and authoritative location data, customers and insurers alike can benefit.
Find out more about how OS data can help you make decisions with confidence by visiting our insurance support page, where you can get in touch with the OS team to find the best Partner for you.
