Farmers Insurance are set to use a customised Spot to assist with in-field catastrophe claims handling and non-catastrophe property inspections, helping to improve the safety and efficiency of both.
Created by Boston Dynamics and customised for Farmers, the robot quadruped will join claims personnel from this autumn to help assess damage from hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and wildfires.
According to the collaboration, the robot’s agility, advanced mobility, and perception to navigate various rough terrain will allow it to access spaces and environments inaccessible for claims employees.
Spot will be equipped with a variety of sensors and cameras, including a 360-degree camera and site documentation software to help reduce the time required to capture data and augment the in-field claims review process.
The mobile robot may also help claims adjusters collect critical data and assist with claims handling optimisation to serve impacted customers more efficiently.
Additionally, Spot could be utilised to handle non-catastrophic events such as structure fires, collapsed structures, water loss, or other potentially hazardous environments in the future.
“Farmers focus on enhancing human-powered technology has led the organisation to this very exciting milestone where we’re able to utilise new and emerging technology like a robot to further strengthen our commitment to our customers, all while helping to keep our employees safe,” said Samantha Santiago, head of claims strategy and automation at Farmers.
“Adding such a dynamic robot to our stock of evolving tech – such as drones and satellite imagery – will help us build on our legacy and deepen our commitment to customers.”
In recent years, Farmers has also introduced an aerial imagery program leveraging drones, manned aircraft and satellite technology to help enhance claims operational efficiencies. The insurers announced in late 2017 the deployment of a virtual reality (VR) program to help train claims representatives for home damage assessments.
The VR program is still being used today and has been a vital technological asset to continue to train claims adjusters during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
In addition to utilising Spot for in-field claims use, Farmers will explore applications that could help first-responder organisations during scenarios such as post-event search and rescue operations, accessing areas to assess danger for first responders and for pre-inspections to assess safety for anyone in the general vicinity.
