Kettle: utilising AI to insure against wildfires
By using deep learning and proprietary algorithms to reshape the reinsurance industry, Kettle looks to better protect people from the growing risks associated with climate change.
The company’s first product protects Californians' businesses, homes, and livelihoods with wildfire reinsurance.
Co-Founder Nathaniel Manning commented on this work in California, he said: “We are thrilled to be helping provide insight and relief to the California insurance market. There are 14 million structures in California, and in 2020 ~11,500 of them burned down, less than .1%. While the risks of wildfire have certainly increased over the past decade, the key is understanding exactly where the risk is. If we can do that, we can bring stability back to the California insurance market.”
Kettle balances risk in the changing climate with its smarter reinsurance model and aims to use data to change the world for the better.
With its technology, Kettle outperforms the industry by using proprietary machine learning algorithms that use more than seven billion lines of weather and ground truth data.
Its underwriting platform uses groundbreaking technology to deliver better protections for people and more stable returns for the insurance industry.
To do this, Kettle processes the collected raw data using an extract, transform, and load (ETL) pipeline the company built using computer vision technology. With these machine learning capabilities, Kettle generated more than 7 billion rows of data, giving them a head start compared to others in the market.
Protecting people from the growing risks associated with climate change
The company was founded by Andrew Engler and Manning and is structured as a reinsurance Managing General Agent that can underwrite these increasing risks.
Engler brings more than a decade of experience working in the insurance and reinsurance industries to the company.
Manning spent years working with data for humanitarian efforts as the CEO of Ushahidi, the largest open-source software platform for community crisis response, and as the first chief data officer of USAID.
Kettle brings advanced technology to the $400 billion-a-year reinsurance industry.
In 2020, Kettle's model predicted that the fourteen largest fires, which accounted for 98% of the damage, were in the top 20% of areas most likely to burn across California's hundred-plus million acres.
Additionally, in 2021, Kettle's model predicted the areas consumed by the Dixie and Caldor Fires as some of the most dangerous parts of California.
Following its success, the company has recently announced a $25 million Series A round led by Acrew Capital.
