Intermap Technologies Corp. has signed an agreement with the Slovak Hydro-Meteorological Institute (SHMU) in Bratislava for the cooperative development of a windstorm evaluation and risk management tool that will complement the Company’s existing risk management platform. Intermap’s insurance risk management platform includes a detailed flood risk map of the Slovak Republic that has been successfully utilized by three major insurers in the Slovak Republic since 2006. The partnership with SHMU will create a new product for the insurance industry that evaluates and performs risk assessment of windstorms. The windstorm risk layer will seamlessly integrate into the existing risk management platform for the Slovak Republic.
The entire project is being conducted in cooperation with the Slovak Insurance Association.The last significant windstorm in the Slovak Republic in 2004 inflicted serious damage over an area of more than 200 square kilometers. The storm affected more than 5,000 people who were cut off from municipal infrastructure and trapped within the damaged areas. Over 1,500 of those affected were left without water supply, electricity, and sewage. It took more than 9 months to repair major traffic corridors. Financial losses directly attributed to the windstorm were estimated at approximately 400 million dollars.According to Dr. Manfred Krischke, Intermap’s managing director and European vice president, “Our agreement with SHMU will allow us to develop a high-quality windstorm risk layer that will facilitate more precise risk assessment for the planning of new housing and infrastructure developments. In addition, the improved risk assessment created by this new layer will allow insurance companies to better estimate potential losses caused by windstorms, as well as enable more effective prevention planning, reduced losses, and help shorten response times for rebuilding and reconstruction.”