Live hail data sharpening forecasting, fraud detection and claims triage.

The insurance industry relies on data to assess and manage risk. Historical weather records, claims data and actuarial models have underpinned underwriting decisions and premium calculations for decades. But while this retrospective view has traditionally helped insurers understand long-term risk patterns, it's been less effective at supporting live operational decision-making during fast-moving weather events. 
 
Among those events, hail poses a uniquely severe and underestimated threat. Despite the devastation caused by recent floods and cyclones, Australia's costliest natural disaster remains the Sydney hailstorm of 1999 – racking up more than $8.8 billion in damage (normalised to 2022 values). By comparison, Cyclone Tracy in 1974 accounted for $7.4 billion, and the 2022 floods totalled $6.4 billion. 
 
They may be short in duration, but the concentrated impact of hailstorms – particularly on vehicles and rooftops – can lead to extensive and immediate damage. 
 
Weatherwatch, driven by a long-standing commitment to understanding severe weather, developed HailTracker to better observe and analyse hail activity as it happens. Built by meteorologists and tailored to the needs of insurers, HailTracker is a multi-hazard monitoring and alert system that maps hailstorms in real-time, provides rapid alerting, and supports both pre- and post-event decision-making. 
 
"HailTracker allows you to map out hailstorms in real-time," says Weatherwatch Managing Director Anthony Cornelius. "It's got historical data as well… but fundamentally, it maps out and alerts for hail in real-time." 
 
During live storm events, insurers use the platform to track hail paths in real-time, enabling teams to triage claims, estimate potential losses and direct support to affected areas. "Insurers are able to instantly assess claims," Mr Cornelius explains. "It's also providing an effective way to reduce fraudulent or false claims. All an insurer has to do is type in an address, and they can see dates and maps of hail throughout history." 

The alerting system is based on predictive modelling and is updated every five minutes, allowing for targeted hail warnings before the storm hits. "Our Smart Hail system significantly improves on traditional alerts," Mr Cornelius says. "We've reduced false alarms by 86%, and it's offering about 30 to 50% more lead time than manually issued warnings." 
 
The platform also provides national hail and severe weather forecasts, updated daily by Weatherwatch's meteorologists. "We provide national hail and severe weather forecasts across Australia. This allows insurers to forecast potential claims or volumes over the coming days," Mr Cornelius says. "They can then start preparing and ramping up their own resources." 
 
Insurers are using HailTracker data to overlay forecast or observed hail activity against their own portfolios, allowing them to identify affected policyholders and coordinate support. "They can overlay what a hail forecast or hail alert or even hail path mean for their policyholders," Mr Cornelius says. "They can simply just say, 'Anyone who is impacted in this path, we want to contact, or we want to send assessors out to these areas.'" 
 
By combining storm mapping with policyholder data, the platform also supports proactive customer communication – helping insurers build trust, improve response time and reduce downstream costs. 
 
"Most insurers will start with the web-based dashboard… but a lot of them now are integrating with our API to pull that data into their own system," he adds. 
 
Post-event, the same tools support claim verification. "We have many insurers who have come to us, and previously, their version of identification or verification was if the Bureau issued a large hail warning," says Cornelius. "With HailTracker, insurers can zoom right down to the street level." 
 
The platform includes over two decades of radar-derived hail data across parts of Australia, which is being used to support underwriting and risk planning. "Insurers are able to get climatic data to determine underwriting, pricing, potential risk, and insurance planning," he says. In growth corridors or newer suburbs, it's filling gaps where claims records may be limited. 
 
Weatherwatch has also been investigating longer-term climate signals and their relationship with hail activity. The team recently completed an analysis of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to explore whether global climate patterns are influencing hailstorm frequency or intensity across Australia. 
 
"We've found that ENSO is certainly driving some changes," says Cornelius. 
In particular, La Niña conditions appear to increase hail activity in regions not typically known for it. "This insight allows insurers to again better forecast the potential impacts that are going to emerge for them," he says. 
 
HailTracker's long-term dataset is also being used in broader climate and insurance research, including studies into how weather patterns affect regional hail risk. Weatherwatch is also working with international agencies to support early warning systems in developing countries. 
 
While hail remains central to the platform, Weatherwatch continues to expand HailTracker's capabilities to include a broader range of hazards.  
 
By overlaying forecast or observed hail paths with policyholder data, insurers can geospatially target affected customers for early communication and response. 
 
"HailTracker is growing beyond hail into a multi-hazard platform," Mr Cornelius says. "Things such as thunderstorm mapping, real-time rainfall and wind data, live flood heights and archived data. It's evolving into a broader GIS platform." 
 
A new feature currently in development, PerilGuard, will enable insurers to embargo risk zones based on live conditions. "It's allowing insurers to further manage and reduce risks where required," he says, "particularly when it comes to restricting policies when there are – or are about to be – significant weather hazards." 
 
As the system evolves, Cornelius says the motivation remains the same. "We've got a great team of passionate meteorologists who really love working with this data. We are not just doing it from a business point of view. We want to expand the research and understanding of hail and thunderstorms within Australia."