Two Lloyd’s Lab start-ups are harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) and new sources of data to help insurers and their clients better understand geopolitical threats.

The innovative work is underway by Moonshot and Verisk Maplecroft, two of 11 successful insurtech teams selected to make up the 2021 cohort of the Lloyd’s Lab innovation 10-week accelerator program.

Lloyd’s says a variety of external data sources and modern algorithms should be considered to better understand the threat.

“Using AI and new sources of data we expect to see an increase in our understanding in coming years. In our innovation accelerator, the Lloyd's Lab, we have been exploring this with two companies, Verisk Maplecroft and Moonshot,” it said.

Global risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft estimates 75 countries will see an increase in protests by late 2022, with potential to cause catastrophic damage to businesses as inequality, and climate change drive social unrest.

“Services which use a variety of new data sources will help risk owners to understand the granularity of these threats. This may be a key area where insurers can partner with such firms in future,” Lloyd’s said.

Founded in 2001, Verisk Maplecroft has been innovating with underwriters to develop political risk solutions for the insurance industry with a particular focus on strikes, riots and civil Commotion.

Its model covers 198 countries with individual event granularity and offers 300 indicators which underpin 51 political risk indices.

“They combine artificial intelligence with structured input from political risk experts to form global forecasts on how and where political risks are likely to emerge,” Lloyd’s said. “Using the combination of new technologies with expert analyst judgements, they aim to enhance how companies and investors identify, measure, analyse and proactively manage geopolitical risks.”

Fellow Lab participant Moonshot maps extremism and organised crime, terrorism and political violence. Originally developed for major governments, Moonshot is exploring pivoting its work for use by insurers and their clients.

It makes use of encrypted information and patentable technology to extract data at scale from over 57 territories in 33 languages. The product has been designed through working with governments and major technology companies to assess terrorism threats in dozens of countries around the world.

“Their approach merges hard to find data on complex man-made risks with expert-developed indicators and algorithms using thousands of heterogeneous hidden data sources on organised crime and terrorism,” Lloyd’s says.