May 11, 2025

Will Bonner, COO: McKenzie Intelligence Services: Seeing through smoke: geospatial intelligence at work (354)

31 minutes

How can insurers make accurate loss estimates before adjusters are on the ground, and why does it matter?

In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks with Will Bonner, Chief Operating Officer at McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS), about how the company uses satellite data, open-source intelligence and human expertise to deliver early insights on catastrophic events. From wildfires in California to civil unrest in the Pacific, the conversation explores how insurers are responding faster, setting more accurate reserves and navigating uncertainty in real time.

The episode also highlights the practical challenges of relying on public data sources, the growing role of brokers in geospatial intelligence and how MIS transitioned from a centrally funded Lloyd’s service to a solution used by 80% of syndicates. With real-world examples and lessons from other domains like defence and disaster response, this is a grounded look at what it takes to turn raw data into operational decisions.

Key Talking Points:

Intelligence before access – how MIS delivers building-level damage assessments before roads reopen or planes can fly

From imagery to insight – why expert human analysis still outperforms automation in post-disaster response

Scaling trust – what it takes to become a Lloyd’s elective service for catastrophe intelligence

From fires to frontlines – how MIS tracks 50,000+ buildings in wildfire zones to anticipate claims before they’re filed

Beyond Lloyd’s – what global carriers and brokers are asking for as MIS expands into the US and beyond

Stress-testing your stack – why reliance on single public datasets could leave insurers exposed in 2025

Real-time relevance – how MIS is turning horizon scanning into an actionable, insurer-led signal layer

Experiment, iterate, evolve – what MIS has learned from testing edge ideas like mobile phone data and evacuation mapping

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. You can also contact Will Bonner on LinkedIn to start a conversation!

Continuing Professional Development

This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

List the types of natural and man-made events MIS monitors, from wildfires to geopolitical conflicts.

Specify how reliance on single-source public datasets could create systemic risks for insurers.

Identify the workflows and use cases where insurers benefit most from horizon scanning and rapid event monitoring.

If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 354 page of the InsTech website or email [email protected] to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

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