Key Challenges For The Region
Increasingly severe bushfire seasons across Western Australia expose horticultural operations to significant physical and financial risk, with glasshouses, shade structures, and living stock particularly vulnerable to fire damage.
Traditional insurers have progressively applied bushfire sub-limits or exclusions for nurseries located in high-exposure zones, leaving operators with critical gaps in their coverage precisely where the risk is greatest.
Standard property policies typically exclude living stock, while lengthy claims processes requiring detailed loss assessments and inventory verification delay financial support at the moment operators need it most.
Key benefits of parametric insurance
Transparent Terms
Policies are built on measurable triggers—like rainfall or temperature—so clients and their brokers know exactly when payouts occur. No fine print, no ambiguity.
Fast, Predictable Payouts
Once a triggering event occurs, payment is issued quickly and automatically—no need for on-site assessments or lengthy claims processes.
Customized Coverage
We work closely with brokers to build each policy around the client’s specific risk and budget profile, providing protection where traditional insurance often cannot.
Flexible Use of Funds
Payouts are based on the severity of natural events occurring, not solely on proven losses, giving clients immediate access to funds and empowering them to cover any type of financial loss, not just for physical damage.
Bushfires in Australia continue to pose a severe and growing threat to agricultural and horticultural businesses, with longer fire seasons and increasing intensity driving asset losses that conventional insurance structures are often ill-equipped to address. For plant nurseries operating in high-exposure zones, the combination of excluded living stock, restricted building coverage, and slow claims processes can make financial recovery an uphill battle.
Descartes' Parametric Bushfire Insurance: Satellite-Based Financial Certainty
Descartes' satellite-based parametric bushfire insurance monitors burnt area around the insured location in near real time, triggering an automatic payout when fire is detected within a predefined perimeter—no damage assessment required. With pre-agreed triggers and transparent payout structures, operators know exactly what they will receive and when, enabling them to focus on recovery rather than claims.
case study example
Parametric Bushfire Solution for a Plant Nursery in Australia
Following a severe bushfire event, a plant nursery in the Perth Hills suffered extensive damage to its key operational structures, including glasshouses and shade infrastructure.
Problem
While the business maintained a traditional property insurance policy, the coverage offered limited protection for buildings exposed to bushfire risk and excluded living stock, leaving the operator with significant uncovered losses. In addition, the claims process required detailed loss assessments and inventory verification, resulting in delays at a time when immediate funding was required to stabilise operations and begin recovery. This prompted the search for a complementary solution capable of delivering fast and predictable financial support after a bushfire event.
Solution
By carving out part of their bushfire exposure into a parametric policy with Descartes, the nursery can secure rapid financial protection. Using high-resolution satellite data, burnt area is monitored around the insured location in near real time. If a bushfire results in a burnt area detected within a predefined 100-metre perimeter around the property, the policy automatically triggers a full payout. Because the trigger is based on objective satellite observations rather than physical damage assessments, the client receives payment within days.
Result
For a A$3 million location limit, the nursery would be entitled to a full payout upon submission of a declaration of loss statement—providing immediate liquidity to cover damage to critical buildings, operational disruption, recovery costs, and other financial impacts not addressed by their traditional property policy.
Contact Us
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