AXA’s Digital Commercial Platform and US-based provider of Earth-imaging services Planet Labs have teamed up to deliver high-frequency satellite imagery for near-real-time disaster monitoring and response.

Under the agreement, the French insurer will incorporate data from Planet’s high- and medium-resolution satellites, along with its frequently updated Basemaps, into the insurer’s AI-driven risk management system.

The combined datasets are expected to strengthen the platform’s ability to assess both natural and human-caused hazards including floods, wildfires and hurricanes.

Planet’s near-daily global coverage will allow AXA DCP to add what it describes as a “ground truth” environmental intelligence layer.

This is aimed at supporting preventive measures against severe weather events.

AXA DCP CEO Pierre du Rostu said: “Natural disasters are now an ever-present danger, and the climate crisis is making them worse. Planet’s data and insights will greatly enhance our ability to do this. We are pleased to be able to bring together that data and our in-house expertise to support our clients and the rest of society. This is the future of insurance.”

Planet said its continuous, analysis-ready imagery enables insurers to scale insights, build predictive models and enhance worldwide risk analysis across disaster preparedness, drought tracking, and wildfire and flood risk evaluation.

The companies said the collaboration is intended to bolster AXA DCP’s capacity to monitor and manage climate-related risks through ongoing Earth observation data streams.

Planet CEO and co-founder Will Marshall added: “With extreme weather events occurring with ever greater scale and frequency, real-time information is critical to intelligently respond.

“This partnership provides AXA’s customers with the objective data needed to navigate environmental volatility and protect communities.”

The Planet agreement follows a separate partnership announced last month between AXA DCP and Finnish satellite operator ICEYE to integrate synthetic aperture radar imagery into the platform’s monitoring services.

ICEYE’s data will be used to track floods, fires and storms as AXA DCP expands its predictive risk offerings.

AXA DCP, which applies AI to threat assessment, said satellite intelligence is being used across domains including natural catastrophes, cybercrime and geopolitical risk analysis.