GEO (Global Events Observer) is McKenzie Intelligence Services' catastrophe intelligence platform. It gives insurance and reinsurance professionals a single place to monitor natural catastrophes and man-made events worldwide — and to understand how the damage from these events affect their portfolios.
[SCREENSHOT: GEO homepage showing the world map with event icons]
What GEO monitors
MIS analysts track events every day, including weekends. GEO covers a wide range of peril types: hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hailstorms, winter storms, volcanic eruptions, industrial accidents, and conflict events.
When an event occurs, MIS publishes intelligence layers directly onto GEO — grids and footprints that show where damage has occurred and how severe it is. You can view these layers on the map, filter them, compare before and after imagery, and run your own portfolio data against them.
How MIS builds its intelligence
MIS receives data feeds from any/all relevant sources. Analysts supplement these feeds with local news, social media, weather stations, and sensor networks.
For imagery, MIS works with high-resolution satellite and aerial providers, collecting imagery at 50cm resolution down to in some cases 1cm resolution. Where cloud, smoke, or airspace restrictions prevent standard collection, MIS uses radar and shortwave infrared imagery that can see through those conditions.
[SCREENSHOT: Los Angeles Wildfire report example]
Who GEO is for
GEO is built for insurance and reinsurance professionals who need fast, reliable intelligence when a significant event occurs. The primary users are underwriters, claims teams, catastrophe modellers, and exposure managers. You do not need a GIS or mapping background to use it.
[SCREENSHOT: Location Insights report with damage factors applied]
Other MIS services
Beyond GEO, MIS offers a range of services for specific needs:
Service | What it covers |
Investigations | Bespoke reports on specific locations or events, including expert witness support for litigation |
Post-Event Claims Analysis | Retrospective comparison of MIS assessments against your claims data |
Simulated Events | Stress-test scenarios (e.g. Bank of England DyGIST, historic repeats) run through GEO |
CRP Reviews | Tabletop exercises and catastrophe response procedure reviews |
Geopolitical Briefings | Regular briefings on conflict and geopolitical risk from the MIS Intelligence team |
Model Validation | Running archived events against your portfolio to validate cat model outputs |
Contact the Solutions team at [email protected] for any of these services.
FAQ
Does GEO cover events outside North America?
Yes. GEO is global, with primary focus on events impacting the global insurance market. Conflict and geopolitical events are covered worldwide.
What if an event I care about isn't on GEO?
You can request that MIS respond to it. See [The GEO Homepage] for how to use the Request Event feature.
Do I need technical or GIS experience to use GEO?
No. GEO is a web-based platform designed for insurance professionals. You do not need mapping or data science skills.
Related articles
[Account Setup]
[The GEO Homepage]
[Our Response Timelines]
[Understanding GEO Layers]