On this episode of Conversations on the Creek, Rob Savitsky chats with Sarat Varanasi, P&C Practice Leader at Cognizant about the concept of “digital twins” and how insurers are leveraging them across the insurance lifecycle. Digital twins are virtual representations of physical objects or processes. They are fed by real-time data leveraging technologies such as IoT sensors, telematics devices, and AI/ML solutions.  Rob kicks off the show by asking Sarat for his own definition of digital twins. Sarat notes that while the term is overused and applied differently by different folks in the industry, one key point to keep in mind is that the concept of digital twins can be applied to multiple risks. For example, one of Sarat’s carrier clients has taken the concept of digital twins to create digital replicas of the 300,000 commercial properties that they insure. These properties are pulling in data sources such as aerial imagery about the building, flood zone, and neighborhood, as well as data from Yelp reviews and Google Maps. It’s these sort of data feeds that keep the carriers updated on the status of each risk, and enable them to make better decisions around which subset of properties to conduct physical visits during renewals.  Throughout the conversation, we discuss other use cases for digital twins including distribution, as well as claims assignment during CAT events. Learn more about our partnership with Cognizant by going to duckcreek.com/partner/cognizant/.   Check out all our other episodes and follow us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.