Developing Dynamic Geographical Data Representations
In the face of the ongoing pandemic, understanding the impact on various sectors has become crucial. One such area is the insurance industry, specifically life insurance policies. A team of data enthusiasts has developed an interactive map using Python, the Folium package, and GeoPandas to visualize the discontinuance rate of life insurance policies by geographic regions, such as Local Government Areas (LGAs) in New South Wales, Australia.
The map is built upon a base layer, which opens at the center coordinates of New South Wales, featuring a tile styling of 'OpenStreetMap'. Each LGA is plotted on the map, with each block of land highlighted in green, representing the LGA digital boundary.
To create this interactive map, the following steps were followed:
- Load the geographic data (LGA shapefile): The shapefile containing the geographic boundaries of the LGAs was loaded into a GeoPandas GeoDataFrame.
- Prepare your data with discontinuance rates: A DataFrame was created containing columns for 'LGA_CODE' and 'discontinuance_rate'. This data was obtained from various sources, such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
- Merge the discontinuance rate data with the GeoDataFrame: The DataFrame was merged with the GeoDataFrame, associating the rate values with each polygon.
- Create a Folium map object: A Folium map object was created, centering it on the geographic area of interest, in this case, New South Wales.
- Add a choropleth layer: A choropleth layer was added to the map, coloring each region according to the discontinuance rate.
- Add interactive popups or tooltips (optional): Users can hover or click on a particular LGA to see the exact discontinuance rate.
The discontinuance rates are shown in a color scale in 5 quantiles, making it easier to understand the distribution of the data. The level of opacity in the map allows the suburbs in the base layer to be seen underneath the top layer.
The lockdown measures in New South Wales had a negative impact on spending and people's incomes, which may indirectly cause policyholders to stop renewing their policies due to financial difficulties. This map provides valuable insights into the areas where the impact is more pronounced.
The mapping between Postal Areas and LGAs in New South Wales is available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The map can be extended to other jurisdictions by replacing the Australian geometry data. With the extensive options available in Folium, users can explore more customization to enhance interactivity.
This approach produces an interactive, color-coded map where regions are shaded by discontinuance rate value, and users can get details by hovering or clicking map regions with Folium’s tooltips and popups. By visualizing the discontinuance rates, the team hopes to shed light on the impact of the pandemic on the life insurance industry and help stakeholders make informed decisions.
Technology was used to develop an interactive map that visualizes the discontinuance rate of life insurance policies by geographic regions, such as Local Government Areas (LGAs) in New South Wales, Australia. This map, built with Python, the Folium package, and GeoPandas, offers useful insights into the impact of the pandemic on the life insurance industry.
