RainGuard

Inspiration

Street vendors and daily-wage workers lose income every time it rains too hard or heat forces them to shut their carts — but they're invisible to traditional insurance, which demands paperwork, claims, and proof most informal workers can't provide. We wanted protection that needed none of that: just data, triggered automatically.

What it does

RainGuard is a parametric micro-insurance platform. It monitors live weather telemetry across market zones, calculates a risk score (60% heat, 40% rainfall), and auto-triggers tiered payouts when thresholds are crossed — no claims filed. Nearby vendors peer-verify ground conditions before funds release, preventing fraud. Workers track payouts, receipts, and wallet balance; NGO admins oversee claims and zones from a dedicated console.

How we built it

React + TypeScript + Vite frontend, Tailwind for a warm, accessible UI, React Router for multi-page navigation, and Firebase (Auth + Firestore) for persistence. We built a weighted risk-scoring engine, a tiered payout rule system, and a decentralized peer-confirmation flow with GPS zone-matching for anti-fraud checks. Zone Map uses Leaflet with real GPS coordinates.

Challenges we ran into

Designing a payout formula that felt fair and explainable, not a black box. Building peer verification that resists fraud without needing real-time GPS hardware. Keeping the UI accessible for low-literacy, low-bandwidth users while still feeling like a serious financial product.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

A fully working, multi-page, real-backend app (not just a single-screen demo) — explainable receipts, live risk telemetry, peer quorum verification, and an admin oversight console, all functional end-to-end.

What we learned

How to design trust into an automated system — transparency (showing exact data behind every payout) matters as much as the algorithm itself. Also learned to balance technical depth with real accessibility constraints.

What's next for RainGuard

Real weather/satellite API integration, actual payment gateway (UPI) connectivity, multi-city expansion, and partnerships with NGOs and municipal bodies for pilot deployment.

Built With

• firebase
• firestore
• leaflet.js
• lucide
• react
• react-router
• tailwind-css
• typescript
• vite