Re/insurers must invest to dodge a perfect storm of risk – free webinar
A combination of increased oversight by regulators and rating agencies and a perfect storm of socio-economic trends that include climate change and population growth mean that re/insurers that fail to invest in the very latest risk models and mapping data risk being hit by bigger than expected losses
That is the view of Gavin Lewis, commercial director of ImageCat, the creator of the exposure data improvement and analysis platform Inhance. Lewis is also one of the presenters on a free webinar delivered by GfK and Intelligent Insurer on Thursday, September 10. Details of the event can be found below.
GfK offers a solution to the challenge outlined by Lewis through detailed boundary data, largely in the form of digital CRESTA zones, which provide a universal standard for the exchange of aggregated, insurance-related information among insurers and reinsurers.
In his presentation, Lewis will first examine the pressures placed on the industry by factors such as climate change, an increased number of extreme weather events, population growth, growing urbanisation and increased coastal migration.
He will also highlight some of the other industry trends playing into this dynamic such as increased scrutiny by regulators and rating agencies, increased data requirements and also the increased availability of niche, high-fidelity cat models like SeismiCat for US quakes.
“It is something of a perfect storm for re/insurers – they are being pressured from both sides,” Lewis said. “There are more and more people, owning increasingly expensive assets who are also choosing to live in large concentrations in catastrophe-prone areas often near the coast.”
“The only way re/insurers can deal with this dynamic and still write business with confidence in these areas is by having the right information at their fingertips that allows them to make informed judgements on risks.”
A large part of the problem can be solved by using digital CRESTA zone maps with Inhance, Lewis says. CRESTA zones, backed by Munich Re and Swiss Re, provide a common currency for the exchange of aggregated, insurance-related information among insurers and reinsurers.
Lewis explains that once underwriters can get a better handle on the risks they are working with, re/insurers can reduce uncertainties and apply their capital more effectively. “So they might retain more risk or reduce it in certain locations depending on the data and statistics that they have in front of them,” he said.
The September 10 webinar will also feature several ImageCat and GfK use cases examining how CRESTA zones can be used in specific disaster scenarios in Turkey, the Philippines and other areas around the world.
Click here to register.
