Author: Caroline Floyd

Categories
CatIQ Announcements CatIQ Connect

Canadian Insured Losses from Catastrophic Events Total CAN $3.1 Billion In 2022

CatIQ - Catastrophe Indices and Quantification. A PERILS Company.

Toronto (January 18, 2023) – Last year ended with a bang, with the east and west each recording their own catastrophe in the final week. The pair of events pushed the Canadian insured catastrophic losses over $3 billion, a mark that hasn’t been reached since 2016 when a wildfire devastated Fort McMurray, AB.

The 2022 total insured catastrophic loss of $3.1 billion lands the year in the top three loss years for the country. There were 15 events which incurred at least $30 million in insured losses and, notably, two events made up a substantial portion of the overall industry total – the May 21 derecho in Ontario and Quebec ($1 billion) and Hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada in September ($800 million).

Laura Twidle, President and CEO of CatIQ said, “There was an unprecedented number of catastrophes in 2022, including now two of the top ten events in Canadian history. As our exposure and severe weather frequency increase, we all must come together to find unique solutions to mitigate the impacts to extreme events.”

These catastrophic events, which directly impact the public, require industry, academia and government to work together before, during and afterwards. In addition to its role as Canada’s loss and exposure indices provider, Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), in partnership with MSA Research, organizes a conference to foster such collaboration in Canada.

Countdown to CatIQ Connect 2023 

CatIQ Connect – Canada’s Catastrophe Conference – returns to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in 2023 on February 7 and 8. The premiere catastrophe conference focusing on concerns affecting Canadians, CatIQ Connect has welcomed hundreds of delegates to its online offerings since October 2020 and welcomes risk management professionals from across Canada and abroad to #ReConnect with their peers.

CatIQ Connect is a content-driven forum geared toward: 

  • Insurance/Reinsurance/Risk Transfer Professionals 
  • All Levels of Government 
  • Engineers/Restoration contractors
  • Academia/Researchers 
  • Risk Managers 
  • Other sectors/organizations dealing with resilience to catastrophes 

Speakers and Session topics for February’s event include: 

  • 2022 ‘Catastrophes in Review’ by CatIQ
  • BC Floods – Claims and Local Perspectives
  • Challenges in CAT Adjusting, Claims & Inflation
  • Federal View on Disaster Risk
  • Innovations in Canadian Flood Modelling
  • Modelling Risk in the Future Climate
  • West Coast Earthquake – The Known Unknowns
  • Sustainability, Resilience, and the Financial Sector
  • A keynote presentation from former Weather Network host and author Chris St. Clair

To view the full agenda, visit connect.catiq.com.

To learn more about CatIQ Connect, visit https://connect.catiq.com/.

About CatIQ

Toronto-based Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) is a subsidiary of Zurich-based PERILS A.G. and delivers detailed analytical and meteorological information on Canadian natural and man-made catastrophes. Through its online subscription-based platform, CatIQ combines comprehensive insured loss and exposure indices and other related information to better serve the needs of the insurance / reinsurance / ILS industries, public sector and other stakeholders. www.catiq.com. CatIQ was established in 2014 with the support of the overwhelming majority of the Canadian insurance and reinsurance industry and is widely recognized as the most reliable source of catastrophe loss information in Canada. CatIQ also partners with MSA Research to host the Canadian catastrophe conference, CatIQ Connect, connect.catiq.com.

— end — 

For more information, please contact: 

Caroline Floyd

Director

CatIQ 

Tel: 1(416)368-1723 x2 

caroline.floyd@catiq.com

www.catiq.com 

Categories
CatIQ Connect

Registration for the Eighth Canadian Catastrophe (CAT) Conference has Opened

Toronto (September 15, 2022) – CatIQ is pleased to announce that registration for its eighth annual Canadian catastrophe conference, CatIQ Connect, is now open. CatIQ Connect will take place February 7-8, 2023 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  The conference will kick off with a review of the catastrophes from 2022 and close with a forecast for 2023.

Canadian insured catastrophic losses have already exceeded $1.5 billion in 2022 according to CatIQ. Impactful weather events are on the rise, and government and industry must look to implement solutions to mitigate the increasing cost of catastrophes.

CatIQ Connect is a content-driven conference designed to foster collaboration between sectors relating to resilience and recovery in the face of catastrophes. “We are so excited to reconnect in person with the catastrophe management community and, once again, our steering committee has put together a phenomenal agenda,” said Laura Twidle, President & CEO of CatIQ. “The 2023 event will focus on collaboration, since we should all be working together to manage impacts from catastrophes and climate change; we want attendees to meet peers inside and outside their respective sector so they can take the next step in understanding and mitigating risk.”

CatIQ Connect is designed for:

  • Insurance/Reinsurance Professionals
  • All Levels of Government
  • Academia/Researchers
  • Risk Managers
  • NGO’s
  • Other sectors/organizations dealing with resilience to catastrophes

The CatIQ Connect 2023 Agenda features 40+ expert speakers. Highlights include:

  • 2022 CATs in Review
  • Atmospheric Rivers, Derechos and Other Scary Things
  • B.C. Floods – Local and Claims Perspectives
  • Claims and Inflation
  • Federal View on Disaster Risk
  • Has the Time Come for CAT Bonds in Canada?
  • Getting Out of Harm’s Way with Managed Retreat
  • Indigenous Communities and Insurance
  • Insurance Adjusting Challenges and Opportunities
  • Modelling the Future Climate
  • The Lytton Recovery
  • Weathering the Storm: Ensuring Good Mental Health in Your Workplace
  • West Coast Earthquake – The Known Unknowns

Save $100 by registering early and save a further $100 per person by registering three or more at https://connect.catiq.com  

Once again, this year’s Steering Committee includes leading organizations concerned with adaptation and management related to Canadian catastrophes, including:

Jim Abraham 2023 Co-emcee and President ClimAction Services Inc. Chris Rol Manager and Sr. Advisor, Climate Adaptation & Flood Policy Insurance Bureau of Canada
Marjorie Brans 2023 Co-emcee and Global Catalyst League of IntrapreneursGreg Smith President, Canadian Operations Crawford & Company
Caroline Floyd Director CatIQLaura Twidle President & CEO CatIQ
Karen Francis SVP Guy Carpenter  Rebecca Wagner Associate Director, Meteorological Service of Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada
Izzy Graham Assistant Vice President Aon  Shaun Walsh VP, Head of Property & Exposure Management, CTU Aviva Canada  
Glenn McGillivray Managing Director Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction  Kyle Winston Chair CRU Group  
Hall Noble Sr. Manager CAT Response, National CAT Claims TD Insurance  Julie Wright Director Partners for Action  
Kelly O’Neill AVP, Natural CAT Pricing Analyst SCOR Canada Reinsurance Company   

To register for CatIQ Connect 2023, or to keep up to date on the latest announcements, visit https://connect.catiq.com.

You can also follow CatIQ on Twitter at @CatIQ_Inc or through the hashtag #CatIQConnect.

About CatIQ

Toronto-based Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) is a subsidiary of Zurich-based PERILS A.G. and delivers detailed analytical and meteorological information on Canadian natural and man-made catastrophes. Through its online subscription-based platform, CatIQ combines comprehensive insured loss and exposure indices and other related information to better serve the needs of the insurance / reinsurance / ILS industries, public sector and other stakeholders. www.catiq.com. CatIQ was established in 2014 with the support of the overwhelming majority of the Canadian insurance and reinsurance industry and is widely recognized as the most reliable source of catastrophe loss information in Canada. CatIQ also partners with MSA Research to host the Canadian catastrophe conference, CatIQ Connect, connect.catiq.com which will return to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Feb 7-8, 2023.

For more information, please contact:

Caroline Floyd, Director, CatIQ

Tel: 416-368-1723 x2

caroline.floyd@catiq.com

www.catiq.com

Categories
CatIQ Announcements

CatIQ Names Laura Twidle President & CEO; Joel Baker to Become Vice Chairman

CatIQ - Catastrophe Indices and Quantification. A PERILS Company.

Toronto (June 28, 2022) – Catastrophe Indices & Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), Canada’s loss and exposure indices provider, today announced that Laura Twidle will assume the role of President & Chief Executive Officer. In addition, Caroline Floyd, currently Assistant Director of Catastrophic Loss Analysis, will become Director. Both appointments are effective as of July 1, 2022.

Twidle, who has served as Managing Director for CatIQ since 2019, succeeds Joel Baker, who established the company in 2014 and has served as the President & CEO since its inception. Baker will take on the role of Vice Chairman of CatIQ.

In her new role, Twidle will report to Luzi Hitz, CEO of PERILS A.G. CatIQ was acquired by PERILS in July 2019.

Commenting on the appointments, Hitz said: “I am delighted that Laura has been appointed CEO of CatIQ. She has been a leading figure in the company’s growth and brings an incredible level of insight into the Canadian Cat arena to the role. Laura and Caroline are both very dynamic, motivated and committed people who in an ever-changing risk and technology environment will help drive CatIQ forward. I am also glad that CatIQ founder Joel Baker will be staying on as Vice Chairman and that we will continue to be able to rely upon his exceptional knowledge of the Canadian insurance industry.”

Twidle added: “I want to thank Joel for his mentorship and dedication to CatIQ. I am honored to be entrusted with leading an organization that holds such an important role in the catastrophe risk management sector. I believe the loss and exposure metrics CatIQ provides will be of substantial value to the industry as they focus more on climate change and the extreme events taking place in our own backyard.”

Laura Twidle

Twidle joined CatIQ in 2017 as Director of Catastrophic Loss Analysis and became Managing Director in 2019. Twidle has been a member of the Canadian catastrophe conference, CatIQ Connect steering committee since 2017 and has spoken at various industry events relating to the impact of extreme weather. Twidle holds a Master of Science degree in atmospheric and oceanic sciences from McGill University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology and mathematics from Central Michigan University. Before joining CatIQ, Twidle was a meteorologist at an engineering firm.

About CatIQ

Toronto-based Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) is a subsidiary of Zurich-based PERILS A.G. and delivers detailed analytical and meteorological information on Canadian natural and man-made catastrophes. Through its online subscription-based platform, CatIQ combines comprehensive insured loss and exposure indices and other related information to better serve the needs of the insurance / reinsurance / ILS industries, public sector and other stakeholders. www.catiq.com. CatIQ was established in 2014 with the support of the overwhelming majority of the Canadian insurance and reinsurance industry and is widely recognized as the most reliable source of catastrophe loss information in Canada. CatIQ also partners with MSA Research to host the Canadian catastrophe conference, CatIQ Connect, connect.catiq.com which will return to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Feb 7-8, 2023.

About PERILS AG

PERILS is an independent Zurich-based organisation providing industry-wide natural catastrophe exposure and event loss data. The PERILS Industry Exposure & Loss Database is available to all interested parties via annual subscription. The database contains industry property sums insured and event loss information on a CRESTA zone level and per property line of business. PERILS industry loss estimates provided via the PERILS Industry Loss Index Service can be used as triggers in insurance risk transactions such as industry loss warranty contracts (ILW) or insurance-linked securities (ILS). The service currently covers the following 18 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. In addition, PERILS industry exposure data are available for Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. The use of PERILS exposure and loss data other than in conjunction with a valid PERILS License and according to its terms, by a Licensee or an Authorized User as defined in the License, is illegal and expressly forbidden.

More information can be found at https://www.catiq.com and https://www.perils.org

Contact:

CatIQ | +1.416.368.1723 | admin@catiq.com                                         

Categories
CatIQ Announcements

CatIQ Issues Annual Update of Insurance Industry Exposure Database for Canada, CAD 9.3 trillion Personal Property Assets Insured Against Fire

CatIQ - Catastrophe Indices and Quantification. A PERILS Company.

Toronto (May 30, 2022) – Catastrophe Indices & Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), a subsidiary of Zurich-based PERILS AG, today released the annual update of its Canadian insurance Industry Exposure Database (IED). Developed with the support of the Canadian P&C industry, the IED now contains 2021 year-end estimates of Canadian industry property sums insured.

As in previous years, the database makes available industry property sums insured, number of risks and prevailing original insurance conditions by:

  • Canada Post Forward Sortation Area (FSA)/CRESTA zone
  • Peril (windstorm, hail, fire, flood, sewer back-up, earthquake and volcanic eruption)
  • Line of business (personal, commercial, and motor hull)
  • Cover type (building, vehicle, contents, business interruption and additional living expense, where applicable)

The IED for the Canadian insurance market shows a steady growth in the personal line of business. Since the start of data collection in 2016, there has been a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.7% in the personal line fire total sums insured. The personal fire exposure currently stands at CAD 9.3 trillion.

Launched in June 2018, CatIQ’s IED is based on detailed exposure submissions from a majority of the Canadian insurance market. Consistent with PERILS’ globally recognized methodology, CatIQ’s IED is updated annually from the ground-up. Also, with the support of the participating insurers, CatIQ produces industry loss estimates at the FSA level as follows:

  • The same perils, lines of business and cover types as listed above
  • Any catastrophe that results in an industry loss greater than C$250 million

This detailed loss dataset is now comprised of seven major events, including:

  • Fort McMurray Wildfire – April 2016
  • Windstorm in Ontario and Quebec – May 2018
  • Ottawa and Gatineau Tornadoes – September 2018
  • Fort McMurray Ice Jam Flooding – April 2020
  • Calgary Hailstorm – June 2020
  • Calgary Hailstorm – July 2021
  • British Columbia Flooding – November 2021

Commenting on the announcement, Laura Twidle, Managing Director of CatIQ, said: “The industry, and other stakeholders, now have access to six years of exposure data. This is beneficial to the industry to better understand their catastrophe risk and where the insurance gaps exist.”

Luzi Hitz, CEO of PERILS, added: “The release of the latest Canadian IED update is due to the continued support of our data providing insurance companies to whom we are extremely grateful. It is also the culmination of considerable work undertaken by our team in Toronto. It completes another annual update of all markets covered by PERILS, which we believe remains the leading source of IEDs used in the industry. Given the increasingly challenging global risk environment, the release of the latest IEDs is very timely as it supports industry efforts to better understand Cat risks and also facilitates more effective industry loss based risk transfer.”

CatIQ’s IED module is available on CatIQ’s platform along with the Canadian catastrophe loss database. Primary insurers participating in the IED program receive the IED module at no extra charge. Furthermore, CatIQ’s Canadian IED and granular loss information is made available on the PERILS platform.

In addition to Canada, PERILS database contains up-to-date information about property market sums insured exposed to natural perils in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Indonesia, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

About CatIQ

Toronto-based Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) is a subsidiary of Zurich-based PERILS A.G. and delivers detailed analytical and meteorological information on Canadian natural and man-made catastrophes. Through its online subscription-based platform, CatIQ combines comprehensive insured loss and exposure indices and other related information to better serve the needs of the insurance / reinsurance / ILS industries, public sector and other stakeholders. www.catiq.com. CatIQ was established in 2014 with the support of the overwhelming majority of the Canadian insurance and reinsurance industry and is widely recognized as the most reliable source of catastrophe loss information in Canada. CatIQ also partners with MSA Research to host the Canadian catastrophe conference, CatIQ Connect, connect.catiq.com which will return to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Feb 7-8, 2023.

About PERILS AG

PERILS is an independent Zurich-based organisation providing industry-wide natural catastrophe exposure and event loss data. The PERILS Industry Exposure & Loss Database is available to all interested parties via annual subscription. The database contains industry property sums insured and event loss information on a CRESTA zone level and per property line of business. PERILS industry loss estimates provided via the PERILS Industry Loss Index Service can be used as triggers in insurance risk transactions such as industry loss warranty contracts (ILW) or insurance-linked securities (ILS). The service currently covers the following 17 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. In addition, PERILS industry exposure data are available for Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. The use of PERILS exposure and loss data other than in conjunction with a valid PERILS License and according to its terms, by a Licensee or an Authorized User as defined in the License, is illegal and expressly forbidden.

More information can be found at https://www.catiq.com and https://www.perils.org

Contacts:

Contacts:

Laura Twidle                                                   Nigel Allen

+1 416 368 1723 x1                                        +44 7988 478824

laura.twidle@catiq.com                                nigel.allen@perils.org

Categories
Catastrophes CatIQ Announcements CatIQ Connect

Canadian insured losses from catastrophic events exceed CAN $2 billion in 2021

CatIQ - Catastrophe Indices and Quantification. A PERILS Company.

Toronto (January 11, 2022) – 2021 saw much discussion of a ‘new normal’ for Canadians, but when it comes to insured losses, it seems that the new normal – where annual losses due to catastrophes exceed $2 billion annually – is already firmly established.

2021’s total insured catastrophic loss sits at a hefty $2.04 billion as of this release, landing the year in the top five loss years for the country. And with 14 events incurring at least $25 million in insured losses, the year also ties for second place in terms of number of catastrophes. Western Canada bore the brunt of 2021’s wrath, as fires, windstorms, and record-smashing flooding lashed British Columbia and the Prairies.

“Climate-related catastrophes in Canada are increasing in frequency and severity and impacting our communities like never before,” said Lisa Guglietti, EVP and Chief Operating Officer, P&C Manufacturing at The Co-operators.  “As an industry, we must collaborate across sectors to develop real action and proactive solutions that protect the financial security of Canadians, by focusing on preventing losses, increasing risk awareness, and investing in solutions and infrastructure that will help build long-term community resiliency.”

These catastrophic events, which directly impact the public, require industry, academia and government to work together before, during and afterwards. In addition to its role as Canada’s loss and exposure indices provider, Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), in partnership with MSA Research, organizes a conference to foster such collaboration in Canada.  

Countdown to CatIQ Connect’s Catastrophes: Past, Present, and Innovative Paths Forward Webinar

CatIQ Connect – Canada’s Catastrophe Conference – continues in virtual format in 2022, as the in-person event remains suspended. Over the past year and a half, CatIQ has developed a series of quarterly webinars to focus on top-of-mind themes for all CAT stakeholders. Hundreds of delegates have participated in CatIQ Connect’s online format since October 2020.

The next of these events, scheduled to take place February 10, 2022, will feature in-depth commentary on the catastrophe landscape in Canada, reviewing 2021’s CATs in detail, analyzing the current state of the industry, and looking ahead to 2022 and beyond.

CatIQ Connect, is a content-driven forum geared toward: 

  • Insurance/Reinsurance/Risk Transfer Professionals 
  • All Levels of Government 
  • Engineers/Restoration contractors
  • Academia/Researchers 
  • Risk Managers 
  • Other sectors/organizations dealing with resilience to catastrophes 

Speakers and Session topics for February’s event include: 

  • 2021 ‘Catastrophes in Review’ by CatIQ
  • State of the Industry
    • Lisa Guglietti, EVP & COO, P&C Manufacturing, The Co-operators Group
    • Claus-Ulrich Kroll, President & CEO, Munich Re Canada and Temple Insurance
    • Matt Wolfe, President – Reinsurance Solutions (Canada), Aon
    • Moderated by Don Forgeron, President & CEO, Insurance Bureau of Canada
  • Government Spotlight
    • Laniel Bateman, Director for Climate Change Adaptation Policy, Environment and Climate Change Canada
    • Steve Mennill, Chief Climate Officer, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
    • Vanessa Wen, Director, Strategic Policy Division, Public Safety Canada
    • Moderated by Amy Graham, Senior Market Underwriter, Vice President, Americas, Swiss Re
  • Building a Resilient Canada Report
    • Scott Vaughan, Chair, Expert Panel on Disaster Resilience in a Changing Climate, Council of Canadian Academies (CCA)
  • Incentivizing ‘Build Back Better’
    • Justin Pockar, Manager Customer Advisory Services, The City of Calgary
    • Moderated by Paul Kovacs, Executive Director, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction
  • A keynote presentation on innovative insurance
  • 2022 Natural Catastrophes: The Forecasts Says?
    • Steve Bowen, Meteorologist and Head of Catastrophe Insight, Aon

Laura Twidle, Managing Director at CatIQ said, “The past two years have been nothing if not memorable catastrophe years for Canada. We are happy to have been able to bring together the catastrophe experts from different sectors to discuss the challenges they’ve faced, how they have overcome them, and what’s next.”

To learn more about CatIQ Connect, visit https://connect.catiq.com/.

Categories
CatIQ Announcements CatIQ Connect

Registration for CatIQ Connect’s October ’21 webinar now open

Cyber & The Connected World

Toronto (September 14, 2021) – CatIQ and MSA Research are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the first of the Canadian catastrophe conference’s 2021/2022 online webinar series. The upcoming CatIQ Connect quarterly series will be held in October and December of 2021 and February and June of 2022.  

“Given the uncertainty of the global pandemic, we made the decision to continue the webinar series through June 2022,” said Joel Baker, CEO, of CatIQ and MSA Research. “The 2020/2021 series welcomed over 500 participants to the online format, with sessions covering everything from the latest in catastrophe modelling and risk systems, to the ways the pandemic forced leaps forward in claims adjusting technology.” CatIQ Connect is a platform where industry, all levels of government, and academia come together to discuss mitigation and adaptation strategies, technological advancements, and sector perspectives around natural and human-made catastrophe management.

Registration is now open for CatIQ Connect:  

October 14, 2021 – Cyber and the Connected World 

Session highlights for October 14: 

  • Cyber Insurance: Challenges, Opportunities, and the State of the Industry with Judith Branham, Managing Director, Aon, and moderated by Gregory Eskins, Managing Director, Cyber Product Leaders, US & Canada, Marsh Canada  
  • Tail Risks Arising from Our Interconnected World with Dr. Rachel Anne Carter, Director of Cyber at the Geneva Association, Jess Fung, Managing Director, North American Cyber Analytics Lead at Guy Carpenter, Scott Stransky, Managing Director, Head of the Cyber Risk Analytics Center of Excellence at Marsh McLennan, moderated by Jordan Brennan, Chief Economist and VP of Policy Development at the Insurance Bureau of Canada 
  • Communities in an Integrated World with Stephanie Rackley-Roach, Acting Director of Corporate Performance/CIO, City of Saint John and an EPCOR Utilities representative 
  • A keynote presentation on Systems Theory 

Save the dates for the full webinar series lineup: 

  • December 2, 2021 –Catastrophe Model and Technology Updates 
  • February 10, 2022 – Catastrophes: Past, Present, and Innovative Paths Forward 
  • June 9, 2022 – Sustainable and Inclusive CAT Management at All Levels 

As always, the conference Steering Committee brings together leading organizations concerned with adaptation and management related to Canadian catastrophes, including:  

Jim Abraham
President, ClimAction Services Inc.  		Tara Laidman
Program Director,  Flood Initiative & Telematics, Co-operators Group 
Lesley Baran
National Catastrophe Claims Lead, Wawanesa Insurance 		Glenn McGillivray
Managing Director, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction  
Marjorie Brans
Director of Ecosystem Impact, School for Social Entrepreneurs Canada 		Natalia Moudrak
Managing Director, Climate Resiliency Leader, Public Sector Partnership, Aon 
Daryl Duke
Senior Vice President & Chief Underwriting Officer, Munich Re 		Chris Rol
Manager, Policy, Insurance Bureau of Canada 
Roberto Figueroa
Advisor, Climate Risk Analytics, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation 		Laura Twidle
Managing Director, CatIQ 
Caroline Floyd
Assistant Director of Catastrophic Loss Analysis, CatIQ 		Rebecca Wagner
Associate Director, Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada 
Karen Francis
Vice President, Guy Carpenter  		Kyle Winston
Co-founder & President,  CRU Group Inc. 
Sean Hobson
Vice President, National Commercial Accounts, WINMAR 		 

To register for the October session, and to keep up to date on the latest announcements for future sessions, visit connect.catiq.com. You can also follow CatIQ on Twitter at @CatIQ_Inc or through the hashtag #CatIQConnect.   

Categories
CatIQ Announcements

CatIQ and Northern Tornadoes Project Announce Partnership

Catastrophe Indices & Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) and Western University’s Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) have entered into a partnership. The partnership will include the addition of NTP’s tornado tracks and downburst extents to the CatIQ Platform and adding CatIQ insured loss estimates to catastrophic severe weather event documentation in NTP’s open-access database.  

Commenting on the announcement, Laura Twidle, Managing Director of CatIQ, said: “The addition of the Northern Tornadoes Project’s precise tornado tracks and downburst extents provides CatIQ subscribers with a comprehensive catastrophe hub that helps them to quickly assess the damage area in large loss events,” adding that, “We are excited to be working with Dr. Sills and his outstanding team on this initiative.” 

Dr. David Sills, Executive Director at NTP, said: “Obtaining accurate loss information for tornado and other damaging wind events is a challenging but necessary aspect of event impact assessment. The insured loss data that CatIQ provides will help NTP ensure that the best available data are used for event documentation. We look forward to working with the CatIQ team and sharing both data and innovative ideas.” 

About Northern Tornadoes Project 

The Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP), founded in 2017 as a partnership between Western University and ImpactWX, aims to better detect tornado occurrence throughout Canada, improve severe and extreme weather understanding and prediction, mitigate against harm to people and property, and investigate future implications due to climate change. NTP actively works to develop new methods and tools to inform the field of severe storms research, and utilizes satellite, surveillance planes, drones and on-the-ground observations to capture and analyze tornado events and their damage. NTP believes it will take the combined efforts of the full severe weather community of scientists, emergency managers, storm enthusiasts and media outlets to ensure the project’s success across the country. NTP began as a unique way to track tornadoes in Northern Ontario in 2017, expanded Ontario-wide in 2018, and Canada-wide in 2019. It is the most comprehensive analysis of tornadoes ever undertaken in Canada and seeks to have a national and international impact. 

More information can be found at https://www.catiq.com and https://www.uwo.ca/ntp/.  

Contacts: 

Laura Twidle Dr. David Sills 
+1 416 368 1723 x1 +1 705 985 3416 
Laura.Twidle@catiq.com  David.Sills@uwo.ca  

Categories
CatIQ Announcements CatIQ Platform

CatIQ Issues Annual Update of Insurance Industry Exposure Database for Canada, Increased Flood Exposures

CatIQ - Catastrophe Indices and Quantification. A PERILS Company.

Toronto (April 30, 2021) – Catastrophe Indices & Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), a subsidiary of Zurich-based PERILS AG, today released the annual update of its Canadian insurance Industry Exposure Database (IED). Developed with the support of the Canadian P&C industry, the IED now contains 2020 year-end estimates of Canadian industry property sums insured.  

As in previous years, the database makes available industry property sums insured, number of risks and prevailing original insurance conditions by: 

  • Canada Post Forward Sortation Area (FSA) 
  • Peril (windstorm, hail, fire, flood, sewer back-up, earthquake and volcanic eruption) 
  • Line of business (personal, commercial, and motor hull) 
  • Cover type (building, vehicle, contents, business interruption and additional living expense, where applicable) 

The Canadian insurance market added overland flood coverage in 2015 and the steady growth is reflected in the Canadian IED. Since the start of data collection in 2016, there has been a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 82% in the personal line number of risks. In total, the personal flood exposure has more than doubled during that period and now stands at CAD 5 trillion.  

Launched in June 2018, CatIQ’s IED is based on detailed exposure submissions from a majority of the Canadian insurance market. Consistent with PERILS’ globally recognized methodology, CatIQ’s IED is updated annually from the ground-up. Also, with the support of the participating insurers, CatIQ produces industry loss estimates at the FSA level as follows: 

  • The same perils, lines of business and cover types as listed above 
  • Any catastrophe that results in an industry loss greater than C$300 million 

This detailed loss dataset is now comprised of five major events, including the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire, the 2018 May Windstorm in Ontario and Quebec, the Ottawa and Gatineau tornadoes of September 2018, the 2020 Fort McMurray ice jam flooding and the June Calgary hailstorm.  

Commenting on the announcement, Laura Twidle, Managing Director of CatIQ, said: “Insurers, along with the wider industry, now have access to five years of exposure data which allows for the improved analysis of specific trends.” She added that “The history and level of detail in the Canadian IED and the CatIQ Loss platform will provide immense value to insurers, reinsurers, broker and modelers.”  

Luzi Hitz, CEO of PERILS, added: “Today’s release of the Canadian IED completes the 2021 update cycle of the PERILS exposure databases. We now provide IEDs for 21 important Cat markets around the world. Each year they are constructed ‘from-ground-up using sums insured information sourced from the covered markets. We are convinced that they are the best IEDs available in the market and together with our industry loss information form a deep data pool for Cat risk analytics, market benchmarking and industry-loss-based risk transfer.” 

CatIQ’s IED module is available on CatIQ’s platform along with the Canadian catastrophe loss database. Primary insurers participating in the IED program receive the IED module at no extra charge. Furthermore, CatIQ’s Canadian IED and granular loss information is made available on the PERILS platform. In addition to Canada, PERILS’ Industry Exposure and Loss Database covers Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. 

About PERILS AG 

PERILS is an independent Zurich-based organization providing industry-wide natural catastrophe exposure and event loss data. The PERILS Industry Exposure & Loss Database is available to all interested parties via annual subscription. PERILS industry loss estimates, provided via the PERILS Industry Loss Index Service, can be used as triggers in insurance risk transactions such as industry loss warranty contracts (ILW) or insurance-linked securities (ILS) and currently covers the following 17 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The use of PERILS exposure and loss data other than in conjunction with a valid PERILS License and according to its terms, by a Licensee or an Authorized User as defined in the License, is illegal and expressly forbidden.

More information can be found at https://www.catiq.com and https://www.perils.org  

Contacts: 

Laura Twidle +1 416 368 1723 x1 laura.twidle@catiq.com

Nigel Allen +44 7988 478824 nigel.allen@perils.org 

Categories
Catastrophes CatIQ Announcements CatIQ Connect

CatIQ in the news

Insurance Business Canada’s Alicja Grzadkowska was among the media presence at CatIQ Connect’s February webinar, Catastrophes – 2020 Review, 2021 Preview. Her article, “Biggest Canadian catastrophes of 2020 reveal a significant rise in risk,” focuses on the 2020 CATs in Review presentation, given by our own Laura Twidle.

“The past year hasn’t just been a unique one in Canada due to the pandemic – it’s also been an interesting year because of the variety in severe weather we’ve seen, and the impact events have had across the country. Notably, 2020 was ranked as the fourth highest in insured losses since 1983.

During CatIQ Connect’s February webinar, managing director Laura Twidle outlined the major weather events from the past year, and while it may be hard for many of us to remember what exactly happened in January 2020 when we were living out the last few blissful weeks of our pre-COVID existence, the CatIQ database never forgets.”

Read the full article at Insurance Business Canada, here.

Categories
CatIQ Announcements CatIQ Connect

Countdown to CatIQ Connect’s Catastrophes: 2020 Review, 2021 Preview Webinar

Toronto (January 4, 2021) – Looking back, 2020 will go into the history books as both one-of-a-kind and the same old, same old. While a global pandemic paused many aspects of our lives, catastrophes gave us no reprieve. Natural catastrophe records were broken globally, including some right in our backyard. Though 2020 was a year of exceptions in many ways, it falls right in line with the past decade when it comes to Canada’s increasing trend of annual catastrophic loss.

Canadian insured losses from catastrophic events in 2020 were nearly CAN $2.5 billion – CatIQ 

The years where annual catastrophic insured losses were below $1 billion seem to be a thing of the past; 2020 went one further and surpassed $2 billion in the first half of the year. The two largest events occurred in the second quarter. The Fort McMurray ice jam resulted in a 1 in 100-year flood event and caused a staggering $562 million of insured loss in the spring, and the June 13th Calgary hailstorm which pelted areas of the northeast with tennis ball-sized hail became the costliest hailstorm on record for Canada at $1.3 billion. These catastrophic events, which directly impact the public, require industry, academia and government to work together before, during and afterwards. In addition to its role as Canada’s loss and exposure indices provider, Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), in partnership with MSA Research, organizes a conference to foster such collaboration in Canada.  

CatIQ Connect, is a content-driven forum geared toward: 

  • Insurance/Reinsurance/Risk Transfer Professionals 
  • All Levels of Government 
  • Engineers/Restoration contractors
  • Academia/Researchers 
  • Risk Managers 
  • Other sectors/organizations dealing with resilience to catastrophes 

Session topics: 

  • 2020 ‘Catastrophes in Review’ by CatIQ
  • State of the Industry
    • Peter Askew, President & CEO, Guy Carpenter
    • Paul MacDonald, EVP, Personal Insurance, Economical Insurance
    • Monica Ningen, President & CEO, Canada and English Caribbean, Swiss Re
    • Moderated by Paul Kovacs, Executive Director, ICLR
  • The Future of Claims Adjusting
    • Bill Dietz, President Paul Davis Canada
    • Skip McHardy, EVP, CRU Group
    • Moderated by Christopher Bartlett, President of the CIAA and Supervisor – National Claims Management Centre, Crawford and Company
  • Impacts of the Supply Chain on the Insurance Industry
    • Darilyn Dorosz, General Manager, PDR Hail Team
    • Jim Gibb, Vice President, Installation Services, Peak Services
    • Ian McKay, AVP, National Accounts, Insurance Company Solutions, Verisk
    • Colin Young, AVP, JS Held
    • Moderated by Elizabeth Kepes, Claims Corporate Vendor Manager, RSA Insurance Group

With the in-person event, typically held in February each year, being suspended for 2021, CatIQ has developed a series of quarterly webinars to focus on top-of-mind themes for all CAT stakeholders. More than 330 delegates have participated since October in CatIQ Connect’s online format.

“Climate change is causing increasingly erratic and severe weather patterns across the globe and losses from secondary peril events are forecast to increase. The risk Canada faces from extreme weather is growing and the costs of natural catastrophes are rising,” said Dipika Deol, Swiss Re’s Head of Underwriting for Canada and English Caribbean. “Events like CatIQ Connect bring together all key stakeholders to discuss and develop the solutions that will protect communities against the impact of severe weather and increase resilience across all of Canada.”

Laura Twidle, Managing Director at CatIQ says, “We are happy to have been able to bring together catastrophe experts over the past year. As we all learned, mother nature does not sit back just because there is a pandemic. We must all continue to work together to prepare for a future with increasingly frequent extreme events.”

To learn more about CatIQ Connect, visit https://connect.catiq.com/.