Category: CatIQ Announcements

Canadian Insured Losses from Catastrophic Events Exceed CAN $3 Billion in 2023

Post author By Caroline Floyd
Post date January 8, 2024

Toronto (January 8, 2024) – The unprecedented frequency of catastrophic events experienced across Canada in 2023 pushed the insured loss total for the region to CAN $3.1 billion, according to CatIQ, Canada’s insured loss and exposure indices provider.

With total insured catastrophic losses exceeding $3 billion, 2023 was one of the largest loss years for the country; however, unlike the top three loss years, no single event dominated the industry losses.

Top loss years (adjusted for inflation):

2016 – $5.9 billion
2013 – $3.8 billon
2022 – $3.4 billion
2023 – $3.1 billion

Canada also experienced 23 events which generated insured losses in excess of CAN $30 million during the 12-month period – a record number for the country. These included the first-ever catastrophe declared in the territories due to the exceptionally active wildfire season across Canada.

Canada’s most impactful events of 2023 included:

Kelowna Wildfires in British Columbia
Ice Storm in Ontario and Quebec
Tantallon Wildfire in Nova Scotia
Flooding in Nova Scotia
Severe Storms in Ontario and Quebec
Winnipeg Hailstorm in Manitoba

Laura Twidle, President and CEO of CatIQ, said: “Last year was one for the record books – not in terms of the overall insured losses, but rather the total number of catastrophes which occurred during the period. In July and August, there were more catastrophes than Canada has previously seen in an entire year. The country is experiencing the increase in severe events firsthand, and collaboration across sectors is becoming more important to mitigate the impacts.”

These catastrophic events directly impact the public and require the (re)insurance industry, academia, and government to work together before, during and after each loss. To foster greater collaboration between key stakeholders, CatIQ, in partnership with MSA Research, will again host CatIQ Connect – Canada’s Catastrophe Conference – which will take place on February 6-7, 2024 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

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:

2023 ‘Catastrophes in Review’ by CatIQ
Renewals Season Recap – The State of the Industry
Navigating the Rise of Secondary Perils
Wellness in the face of Disaster
Fireside Chat: OSFI on B-15
Modelling 101- Your Questions Answered
Tech Developments
Modelling 201 – Deep Dive on Wildfire
Incentive vs Uptake
CAT 2023 Feature Discussion
Updated from the Federal Government
Non-Traditional Reinsurance
Underwriting Spotlight
Inclusivity in Disaster Management
Earthquake: Raising Our EQ IQ
Climate Change and the Housing Market

To learn more about CatIQ Connect, to view the full agenda, and to register, 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.

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For more information, please contact:

Laura Twidle | CatIQ | Tel: 1(416)368-1723 x1 | Laura.twidle@catiq.com | www.catiq.com

CatIQ Announcements CatIQ Platform

CatIQ Issues Annual Update of Insurance Industry Exposure Database for Canada

Post author By Caroline Floyd
Post date May 25, 2023

CAD 6.2 trillion Personal Property Assets Insured Against Flood

Toronto (May 25, 2023) – 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).

The IED is developed with the support of the Canadian P&C industry and now contains 2022 year-end estimates of Canadian industry property sums insured. The database makes available industry property sums insured, number of risks, and prevailing original insurance conditions by:

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

The Canadian insurance market continues to show steady growth for personal lines specialty perils cover in the 2022 year-end dataset. Since the start of data collection in 2016, there has been a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% in the personal lines flood total sums insured. Personal flood exposure currently stands at CAD 6.2 trillion. Prior to 2015, overland flood coverage was generally not available to homeowners in Canada.

Commenting on the announcement, Laura Twidle, President and CEO of CatIQ, said, “The significant growth in personal lines flood insurance in recent years is clearly a positive development for the market. This, in combination with the announcement from the Government of Canada relating to the creation of a national flood insurance program, will undoubtedly help to bolster the protection of Canadians’ assets. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our participating insurers for their support in the production of this database.”

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

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

This detailed loss dataset comprises eleven 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
Ontario and Quebec Derecho – May 2022
Hurricane Fiona – September 2022
Coming Soon – Eastern Canada Bomb Cyclone – December 2022
Coming Soon – Ontario & Quebec Spring Ice Storm – April 2023

Luzi Hitz, CEO of PERILS, added: “I congratulate the CatIQ Team for the successful launch of the Canadian IED 2023. CatIQ’s high-quality market exposure and loss data not only support a range of model validation and market benchmarking activities but also facilitate risk transfer via industry loss-based re/insurance products. The industry loss data thereby serve as triggers while the exposure data enable the assessment of the expected loss costs of such transactions. In addition, structured industry loss triggers can be designed which follow the protection buyer’s portfolio and thus reduce basis risk.”

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, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

About CatIQ

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

Contacts:

Laura Twidle | +1 416 368 1723 | admin@catiq.com

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

CatIQ Announcements CatIQ Connect

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

Post author By Caroline Floyd
Post date January 18, 2023

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

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For more information, please contact:

Caroline Floyd

Director

CatIQ

Tel: 1(416)368-1723 x2

caroline.floyd@catiq.com

www.catiq.com

CatIQ Announcements

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

Post author By Caroline Floyd
Post date June 28, 2022

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.”

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

About PERILS AG

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

Contact:

CatIQ | +1.416.368.1723 | admin@catiq.com

CatIQ Announcements

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

Post author By Caroline Floyd
Post date May 30, 2022

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.”

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

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:

Laura Twidle Nigel Allen

+1 416 368 1723 x1 +44 7988 478824

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

Catastrophes CatIQ Announcements CatIQ Connect

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

Post author By Caroline Floyd
Post date January 11, 2022

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.”

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/.

CatIQ Announcements CatIQ Connect

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

Post author By Caroline Floyd
Post date September 14, 2021

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.  

CatIQ Announcements

CatIQ and Northern Tornadoes Project Announce Partnership

Post author By Caroline Floyd
Post date May 18, 2021

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

CatIQ Announcements CatIQ Platform

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

Post author By Caroline Floyd
Post date April 30, 2021

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.

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

Catastrophes CatIQ Announcements CatIQ Connect

CatIQ in the news

Post author By Caroline Floyd
Post date March 2, 2021

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.