Catastrophe, Climate, Camaraderie, Collaboration…

For many of us working in the world of modelling risk from climate, catastrophe and man-made perils, the concept of “collaboration” has been at the heart of how, and often why, we work in this field. The most successful models, whether 30 years old or emerging this year, rely on public information from both research and government bodies. When it comes to insuring disasters, the many are better than the few. Most catastrophic risk is spread amongst multiple insurers and reinsurers. The mitigation and resilience measures encouraged by insurers, often through incentives, benefit society as a whole.

After a hiatus in the development and support of new models for a few years between 2011 and only recently, it is tremendous to see a return to the vigour, enthusiasm, intellect and personal connections returning to risk assessment and insurance. Today, there are over 60 companies developing models and data for insurers to assess climate, hazard and catastrophe risks, and we are delighted to be at the forefront of bringing so many fascinating people together to discuss topics that are so critical in these changing times. Our Exponential Risk event in March in London was a major success. Stay tuned for a lot more to come in that space…

The first prediction engine for the Earth and everything on it

In a recent episode of the InsTech podcast, Matthew was joined by Sarah Russell, General Manager at Bellwether, to discuss how the Google X project is using machine learning to model wildfire risk, identify overlooked low-risk zones and improve underwriting performance.

How the Myanmar earthquake shook Bangkok and exposed catastrophe risk gaps in insurance

The March 2025 quake exposed modelling limitations and construction-phase vulnerabilities after a Bangkok high-rise collapsed over 1,000 km from the epicentre. Watch the latest episode of Exponential Risk TV for analysis from InsTech and fellow industry experts.

Climate and Cat Risk news

Flooding in central and southwestern parts of Queensland Australia

Major rivers reached unprecedented levels and caused widespread damage to infrastructure and agriculture.

€2.19 billion loss from September 2024 Central Europe floods

Losses were calculated using PERILS CORE for Austria and Italy and CRESTA CLIX-based EXTENDED methodology for other affected territories.

Tropical Storm Risk predicts 2 US hurricane landfalls in 2025

The April update forecasts 14 named storms and 7 hurricanes.

Insurers face billion-dollar risks from hail damage

ZestyAI reports that over 12.6 million US properties are vulnerable to hail-related roof damage, with potential replacement costs reaching $189.5 billion USD.

South Korea wildfires burn over 88,000 acres

Fires across the Gyeongsang provinces led to mass evacuations, structural damage and containment challenges amid limited rainfall and high winds.

Industry updates

Addresscloud launches North American product for property risk

The product delivers building-level risk data for 20 natural hazards, supporting underwriting, exposure management and predictive modelling.

Aon introduces solution for US well-plugging initiatives

The product provides liability coverage for well-plugging operations, offering security to carbon credit buyers and investors involved in environmental projects.

Cytora partners with Vāyuh on property insurance underwriting

The partnership integrates Vāyuh’s climate risk models with Cytora’s platform, supporting property underwriters’ ability to assess and manage weather-related risks.

IDF launches agricultural insurance in Uzbekistan

Swiss Re, alongside Europa RE, UNDP and supported by BMZ through the InsuResilience Solutions Fund, has launched agricultural insurance products for climate-vulnerable smallholder farmers.

JBA Risk Management integrates NVIDIA Earth-2 for flood risk

The collaboration leverages AI-driven weather models to improve the simulation and representation of extreme events in catastrophe modelling.

MAIF partners with Moody’s to support climate risk assessment

MAIF will integrate Moody RMS’ risk models, focusing on windstorms, floods and severe convective storms, including hail.