InsTech Overview:
Fathom provides flood models for portfolio modelling and underwriting. Fathom data covers the whole planet, with bespoke models and data for the US, Japan and the UK. The company was founded by Andrew Smith, Christopher Sampson and other hydrology researchers from the University of Bristol.
For more information, go to fathom.global
COP26 begins at the end of the month, and it is arguably the most important since it began almost 30 years ago. The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) which was published in August 2021 stated how it is “unequivocal” that human influence has warmed the climate at an unprecedented rate. This is affecting weather and climate extremes in all areas of the world.
Insured loss estimates from Hurricane Ida were released as soon as 5 days after the tropical storm made landfall in Louisiana. Throughout September these companies have updated their predictions. AIR has updated its estimate to include insured losses from flooding, so its new range is $20 billion to $30 billion. RMS has updated its estimate to between $31 billion and $44 billion, which includes losses from flooding, and CoreLogic predicts up to $8 billion in insured flood losses alone specifically for the US Northeast.
Throughout July, floods have affected areas across the world. With the release of loss estimates from various modellers, brokers, insurers and other commentators, the size and range of the relative gap between economic loss and insured loss is notable, as well as different loss drivers. In the Henan province floods, in China, the majority of claims have been from motor due to a lack of property flood insurance.
Despite flood being the most pervasive hazard in the US, there are major challenges around the provision of adequate flood cover based on accurate, real-time data. We discussed this and JBA’s flood models that cover 99% of the world’s landmass with Jane Toothill and Matt Reid.
