CelsiusPro acquires Global Parametrics

CelsiusPro AG, the Swiss headquartered weather index insurance and parametric risk transfer specialist, has announced a significant acquisition as the company has purchased fellow parametric and index-based specialist Global Parametrics.

The acquisition is expected to further strengthen CelsiusPro’s climate and NatCat solutions offering, while expanding its global presence.

CelsiusPro already has a robust business in climate risk products, technology, and consulting services, aimed primarily at developed markets, while Global Parametrics will bring its Natural Disaster Fund to the firm, a risk capacity pool committed by British and German government agencies, focused on developing countries.

It means the CelsiusPro offering will now be available to clients in sectors including property, agribusiness, re/insurance, microinsurance, nature-based solutions, and international development.

“The combined CelsiusPro and Global Parametrics group creates an even stronger offering along the value chain of climate and Nat Cat risks, opening new possibilities for businesses, governments, NGOs, and communities to build resilience against perils such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and drought,” the company explained.

Mark Rueegg, CEO of CelsiusPro, commented, “The acquisition combines CelsiusPro’s expertise in climate technology and parametric insurance with Global Parametrics’ asset management approach to climate risk through the NDF and its MGA. This is key to our value proposition, as we see an increasing number of NatCat financing facilities, such as the Global Shield initiative launched at COP27, are looking for experts on parametric solutions and risk capital deployment. We are enthusiastic about the strategic fit between CelsiusPro and Global Parametrics, and welcome our new colleagues to our group.”

Angus Kirk, CEO of Global Parametrics, added, “We are grateful to our founder investors, FCDO and KfW (through the InsuResilience Investment Fund, IIF), for their support in the early stages of Global Parametrics’ development. We are very excited about the next chapter with CelsiusPro. This partnership offers numerous opportunities to expand and enhance our offerings, thereby increasing and accelerating our impact on building resilience in underserved communities against the effects of climate change and natural disasters.”

Once the merger is completed, the Global Parametrics team will continue to manage the Natural Disaster Fund (NDF).

It is a risk capacity pool backed by commitments from the UK Government’s Foreign, Development and Commonwealth Office (FCDO) and by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development via KfW, Germany’s development bank, while also sharing risks with global reinsurance firm Hannover Re.

The NDF had always been envisaged as a vehicle to crowd in private capital to support natural disaster parametric products for developing economies, but so fas has not lived up to that promise in a meaningful way.

The combined CelsiusPro and Global Parametrics business will be a formidable one in the parametric space, with expertise across weather, climate, catastrophe and natural disaster risks in the developing world.

The companies expect to combine their expertise as Managing General Agents (MGAs) to attract and deploy additional risk capacity in future.

While the combined group is expected to create an even stronger offering along the value chain of climate and Nat Cat risks, serving clients from its offices in Zurich, Sydney, and London.