Meteo Protect launches parametric weather risk transfer API

Meteo Protect, the specialist parametric and weather index insurance underwriting agency that is a Lloyd’s of London coverholder, has launched an innovative API (application program interface) to its parametric insurance products, allowing anyone to launch a parametric insurance program more simply.

An API (application program interface) provides an interface, typically technology and software based, through which one party can access another’s data and services, translating responses to suit their own systems.

Meteo Protect is bringing this concept to parametric and weather insurance or reinsurance, enabling insurers and start-ups to essentially integrate its range of parametric products into their own offering.

Being a Lloyd’s coverholder, Meteo Protect’s parametric products are backed by insurance and reinsurance capacity from that market.

“ParametricAPI.com provides direct access to 300 preconfigured parametric or index insurance products designed to cover weather-related risks, to protect individuals, SMEs and corporate clients against drought, excess of rain, heat and frost as well as other more specific risks,” explained Gabriel Gross, founder of Meteo Protect.

Alongside its Vivaldi pricing and underwriting platform for parametric weather insurance products, that enables carriers to offer weather risk transfer products to clients, the API now means this offering and access to the Meteo Protect product range can be integrated directly into other’s systems.

The company explained that other businesses can now integrate the benefit of weather insurance into their own product offering, while users can also bring new product ideas to Meteo Protect that it can rapidly include on the platform as well.

That could enable, say, an airline or online travel company to offer a parametric weather insurance product alongside its flight booking system, for example. Adding value for its customers and exposing Meteo Protect’s product to a new range of potential customers.

“Parametric insurance is the best solution to cover climate change related risks and reduce the protection gap, but it can be very complex to setup both on a regulatory perspective and technically.

“With ParametricAPI.com, we are ready to leverage our experience, algorithms and database as well as our risk- taking capacity, and support traditional insurers and startups alike globally,” Gross explained.

The aim is to make the API and the products that flow through it efficient as well, with setup and transaction costs are kept minimal thanks to the digitalisation of the full process by Meteo Protect, from pricing all the way to claims management.

It’s a good example of technology that can help to expand distribution of insurance or reinsurance, while also shortening the origination chain at the same time, as with an API the product can get much closer to potential customers through those who choose to integrate it.