PERILS partners with CatIQ on Canadian loss data

PERILS AG has entered into an agreement with Catastrophe Indices & Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) to provide industry loss data for natural catastrophe events in Canada. Data that has the potential to be used for insurance-linked securities (ILS) transaction triggers.

PERILS AG, a provider of industry-wide European catastrophe exposure, insurance and reinsurance industry loss data and indices, has today announced a new partnership with Toronto, Canada-based CatIQ, a provider of analytical and meteorological information on Canadian natural and man-made disasters.

Under the agreement PERILS, effective immediately and via the PERILS Industry Loss Index Service, will make available all industry loss data for any natural catastrophe event in Canada that causes a market loss of CAD$300 million (USD$230 million) or higher.

PERILS explains that this includes all natural disaster events that Canada is exposed to, which includes flooding, earthquakes, storms, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions.

The partnership sees PERILS expand the number of territories that’s covered by its Loss Index Service increase to 16, and insurers, reinsurers, and ILS players stand to benefit from the addition of Canada, which has been reported to experience an increasing number of more severe and more frequent extreme weather events.

There’s the potential for the data to be used for triggers for ILS transactions, including catastrophe bonds and industry loss warranties (ILW’s), that cover Canadian exposures, potentially increasing the scope of ILS to grow its participation in a variety of Canadian peril regions.

PERILS data is widely used across the ILS space, and with investors and sponsors seeming willing and able to expand the remit of the sector, the data provided via the new agreement could prove valuable to further ILS market growth in Canada.

“We are extremely pleased to be announcing our partnership with CatIQ. The firm’s excellent market reputation has enabled it to secure the support of most of the Canadian general insurance sector. Providing CatIQ data through the PERILS Industry Loss Index Service fits perfectly with our mission to increase data availability for the insurance industry.

“It also reinforces our ability to provide a one-stop-shop for state-of-the-art industry loss triggers, thereby helping to increase the efficiency of this specialised risk transfer market,” said Luzi Hitz, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PERILS.

Expanding on the agreement, the companies explain that PERILS’ industry loss data is collected by CatIQ from a range of affected Canadian insurers, and will be made available by Canadian province and by the following line of business:

“Private Property, Commercial Property and Motor Hull (Auto). Loss reporting for qualifying Canadian events, i.e. event losses of CAD 300m or above, will follow the standard PERILS reporting schedule, with the first loss report being made available 6 weeks after the event, followed by a minimum of three updates 3, 6, and 12 months after the event.”

Joel Baker, Founder and CEO of CatIQ, commented; “We are thrilled to be working with the esteemed PERILS team to bring CatIQ’s analytics and loss indices to the wider risk transfer market. We consider this a win-win-win for ourselves, PERILS and the markets we serve.

“The CatIQ team looks forward to working closely with our new partner, PERILS, to bring additional innovative solutions to the global market.”