PERILS update shows European windstorm insured exposures up 3.5%

PERILS AG, the provider of industry-wide European catastrophe insurance exposure, data and indices, has released the 2014 update of its exposure database which shows that European windstorm insured exposures are up 3.5% on a constant FX rate basis.

The 2014 update of the PERILS Europe Industry Exposure Database contains updated market-wide property sums insured for European windstorm for eleven markets that PERILS covers; Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The database also includes updated market-wide property sums insured for Italy and UK flood and Italy earthquake, the newer catastrophe risks that PERILS has added to its offering.

The in-force date of the sums insured data is as at the 1st January 2014. As before the granularity of PERILS data is on a CRESTA zone, property occupancy type (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural) and coverage type (content, building, business interruption) level. Information about prevailing insurance contract deductibles has also been updated for this release.

Compared to 2013, PERILS said that the total sums insured over all eleven windstorm markets combined has risen by +2.3% (+3.5% at constant foreign exchange rates). Country-wide sums insured changes vary in their original currencies between +1.4% and +6.4%. PERILS said that the year-on-year developments are mainly driven by movements in collected sums insured data as well as movements in market benchmarks.

PERILS AG 2014 European Windstorm Exposure Property Sums Insured Map

The map shows property sums insured exposed to the peril of European Windstorm as per 1 January 2014. Compared to 2013, the total sums insured over all 11 windstorm markets increased by 2.3% (3.5% at constant FX rates). To subscribers of the PERILS Database, the sums insured data are available in a CRESTA zone and Property line of business resolution.

In addition to exposure information, the PERILS database also includes loss data for European windstorm, Italy and UK flood and Italy earthquake events where the overall industry loss exceeds the threshold beyond which PERILS reports on a catastrophe event.

The loss data is available at the same level of granularity as the exposure information. Intensity measures, such as gust speed information, are provided on a CRESTA zone level.

PERILS users leverage the combination of up-to-date exposure data and market loss information based on identical sources and methodologies to validate natural catastrophe risk models and to perform exposure and loss market benchmarking.

PERILS data is widely used within reinsurance market transactions based on industry losses such as industry loss warranty (ILW) contracts or insurance-linked securities (ILS) and catastrophe bonds. PERILS database allows custom-made triggers to be defined which helps to reduce basis risk for transactions sponsors. The data can also be used to carry out analysis or risk assessment of such transactions, which helps to ensure consistency with the trigger definition.