Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team, has developed a fully probabilistic flood model for Canada to help insurers and reinsurers better underwrite and manage their riverine and off-flood plain exposures.
Once a non-modelled peril, the team of flood and risk experts at Impact Forecasting has developed a new model over the last two years.
The model offers a complete view of Canadian flood risk from providing underwriting data that drills down to individual locations while helping insurers to understand the impact of accumulations on their portfolios, to structuring reinsurance cover and fulfilling regulatory and rating agency requirements.
It covers a geographical area representing 98 percent of the Canadian population, while assessing the potential levels of damage based on loss data from Impact Forecasting’s seven other country-specific flood models and Canadian client claims information to reflect local characteristics.
Vaclav Rara, flood model developer at Impact Forecasting, commented: “The model is unique in its spatial scope, geographical resolution and state-of-the-art hydrological innovation resulting in enhanced loss accuracy estimates.”
“It allows essential understanding and transparency through access to underlying data and to the developers in Impact Forecasting for ongoing support.”
David Sloan, President and CEO of Aon Benfield Canada, added: "While Southern Alberta and Toronto have diligently been rebuilding their communities following the staggering floods of 2013, our in-house catastrophe experts from across the globe have focused their efforts to develop a flood model for Canada from the ground up.”
“Based on its release, I am thrilled that we are able to provide a high-quality tool that will hopefully transform how Canadian insurers underwrite and manage their flood risks both from a location level and aggregate accumulation perspective."
