Aon Benfield Group Ltd. on Monday launched a probabilistic flood model for Canada.
The model will allow insurers and reinsurers to better underwrite and manage riverine and off-flood plain exposures, Aon Benfield said in a statement.
The model provides a complete view of Canadian flood risk using location-specific underwriting data while enabling insurers to understand the effect of accumulations on their portfolios, structure reinsurance cover and meet regulatory and rating agency requirements, Aon Benfield said.
The tool assesses the potential level of damage based on loss data from Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team, Impact Forecasting’s seven other country-specific flood models and Canadian client claims information, according to the statement.
Aon Benfield said 2013 was the costliest year in the Canadian insurance industry’s history because of flooding in Toronto and Calgary, Alberta, leading flood risk management to become an urgent priority for the industry.
“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,” David Sloan, Toronto-based president and CEO of Aon Benfield Canada, said in the statement. “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.”
Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of Willis Group Holdings P.L.C., on Thursday launched a suite of tools that allows insurers in Canada to identify potential flood exposures.