Aon, insurtech firm partner on marine risks

Aon PLC has teamed up with Dublin-based insurtech firm Skytek to track insurers’ marine risks and accumulations in real-time to improve underwriting and reinsurance selection and to better protect ship and cargo owner assets, the Chicago-based broker said Tuesday.

The initiative is driven by the growing catastrophe risk accumulations reinsurers face in an era of mega-ports and ultra-large container ships, Aon said in a statement.

As a result, the need to monitor vessel movement and estimate cargo accumulations has become a “critical part” of managing exposures and risk selection, the statement said.

Supported by the European Space Agency, the new consultancy set up by Aon and Skytek uses real-time satellite tracking so insurers and reinsurers can visualize the precise location of their insured risks along with vessel and cargo information, the broker said in the statement.

Aon experts can then analyze and use the data to tailor coverage for insurers, the statement said.

“This insurtech partnership is focused on using innovative technologies to enhance risk management practices,” Christian Silies, head of marine and energy at Aon’s reinsurance solutions business, said in the statement.

In the partnership, Aon “will be taking the analysis beyond cargo and hull marine aggregation to also weave in business intelligence functionality using clients’ own data,” Mr. Silies said in the statement.