CatIQ Issues Annual Update of Insurance Industry Exposure Database for Canada

$9.3 trillion in personal property assets insured against fire

Toronto, ON (May 30, 2022) – Catastrophe Indices & Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), a subsidiary of Zurich-based PERILS AG, today released the annual update of its Canadian insurance Industry Exposure Database (IED). Developed with the support of the Canadian P&C industry, the IED now contains 2021 year-end estimates of Canadian industry property sums insured.

As in previous years, the database makes available industry property sums insured, number of risks and prevailing original insurance conditions by:

Canada Post Forward Sortation Area (FSA)/CRESTA zone
Peril (windstorm, hail, fire, flood, sewer back-up, earthquake and volcanic eruption)
Line of business (personal, commercial, and motor hull)
Cover type (building, vehicle, contents, business interruption and additional living expense, where applicable)

The IED for the Canadian insurance market shows a steady growth in the personal line of business. Since the start of data collection in 2016, there has been a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.7% in the personal line fire total sums insured. The personal fire exposure currently stands at CAD 9.3 trillion.

Launched in June 2018, CatIQ’s IED is based on detailed exposure submissions from a majority of the Canadian insurance market. Consistent with PERILS’ globally recognized methodology, CatIQ’s IED is updated annually from the ground-up. Also, with the support of the participating insurers, CatIQ produces industry loss estimates at the FSA level as follows:

The same perils, lines of business and cover types as listed above
Any catastrophe that results in an industry loss greater than C$250 million

This detailed loss dataset is now comprised of seven major events, including:

Fort McMurray Wildfire – April 2016
Windstorm in Ontario and Quebec – May 2018
Ottawa and Gatineau Tornadoes – September 2018
Fort McMurray Ice Jam Flooding – April 2020
Calgary Hailstorm – June 2020
Calgary Hailstorm – July 2021
British Columbia Flooding – November 2021

Commenting on the announcement, Laura Twidle, Managing Director of CatIQ, said: “The industry, and other stakeholders, now have access to six years of exposure data. This is beneficial to the industry to better understand their catastrophe risk and where the insurance gaps exist.”

Luzi Hitz, CEO of PERILS, added: “The release of the latest Canadian IED update is due to the continued support of our data providing insurance companies to whom we are extremely grateful. It is also the culmination of considerable work undertaken by our team in Toronto. It completes another annual update of all markets covered by PERILS, which we believe remains the leading source of IEDs used in the industry. Given the increasingly challenging global risk environment, the release of the latest IEDs is very timely as it supports industry efforts to better understand Cat risks and also facilitates more effective industry loss based risk transfer.”

CatIQ’s IED module is available on CatIQ’s platform along with the Canadian catastrophe loss database. Primary insurers participating in the IED program receive the IED module at no extra charge. Furthermore, CatIQ’s Canadian IED and granular loss information is made available on the PERILS platform.

In addition to Canada, PERILS database contains up-to-date information about property market sums insured exposed to natural perils in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Indonesia, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

About CatIQ

Toronto-based Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) is a subsidiary of Zurich- based PERILS A.G. and delivers detailed analytical and meteorological information on Canadian natural and man-made catastrophes. Through its online subscription-based platform, CatIQ combines comprehensive insured loss and exposure indices and other related information to better serve the needs of the insurance / reinsurance / ILS industries, public sector and other stakeholders. www.catiq.com. CatIQ was established in 2014 with the support of the overwhelming majority of the Canadian insurance and reinsurance industry and is widely recognized as the most reliable source of catastrophe loss information in Canada. CatIQ also partners with MSA Research to host the Canadian catastrophe conference, CatIQ Connect, connect.catiq.com which will return to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Feb 7-8, 2023.

About PERILS AG

PERILS is an independent Zurich-based organization providing industry-wide natural catastrophe exposure and event loss data. The PERILS Industry Exposure & Loss Database is available to all interested parties via annual subscription. The database contains industry property sums insured and event loss information on a CRESTA zone level and per property line of business. PERILS industry loss estimates provided via the PERILS Industry Loss Index Service can be used as triggers in insurance risk transactions such as industry loss warranty contracts (ILW) or insurance-linked securities (ILS). The service currently covers the following 17 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. In addition, PERILS industry exposure data are available for Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. The use of PERILS exposure and loss data other than in conjunction with a valid PERILS License and according to its terms, by a Licensee or an Authorized User as defined in the License, is illegal and expressly forbidden. For more information, visit www.catiq.com and www.perils.org

SOURCE: Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ)

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