London

81 Chancery Lane
London
WC2A 1DD
01235 821 160
View map

Edinburgh

1 Lochrin Square
92 Fountainbridge
Edinburgh
EH3 9QA
01235 821 160
View map

Dublin Office

24A Baggot Street, Upper
Dublin 4
Ireland
D 04 N5 28
01235 821 160
View map

Administrative Office

BH Office
Church Street
Ardington
Wantage
Oxfordshire
OX12 8QA
01235 821 160
View map

Send us a message

CLOSE X
Contact Us

Python in Excel – an Analyst’s Dream?

 

Parametric insurance: advantages and disadvantages

As can be inferred from the above table, the main advantages of parametric insurance are:

The main disadvantages/challenges of parametric insurance are:

Case studies

It is worth stating that parametric insurance is generally not designed to replace traditional indemnity insurance products. Instead, parametric insurance is typically used to either:

  1. Complement existing traditional insurance policies – parametric insurance may be used to speed up the payment of recoveries, or to fill the protection gaps and/or exclusions of the existing indemnity policy
  2. Provide insurance where there is a lack of capacity or appetite from traditional insurance markets, especially for risks that are underinsured or uninsured

Below I consider two case studies, one from each of the broad categories described above.

  1. Parametric insurance for a holiday resort in the US

Parametric insurance is well-suited to cover the more intangible, pure financial losses that impact businesses without necessarily causing physical damage to their assets. One such example would be to protect against ‘loss of attraction’ of a holiday resort due to a hurricane approaching whereby, even if the hurricane does not end up damaging the resort, the insured can be compensated for its lower business volumes over that period.

Here the parameter used could be the actual wind speed and hurricane category reached within a specified area or, under a slightly more protective/nuanced loss of attraction agreement, the parameter could instead be based off the number and/or nature of official hurricane warnings covering the area in question, so the payout would be triggered regardless of whether the pre-warned hurricane category actually then materialised or not. The company is protecting itself against people being put off from booking and attending its resort, with indemnity insurance still primarily relied upon for physical damage and traditional business interruption claims.

2. Parametric insurance for crop farmers in India

Farming in India is higher risk than in other countries because it has low irrigation coverage and hence crop yields are highly sensitive to both the amount and timing of local rainfall. Some Indian states offer state-subsidised traditional crop insurance but many of these schemes have failed to make claim payments in a timely manner and, as such, the majority of agricultural land in India remains uninsured[iii]. With a lack of effective traditional insurance and the farmers’ livelihoods highly dependent on the level of rainfall, parametric insurance is well-suited to help close this protection gap.

The parametric insurance can be structured so that the payout – typically an agreed sum per acre – is triggered if the amount of rainfall either exceeds a defined threshold (i.e. a flood) or falls below a defined threshold (i.e. a drought) over a certain period of time. The farmers are looking for protection against extreme experience, whether that be higher or lower than an acceptable middle range. Providing farmers with this layer of security in adverse years should enable them to invest (rather than save) the money earned in benign years to improve their farming practices and hence increase their crop yields and personal income. It is also valuable from the State’s perspective, as it reduces the risk that farmers become internally displaced or dependent on food aid.

However, this form of parametric insurance is not without its challenges. It relies on the availability of reasonably priced and reliable sensors to form a sufficiently dense array of rainfall measurements, backed up by regional monitoring stations to protect against these sensors losing connectivity or becoming unreliable (either naturally or through interference). Furthermore its usefulness will be limited in areas where groundwater/irrigation are the key factors in determining crop yields, rather than rainfall. Measuring groundwater availability is far more complex and groundwater levels are much more exposed to human (i.e. subjective) decisions regarding how/where to allocate water resources – e.g. through controls on dams and irrigation systems.

Parametric insurance and climate change

Weather events are well-suited to parametric insurance because the parameters involved (e.g. wind speed, rainfall) fulfil all of the key properties described in the earlier section – there is a strong link between extreme weather and financial losses, the parameters are relatively easy to measure, there is an abundance of historical data that can be used for modelling, the weather cannot be influenced etc. The key challenge for (parametric) insurance providers within the natural catastrophe space is ensuring that appropriate adjustments are made to models that are based on past data, as these may otherwise underestimate the frequency and/or severity of future extreme weather events.

Although (as discussed above) parametric insurance is by no means confined to natural catastrophes these remain its most common application and, due to the link between climate change and extreme weather, this seems likely to continue. A recent study[iv] expects the global market for parametric insurance to grow by 10% per year over the next decade to around $30 billion of annual premium, driven by the natural catastrophe sector, and there have been numerous start-ups that have raised significant venture capital in recent years[v].

One example of a natural catastrophe parametric insurance specialist is FloodFlash, which was founded in the UK and raised $15m earlier this year to fund its international expansion[vi]. The company offers parametric flood insurance that allows prospective policyholders to set a flood depth and payout amount when obtaining their quote. Using sensors, FloodFlash gets an immediate notification when the agreed-upon flood depth has been reached and the payout is then typically sent within 48 hours.

With premium rates hardening in traditional insurance markets, the industry having experienced some bad press over exclusions/policy wordings during the Covid-19 pandemic, more businesses now appreciating the need for effective insurance protection and extreme weather events continuing to intensify, the easy to understand nature, lower cost, flexible pricing structure and rapid payouts of parametric insurance look increasingly attractive – even more so to a generation of digital natives who are comfortable relying on modern technology to both execute the financial contract and monitor the trigger parameters themselves.

Parametric insurance providers targeting parts of the market that are currently uninsured are hoping that these advantages – especially the rapid payout, which is particularly important for smaller businesses – outweigh the downsides of imperfect indemnification. Ultimately, the lower cost of parametric insurance may even make it a direct competitor for indemnity insurance if these traditional products risk becoming unviable in areas that are particularly prone to extreme weather events. In a world where climate concerns remain front and centre, parametric insurance looks set to become an increasingly relevant tool to help mitigate against the effects of a warming and less predictable climate.

Summary

Parametric insurance is an alternative form of insurance that, rather than compensating the insured for actual losses incurred, instead provides a set payout based on the occurrence of a pre-defined trigger event, as measured by some objective parameter. Typically the chosen parameter relates to a feature of a natural catastrophe (hurricane category, rainfall, earthquake magnitude etc) but the insurance can, in theory, be based on any parameter that is objective, reliable and correlated with the actual losses sustained. In time parametric insurance may expand outside of its primary natural catastrophe domain as, with the continued evolution of big data analytics, more parameters can be monitored as suitable proxies for risks whose impacts are harder to quantify.

Parametric insurance is not designed to replace traditional indemnity insurance but to complement it – for example by speeding up payments to insureds – or to offer insurance in parts of the world where there is a lack of capacity and/or appetite from traditional insurance providers. Demand for parametric insurance looks likely to grow significantly in the future as the range and impacts of climate-related extreme weather events become more severe and unpredictable, and the product becomes more mainstream. As such, parametric insurance may become an increasingly viable option for helping businesses and individuals build climate resilience and strengthen their disaster recovery.

 

Sources and Further Reading:

https://corporatesolutions.swissre.com/insights/knowledge/what_is_parametric_insurance.html

https://corporatesolutions.swissre.com/insights/knowledge/10_myths_about_parametric_insurance.html

https://www.marshmclennan.com/insights/publications/2018/dec/parametric-insurance-tool-to-increase-climate-resilience.html

https://farmingfirst.org/2021/12/parametric-insurance-an-important-tool-for-climate-change-adaptation/

https://corporatesolutions.swissre.com/insights/knowledge/what-is-the-most-popular-parametric-solution-cat-in-a-box-explained.html

https://www.insurancethoughtleadership.com/going-digital/3-trends-driving-growth-parametric-insurance

https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/parametric-insurance-market-A14966

https://floodflash.co/parametric-insurance-trends-2021/

https://earlymetrics.com/parametric-insurance-popularisation/

https://theprint.in/opinion/has-crop-insurance-helped-indian-farmers-many-dont-get-payments-on-time/757815/

[i] For the purposes of this article I am considering parametric insurance in its pure form whereby the contracts are effectively executed as derivatives and there is no requirement for a ‘proof of loss’. For further discussion on the differences between pure parametric covers (executed as derivatives) and hybrid parametric covers (executed as insurance contracts) refer to: https://corporatesolutions.swissre.com/insights/knowledge/10_myths_about_parametric_insurance.html

[ii] Some ‘traditional insurance’ policies provide fixed benefits whereby the payout is pre-determined for certain types of loss (eg a set sum assured for loss of limb or a set sum assured for a Fine Art policy), which makes them similar to parametric insurance to some extent – as pricing for these losses is determined purely by frequency rather than frequency and severity. However the vast majority of traditional insurance is written on an indemnity basis, and where policies do include a fixed benefit feature this is still typically wrapped up with indemnity insurance for other loss types. Therefore within the article the terms ‘traditional insurance’ and ‘indemnity insurance’ are used synonymously.

[iii] https://theprint.in/opinion/has-crop-insurance-helped-indian-farmers-many-dont-get-payments-on-time/757815/

[iv] https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/parametric-insurance-market-A14966

[v] https://earlymetrics.com/parametric-insurance-popularisation/

[vi] https://floodflash.co/parametric-insurance-trends-2021/

 

Rob Givens

July 2022

 

-->
Bank of England System-wide Exploratory Scenario Stress Test

In this article Alan Reed reviews the recently specified 2023 Bank of England System-wide Exploratory Scenario (SWES) stress test exercise. When is it happening, whom is taking part, how does it compare to prior stress test exercises and what features of this new exercise stand out?

READ MORE
IFoA Data Science Certification – Course Review

In this article, John Nicholls demonstrates outstanding dedication to content production by enrolling in the IFoA Data Science certification and producing a review that covers course content, length, assignments, and delivery. Hopefully this article will help those of you on the fence to be gently encouraged to fall off it.

READ MORE
The Magic of Productivity

Are distractions derailing your productivity? Dean Woodward explores the magic of focus with tips and techniques to boost your efficiency.

READ MORE
Python in Excel – an Analyst’s Dream?

What’s the world’s most iconic duo? Batman and Robin? Fish and chips? Morecambe and Wise? In fact it’s none of these: join Jacob as he talks about using Python in Microsoft Excel.

READ MORE
Carbon Permits and Offsets

How can governments use the free market to take action on climate change? Cristian tells all about carbon permits and offsets.

READ MORE
Actuarial Mentoring Programme

This interview-style article provides an insightful overview of the Actuarial Mentoring Programme (AMP), its objectives, and the invaluable benefits it offers to both mentors and mentees. Their experiences shed light on the AMP’s effectiveness and highlights the opportunities it provides for professional growth and development.

READ MORE
April 2023 Exam Results

The April 2023 exam results have been published and APR student staff achieved an impressive 83% pass rate across all IFoA exams and 100% in all CAA exams taken. In this article, Moses Vaughan highlights our success this sitting.

READ MORE
Office vs home – what is the ideal working environment? 

What is your ideal working environment? Cristian and Hannah discuss how and why their ways of working benefits them the most.

READ MORE
The Last Remaining Defined Benefit Schemes: A Deeper Look

In this article Asees explores the rise and decline of DB Pension Schemes, and considers the impact of this on secure retirement for future generations.

READ MORE
APR’s Favourite Excel Shortcuts

Love it or hate it, Microsoft Excel has been a central part of an actuary’s work for decades. However, its a tool that often isn’t used to its full potential; Heather Wallace’s list of our favourite Excel shortcuts should help rectify that!

READ MORE