IAG has recruited David Henderson as Property Resilience Specialist, a new role created to bolster the insurer’s expertise around climate change-induced extreme weather.

“We know climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of storms in Australia, so we’re building our cyclone expertise capability with the addition of [Dr Henderson] to our natural perils team,” the company says in a statement.

Dr Henderson was previously director of the James Cook University Cyclone Testing Station in Townsville.

He has more than 20 years’ experience studying weather patterns, including wind risk assessments, tornado damage investigations in Canada, and earthquake assessments in NSW.

The natural perils team assists in data modelling for reinsurance requirements, risk-based pricing and major event support, an IAG spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Understanding community impacts from natural perils and practical ways to reduce risk is a growing focus for the team.