Swiss Re Corporate Solutions will use a tropical cyclone risk modelling product developed by Sydney-based Reask to extend its parametric windstorm cover to regions including Asia Pacific.

Swiss Re’s Storm cover pays out based on the highest wind speed at an insured location during a tropical cyclone. In the US and Caribbean the company uses RMS HWind, while elsewhere it will team with Reask.

“Storm is one of our signature parametric products which has proven consistently popular with our customers as well as our brokers,” Head Innovative Risk Solutions Asia Pacific Andre Martin told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Mr Martin says tropical cyclones, a prominent risk in Australia, are becoming more extreme and less predictable, and are causing revenue losses that are excluded from traditional insurance products.

Reask’s Metryc will be used to determine whether a policy is triggered under the parametric windspeed requirements.

A lack of reliable observations in many tropical cyclone-affected areas has limited deployment of such solutions beyond established markets, Reask CEO Thomas Loridan says. Metryc augments scarcely available observations through predictive modelling.

Reask Chief Commercial Officer Nick Hassam says the opportunity for parametric cover in non-Atlantic basins is substantial and growing fast.

“This is a pivotal moment in our business, as we move from providing climate risk assessment, to facilitating the transfer of risk,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “Our partnership with an organisation of Swiss Re’s calibre demonstrates the quality of our solutions.”

Locations covered by Swiss Re’s Storm policy can be anywhere important to a business’s operations, including major infrastructure points, such as airports and bridges, or key supply chain locations.