General Insurance Article - Met Office launch Windstorm Maps to analyse insurance risks

 The hazard maps show maximum gust values for 35 European countries at 4.4 km resolution with return periods of up to 1 in 200; a significant threshold for insurance under European Solvency II regulation. They provide an aggregated view of local effects across large domains, enabling risk analysts, underwriters and actuaries to score risk at a local level to make optimal pricing and portfolio decisions.

 European Windstorm Hazard Maps can be used to inform pricing decisions for insurers covering residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural exposures. They are also valuable to reinsurers and reinsurance brokers. The maps are also relevant to any enterprise managing multiple property and infrastructure assets across a region.

 Paul Maisey, Science team leader for Insurance at the Met Office said: “We know the considerable damage caused by windstorm over recent decades. Storms like the great storm of 1987, Daria and Lothar have cost the insurance industry billions of pounds. Windstorms are less localised than flood; but they can have a great impact across broad European regions and so have the potential to cause the greatest insurance loss of any peril in a winter season. High resolution hazard maps offer a step forward in managing that risk.”

 The Met Office Euro Windstorm portfolio is derived from reanalysis of historical data sets using the latest settings of its world leading numerical weather prediction models. For more information on the methodology and model sources, and Met Office services for the insurance sector, please see http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/insurance