Blog: Real-time Hazard Data Making a Difference

Swiss Re CatNet® and Sequel Impact integration means deeper risk exposure understanding.

An integration between Sequel Impact, our leading aggregation tool, and Swiss Re’s CatNet® API simply made sense. The integration brings comprehensive hazard data across multiple perils (including earthquake, flood, lightning and wind data) to underwriters.

Understanding the impact
The uncertain landscape of natural catastrophes underscores the need for re/insurers to understand their exposures. According to Swiss Re’s own figures the global insurance industry paid out $143 billion in claims in 2017 as natural catastrophes cost 11,000 lives. Homes, businesses and livelihoods valued at $342 billion were also destroyed. The recent hurricane season and California’s ravaging wildfires have destroyed more than 7,000 structures and displaced hundreds of thousands of people, highlighting the ongoing impact of natural catastrophes.

What the integration means for underwriters
Sequel Impact enables underwriters to capture and aggregate complex exposures across a range business lines including cyber, terrorism and energy whilst CatNet® provides worldwide hazard information. Access to CatNet® data via Impact will provide underwriters with insight into natural catastrophe exposure in various regions and by a variety of perils allowing accurate risk assessment and exposure management.

For underwriters the data augmentation within Sequel Impact occurs at the point of schedule import, creation or editing. This data can then be used for portfolio wide exposure management, to manage predefined underwriting capacity limits, and enable greatly enhanced PML management. Apart from quantifying total risk exposure in seconds, Sequel Impact also allows underwriters to overlay simulated events such as earthquakes or flood for pinpoint risk modelling.

Peter Hausmann, Head of CatNet® Services at Swiss Re said of the integration, “We are delighted to have worked with the Sequel Impact team to enable Impact clients and Swiss Re’s insurance clients to readily access CatNet® data. Underwriters will now be able to make more informed decisions based on accurate exposure data. The ongoing natural catastrophes demand deeper intelligence in order to underwrite such volatile risks.”

What this means for the industry
Only great things. Sequel’s powerful data aggregation integrated with Swiss Re’s CatNet® APIs will guarantee a body of precise, accessible hazard data that underwriters can use to better assess and act on macro risk data.