Presenter: Lynn Roehrig – Head of Business Development for Descartes in Australia and New Zealand

This presentation introduces Descartes Underwriting, a data-driven Managing General Agency specialising in parametric insurance to build climate resilience for corporates and public entities. Focusing on Australia and New Zealand, the presentation highlights how severe regional underinsurance and natural catastrophes (floods, cyclones, earthquakes, and bushfires) can be addressed through automated, index-based coverage. By bypassing manual loss adjustment, Descartes leverages satellite imagery, IoT sensors, and radar to issue rapid, transparent claims payouts within days of a verified parameter breach.

Learning Objectives

• Define Parametric Insurance: Understand how objective environmental parameters function as triggers to automate claims payouts without traditional loss-adjustment delays.

• Analyse the Regional Protection Gap: Assess the climate and natural catastrophe vulnerabilities in Australia and APAC, identifying market areas where traditional insurability is restricted.

• Differentiate Peril Indices: Evaluate the data metrics used to design custom coverage, including Peak Ground Acceleration for earthquakes, wind footprint speed for cyclones, and satellite-mapped burnt areas for wildfires.

• Optimise Traditional Placements: Learn how brokers integrate parametric policies alongside traditional indemnity covers to fill coverage gaps, execute deductible buy-backs, or capture non-damage business interruption (NDBI).

• Evaluate Data and Sensor Technology: Recognise how to utilize public station metrics (e.g., BOM, USGS) and site-specific IoT sensors to handle underwriting data gaps and guarantee localised payout accuracy.

Registrations: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/4ea432a2-3e8e-46e2-a182-b694e7948b6c@6d96f8f2-00e8-4ea1-9ba7-fd86f83ec1b3