International re/insurers invest $2m in Oasis Loss Modelling Framework

A group of institutions representing the global re/insurance industry is making a sizable investment in the Oasis Loss Modelling Framework and open source standards.

Aon, Allianz, AXA, Chubb, Guy Carpenter, Hannover Re, Lloyd’s, RenaissanceRe, Swiss Re, SCOR, Willis Re and the Insurance Development Forum (IDF) have committed more than $2 million over two years to Oasis. The cash will support further development of the Oasis Loss Modelling Framework, an open modelling ecosystem.

Open source risk modelling will remove barriers to access, not only for companies but for wider sectors including governments, city offices, academia and research institutions, Oasis said. This will drive down costs, increase transparency and accessibility of catastrophe models and create more choice.

IDF is also working to ensure that public sector use cases are included in project design, as part of its programme to accelerate finance-aware risk insight in developing markets. It stressed its commitment to delivering greater choice of models and a range of standards on behalf of the re/insurance community.

Dickie Whitaker, chief executive officer at Oasis, said the global approach to risk modelling is changing, away from non-standardised data, high costs and a closed box approach, to a more transparent and robust future. This will lead to improved analysis, understanding and pricing of risks, he said.

“This renewed industry support will see Oasis develop the fastest, most feature rich, performant and reliable catastrophe modelling platform available,” Whitaker promised. Models will be available to institutions in emerging markets, he added.
Whitaker said: “It is hugely significant to this mission to have the continued backing of ten leading re/insurance businesses and the IDF, that recognise the need for true innovation in catastrophe loss modelling.”

Renaud Guidée, group chief risk officer at AXA, said the investment will contribute to the development of open-source risk models for poorly documented risks and in emerging markets where modeling resources are scarce.

“Promoting open and global modelling solutions is part of AXA’s ambition to address protection gaps and increase populations resilience over the world,” said Guidée.

Open catastrophe modelling ecosystems allow insurers to gain greater confidence in their understanding of data assumptions and loss drivers, added Helen Attenborough, executive managing director for analytics software and product development at Aon Reinsurance Solutions.

Thierry Léger, chief underwriting officer at Swiss Re, said: “With its principles for standardisation, modularity and transparency, the Oasis platform is a catalyst for improving collaboration in the Cat modelling universe. This translates into expanded access to a greater diversity of risk views and risk models, enabling the ability to leverage the right model for the right purpose.”

Ekhosuehi Iyahen, Secretary General of the IDF, said: “Risk insight is the foundation on which risk prevention and resilience programmes are built. The IDF is committed to finding ways to improve the availability and quality of risk information and supports efforts to strengthen national risk management systems given the dire implications for vulnerable communities. Building efficiency and reducing cost and duplication in the risk modelling and data ecosystem, through continuous development of open-source platforms, an industry wide interoperability programme and development of common open standards is a central point of achieving this objective.”

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