Swiss Re launches parametric hail solution to fill coverage gaps

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has launched a new parametric hail insurance solution in 11 US states to address "gaps in traditional insurance coverage" for severe storm events that caused nearly $20 billion in insured losses in 2019.

The new solution is designed to protect companies from the financial impact of a significant hail event, such as physical damage, lost revenue due to business interruption, or significant retentions in traditional property policies.

It will be available for businesses operating in 11 hail-prone states, including Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas.

Swiss Re's commercial insurance arm has signed a strategic agreement with US data analytics provider CoreLogic for the new offering. CoreLogic delivers a proprietary hail verification model to verify the maximum hail size both at the location and in the surrounding area. SRCS will use CoreLogic's metrics to determine whether a parametric policy is triggered.

In 2019, severe thunderstorm events caused almost $20 billion in insured losses in the US, with four events causing more than $1 billion

"We are excited to bring a parametric HAIL product to market in collaboration with CoreLogic, a proven leader in the hail verification space," said Cole Mayer, vice president innovative risk solutions at Swiss Re CS. "The speed of pay-out, transparency in claims adjustment, and flexibility in the use of the funds make this a powerful tool to supplement traditional insurance policies or to buy as a standalone product if traditional coverage is less available."

Steve Brewer, executive of insurance & spatial at CoreLogic, said: "With our hail models, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions can confidently structure hail risk transfer solutions to better protect policyholders, slash cycle times and significantly reduce claims adjusting expense following hailstorms."