Munich Re signs strategic agreement with epidemic risk modelling provider

Risk analytics firm Metabiota said on Aug. 22 that it signed a strategic agreement with Munich Re which is set to help the reinsurer to enhance insurability against losses related to epidemics.

“Metabiota’s analytics and intelligence help us to push the boundaries of insurability by protecting companies and local economies from the financial loss related to epidemics”, said Tom van den Brulle, head of innovation, Munich Re.

“This really is the next frontier for the insurance industry – given the high risk of infectious disease outbreaks, it is imperative that we find new ways to manage and finance these risks for our customers.”

Metabiota has recently launched a platform for estimating epidemic preparedness and risk, including the frequency, severity, duration and cost of outbreaks. The platform combines epidemic risk analytics, historical data, disease scenarios and insights from public health analysts and global epidemiologists. It enables the insurance industry to offer new epidemic insurance solutions by delivering capabilities that allow insurers to better understand and underwrite risk, according to the press release.

“We believe that when risk can be properly assessed and mitigated by insurance, the world will be more prepared and able to manage these events,” said Bill Rossi, CEO of Metabiota. “At the same time, we’re helping the insurance industry build new revenue streams at a time when their core business is under threat by new business models and technologies. Metabiota’s use of big data and software to model epidemics is truly revolutionizing the insurance industry.”

Metabiota’s cloud-based platform provides risk managers and underwriters with insight into how diseases propagate and help them quantify the risk posed by epidemics. The platform brings together a 100-year historical disease database with a catalogue of more than 20 million risk scenarios describing the number of cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and employee absences related to an epidemic event.

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