Parametric Flood Insurance

Floods pose an escalating threat to all industries, particularly industrials and retail sectors situated near rivers. As annual losses continue to rise, parametric insurance delivers valuable capacity against both direct and indirect financial losses, even in high risk regions.

Addressing flood risk

Flood is the most frequently occurring natural disaster globally, resulting from heavy rainfall, rapid snowmelt, or storm surges in coastal areas. It is also considered one of the costliest perils of the 21st century, second only to tropical cyclones, with global economic losses reaching $85 billion in 2023 and a significant portion uninsured.

Flooding has caused massive property damages, but it also impacts their continuous operations over several weeks and even months as well as their stock and supplies and disrupts access for customers and workers, leading to additional costs. With rising losses leading to extreme sub-limits and restricted coverage, there is a substantial protection gap for industries in flood-prone regions where capacity continues to shrink.

Descartes' parametric flood insurance addresses this gap by providing fresh capacity to corporate and public sector clients as well as local SMEs and communities vulnerable to flooding. Our parametric products offer coverage against direct and indirect losses, utilizing a combination of historical flood data and advanced risk modeling capabilities. This approach ensures clients receive precise, customized flood protection tailored to their specific needs.

Step 1

Assess

We assess and evaluate the client’s flood exposure, leveraging river and rainfall data as well as third-party sensor data.

Step 2

Customize

Design a customized cover, fit to the client’s unique needs, in which payout structures are indexed according to the water level.

Step 3

Monitor

Upon policy inception, we monitor the insured's location for flooding to determine whether a qualifying flood has occurred.

Step 4

Payout

Insured client receives a payout within days of reporting a loss, accelerating financial recovery and return to normal operations.

Our case studies are all over the world

Utilizing Machine Learning and real-time monitoring from satellite imagery & IoT, our state-of-the-art technology helps businesses bounce back faster against climate, cyber and other emerging risks.

Oceania Hospitality Flood Protecting the Tourism Industry Against Flood Risk See the case study
Oceania Hospitality Flood Corporate Flood Insurance – A Proven Solution in Australia See the case study

Our parametric approach to flood risk

Our parametric flood covers combine river monitoring data, rainfall data, and IoT to precisely assess and measure flood risk in near real-time on clients’ premises. Payouts are based on water level triggers, predefined in partnership with each client, and adjusted to each insured location’s settings and existing flood prevention measures.

Impacted by large-scale climatic phenomena and subject to climate change, estimating flood risk can be challenging. However, Descartes helps brokers and their clients with accurate modeling that enables them to understand their unique risks better.

Descartes’ flood products are uniquely designed to address key industries exposed to the risk, such as retail, manufacturing, hospitality, and infrastructure. Our products also cater to both domestic and international exposures across the globe and can be easily integrated into a client's insurance program or captive.

Success story: our parametric flood solution

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