Howden Re forms partnership to bolster earthquake risk and impact assessment in Turkey

Howden Re forms partnership to bolster earthquake risk and impact assessment in Turkey | Insurance Business New Zealand

Reinsurance

Howden Re forms partnership to bolster earthquake risk and impact assessment in Turkey

Collaboration could also be expanded to other earthquake-prone regions

Reinsurance

By
Kenneth Araullo

Howden Re has announced a new partnership with Temblor Inc, a catastrophe modeling company specializing in seismic hazard and risk assessment.

Through this collaboration, Howden Re said that it will gain access to Temblor’s SiteAmp model, which provides data-driven insights into earthquake susceptibility and impact in Turkey.

Additionally, Howden Re’s head of model research and evaluation for international, Myrto Papaspiliou, will join Temblor’s scientific advisory board as part of the partnership.

Temblor, founded in 2014 by former United States Geological Survey scientists, offers earthquake models that are utilized by insurance and reinsurance firms, as well as the insurance-linked securities community.

Howden Re said that the integration of Temblor’s SiteAmp model is expected to significantly benefit the firm by leveraging unique soil amplification models, which are crucial for understanding the widespread damage seen during the 2023 Kahramanmaras earthquakes.

These events led to over $100 billion in economic losses and $6.2 billion in insured losses. With these tools, Howden Re also noted that it aims to support Turkish cedants in making more confident risk management decisions.

While the initial focus of the partnership will be on Turkey, Howden Re and Temblor are exploring the possibility of expanding their collaboration to other earthquake-prone regions in Europe, Asia, and South America.

Papaspiliou remarked on the significance of the 2023 earthquakes as a reminder of the potential impact of a large earthquake near Istanbul, highlighting the importance of earthquake preparedness.

“We firmly believe it is fundamental to harvest the best science and data in order to overcome model limitations, support our clients in the quantification of their risk, and increase earthquake resilience,” she said.

The partnership also aligns with Howden’s efforts to expand its capabilities in the region and build on existing work to integrate the latest science and loss experiences into catastrophe modeling.

By synthesizing knowledge from recent pan-European seismic hazard and risk studies (ESHM20 & ESRM20), detailed analytics, model calibration based on damage observations from the 2023 earthquakes, and now Temblor’s SiteAmp model, Howden Re said that it aims to provide a comprehensive and market-leading view of risk for cedants in Turkey.

Mario Baotic (pictured above), managing director of international growth markets at Howden Re, commented on the devastating impact of recent earthquakes in Turkey and the impact that these kinds of partnerships have on nat cat resilience.

“Through partnering with Temblor, we will be able to give greater clarity to cedents and reinsurers, with updated science and data helping to minimize uncertainty in modelled loss estimates,” Baotic said.

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