Middle East News - Data provider expands CAT coverage to Turkey
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jan 2016
PERILS, the Zurich-based provider of industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has extended its coverage to include Turkey, making available market-wide property sums insured exposed to earthquake and flood events in Turkey via its database, as well as to provide event loss data for any major events.
PERILS collects property sums insured and event loss data from primary insurers in Turkey per CRESTA Zone and property line of business. Based on the collected data, PERILS produces an independent and objective data set of market exposures (total sums insured) and market event losses. This information can be used for a range of applications, including for industry loss-based risk transfer products such as industry loss warranties and insurance-linked securities, as well as catastrophe risk model validation.
Dr Luzi Hitz, CEO of PERILS, said: “The inclusion of Turkey marks another milestone in the ongoing evolution of PERILS. We are particularly grateful for the support which we have received from the majority of the primary insurance companies in this market. Without this support, PERILS could not fulfil its mission to increase transparency in the natural catastrophe risk arena, and as a result facilitate a more liquid and stable Cat market.”
Dr Eduard Held, Head of Products at PERILS, added: “Turkey ranks as one of the top catastrophe markets globally. We are therefore proud that PERILS can now also provide the industry exposure and loss data for this market at a CRESTA and Property line of business resolution. This will have a positive effect on the modelling and management of Turkish catastrophe risk by improving the understanding of the risk, and as a consequence further enhance its tradability. PERILS data are also ideally suited for industry loss-triggered ILWs and Cat bonds.”
To date, PERILS has facilitated limits of more than US$11 billion of this kind of risk capacity.
The PERILS Industry Exposure & Loss Database contains industry property sums insured and loss information for 14 countries on a CRESTA zone level and per property line of business. The CRESTA organisation was established by the insurance and reinsurance industry in 1977 as an independent body for the technical management of natural hazard coverage. One of its main tasks is to determine country-specific zones for the uniform and detailed reporting of exposure data usually relating to natural hazards.