New CatWATCH™ Alerts Forecast & Monitor Potential Canadian Catastrophes

Available Now to CatIQ Subscribers

Toronto (May 14, 2015) – Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) today released the first phases of two brand new features to its online subscription-based Platform (www.catiq.com): CatWATCH™ and Analysis Dashboard.

CatIQ reports on natural and man-made disasters causing catastrophic damage and provides catastrophe (CAT)1 or notable event (NE)2 declarations based on estimated property losses. When CatIQ declares an event, a plethora of information is available on CatIQ’s Platform including a geographic footprint, initial bulletin with meteorological insight (if applicable), and related media. Although CatIQ’s detailed reporting is available within 1-2 days of the event, there is a need for more real-time information.

“During consultation with the industry, it became very apparent that advanced warning of impending conditions which may develop into catastrophic events is extremely important. Since we are already tracking events and collecting information in order to make CAT declarations, it makes sense to share this information with our users,” commented Carolyn Rennie, CatIQ’s Director of Catastrophic Loss Analysis and in-house meteorologist.

CatWATCH™ is being created to provide updates on possible CATs monitored by CatIQ. CatWATCH™ features will be rolling out over the next couple of months beginning with Phase 1 – CatWATCH™ Alerts. Notification about potential CATs is extremely important as Canada approaches what Carolyn calls, “CAT Season”. These updates will come in the form of CatWATCH™ Alerts. The Alerts will be released to CatIQ subscribers for 5 different watch types: Severe Weather Watch, Tropical Storm Watch, Flood Watch, Forest Fire Watch, and Winter Storm Watch.

CatWATCH™ Alerts will include geographic footprints of the areas which may be impacted, information on which perils may occur or are occurring, as well as possible property damage and preparation related to each watch type. These CatWATCH™ Alerts and subsequent updates, prior to a catastrophe occurring, could assist in the mobilization of claims staff, adjusters and emergency management officials or used in policy holder outreach.

Today CatIQ has also released its ground-breaking Analysis Dashboard. Participating insurance companies have the ability to benchmark themselves with the rest of the industry and monitor trends in CAT loss estimates. The Analysis Dashboard is also integrated with data from MSA Research, CatIQ’s sister company, to provide an estimate of the impact of a specific CATs on direct loss ratios. Analysis Dashboard Phase 2 – Multi-CAT, is currently under development and will provide reports and analytics for multiple CAT events.

CatIQ Users will find out more about both features at this afternoon’s interactive Training Webinar.