Risk Management Professionals #ReConnect at CatIQ Connect 2023
Toronto, February 15, 2023 – The Canadian Catastrophe Conference – CatIQ Connect – returned to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre last week, February 7 and 8, marking the first in-person iteration of the event since 2020. More than 260 delegates were in attendance, representing stakeholders from the full spectrum of risk management in Canada, the United States, Czechia, and the United Kingdom.
Delegates arrived at the conference amid a financial and insurance landscape that looks substantially different to that of early 2020, with supply chain dilemmas, labour headaches and some of the most impactful natural disasters in Canadian history having dominated the past few years.
“This year’s CatIQ Connect was timely and on top of global issues as they were unfolding” said Julie Wright, Director of Partners for Action at the University of Waterloo, referring to the Turkey-Syria earthquake that occurred days before. “It was a great opportunity for our Partners for Action team to reconnect with stakeholders from across the country and the collaborations that emerge from those initial conversations will drive our work for months to come.”
CatIQ Connect sessions covered topics on climate change and risk modelling, inflation, earthquake, managed retreat, wildfire recovery, CAT adjusting, Indigenous communities and insurance, ESG, and the 2021 British Columbia floods.
“As Canada increasingly becomes a riskier place to live, work and insure, it’s clear we need to do more now to build and prioritize a culture of climate resiliency. CatIQ Connect provided a timely opportunity for leading climate experts to come together to propose and discuss solutions that will help better protect Canada and Canadians,” said Jason Clark, National Director, Climate Change Advocacy, Insurance Bureau of Canada. “We are entering a positive and unprecedented period of collaboration on climate resilience between the federal government and the insurance sector, especially as it relates to closing the flood protection gap. I’m proud of our industry for being a steadfast partner in making our communities safer and stronger.”
Nearly twenty organizations participated to support CatIQ Connect as sponsors or community partners, including Gold Sponsors Aon Impact Forecasting, CoreLogic, and KatRisk LLC. Other groups helping to promote the event included hazard modellers, reinsurance companies and brokers, as well as adjusters, restoration and emergency management firms.
The outstanding success of 2023’s event is a credit to the oversight of the conference’s exceptional steering committee. Members of the committee included:
- Jim Abraham, President, Canadian Oceanographic & Meteorological Society
- Marjorie Brans, Global Catalyst, The League of Intrapreneurs
- Caroline Floyd, Director, CatIQ
- Karen Francis, Senior Vice President, Guy Carpenter
- Izzy Graham, Assistant Vice President, Aon
- Glenn McGillivray, Managing Director, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction
- Hall Noble, Senior Manager CAT Response, National Catastrophe Claims, TD Insurance
- Kelly O’Neill, AVP, Senior Natural Catastrophe Pricing Analyst, SCOR
- Chris Rol, Manager and Senior Advisor, Climate Adaptation & Flood Policy, Insurance Bureau of Canada
- Greg Smith, President, Canada, Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc.
- Laura Twidle, President & CEO, CatIQ
- Rebecca Wagner, Associate Director, Environment and Climate Change Canada
- Shaun Walsh, VP, Head of Property & Exposure Management, Central Technical Unit, Aviva Canada Inc.
- Kyle Winston, Chair, CRU GROUP
- Julie Wright, Director, Partners for Action
CatIQ Connect will return to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre February 6 – 7, 2024.
About CatIQ:
Toronto-based Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) is a subsidiary of Zurich-based PERILS A.G. and delivers detailed analytical and meteorological information on Canadian natural and human-made catastrophes. Through its online subscription-based platform, CatIQ, catiq.com, combines comprehensive insured loss and exposure indices and other related information to better serve the needs of the insurance / reinsurance / ILS industries, public sector and other stakeholders. CatIQ was established in 2014 with the support of the overwhelming majority of the Canadian insurance and reinsurance industry and is widely recognized as the most reliable source of catastrophe loss information in Canada. CatIQ also partners with MSA Research to host the annual Canadian catastrophe conference, CatIQ Connect, connect.catiq.com which will next run Feb 6 and 7, 2024.
About MSA:
Market Security Analysis & Research Inc. (MSA) is a Canadian-owned, independent and impartial analytical research firm focused on the Canadian insurance industry. Founded in 2003, MSA is the dominant provider of financial information relating to Canadian insurers. Its mission is to provide Canada’s insurance professionals with comprehensive financial information, analytical tools and rigorous research on a consistent basis. MSA Research is also the organization behind esteemed conferences such as the National Insurance Conference of Canada (founded 2007), CatIQ Connect (founded 2014) and InsurTech North (founded 2018). Through fostering industry thought leadership, MSA Research continues to prove itself as an invaluable provider of Canadian insurance information.
Media Contact:
Caroline Floyd
Director, CatIQ