The firm Descartes has partnered with Reask, a tropical cyclone risk analytics firm, to improve its parametric cyclone insurance product.

Descartes Underwriting co-founder and head of R&D Kevin Dedieu, said, “Data dearth in certain regions remains a gating factor to providing parametric insurance covers that enhance resilience. Reask leads the charge in its ability to quickly capture a windstorm event or provide wind at location maps in certain areas, such as the South Pacific, where data is less accessible.”

Dedieu added that “precise, high-quality data is a prerequisite to all parametric insurance structures,” and that Reask’s wind-at-location data reduce basis risk “in game-changing ways.”

The partnership allows Descartes’ parametric product designs to integrate technology with Reask’s wind speed data, enabling the company to expand its cyclone parametric coverage globally. Descartes can now utilize Reask’s Metryc solution in regions previously unable to access parametric policies due to data limitations because the Reask solution provides global coverage. In addition, Reask’s capability to provide high-resolution wind hazard intensity metrics as soon as a storm occurs complements ground-level observations and supports Descartes’ parametric products.

Reask co-founder and CEO Thomas Loridan, said, “Our Metryc solution enables the transfer of financial risk in all corners of the globe, expanding the reach of parametric insurance solutions such as those provided by Descartes Underwriting. It is thanks to our machine learning approach to wind modeling that Metryc can be used as a reliable third-party view of tropical cyclone wind speed data even in regions where observations are scarce.”