Latest news with #parametricinsurance
CBS News
5 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
California insurance commissioner says new coverage plans are needed to lure companies back to the state
If you live in California, it's likely obvious that there's an insurance crisis and the most recent casualties are survivors of the Palisades and Eaton fires. Instability and uncertainty have caused insurance companies to leave the state, and homeowners are left picking up the pieces. A main reason why insurance companies are no longer wanting to do business is because of the increased fire danger all year round. "Insurance touches every sector of every part of every sector of our economy and climate change is really upending every bit of that," said California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. The California Department of Insurance recently hosted the Global Sustainable Insurance Summit in Long Beach, bringing insurance experts, environmental experts and academia together. KCAL News spoke with Lara at the conference, which was designed to be a meeting of the minds. Lara said to keep insurance available and affordable, homes need to become more resilient, and regulators need to do more to entice insurers to return to California. One idea being debated is new coverages like parametric insurance. Parametric insurance pays claims based on the level of a disaster rather than the value of the loss. Payouts would be determined by the severity of the fire or weather event, regardless of the amount of damage to a home. For policyholders, some could get money for losses they didn't incur, while others might find their payouts fall short of the cost to rebuild. Parametric policies are attractive to insurers because their costs would be more predictable. Meanwhile, the insurance industry is funding disaster research of its own and is sharing its findings with lawmakers and regulators alike. Given the challenges faced by survivors in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, Lara welcomes their findings and suggestions. He said his hope is to empower consumers to "build back better and smarter" so the same mistakes aren't repeated in the years to come.
Associated Press
02-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Winners of AM Best's 2025 Student Challenge Announced
OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 2, 2025-- AM Best has announced Hernán Burgos and Alexander Porte of UW-Madison – Wisconsin School of Business as the winners of AM Best's 2025 Student Challenge for their tropical storm parametric insurance solution for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The 2025 Student Challenge tasked risk management and insurance students with creating innovative solutions for insurance risks. The proposed insurance solution from Burgos and Porte would provide coverage to low-income individuals and micro enterprises in LAC coastal regions using real-time meteorological data. 'In LAC, where insurance penetration is extremely low and the poverty rate is significantly high, access to insurance products is basically impossible for low-income communities,' said Burgos in an AM Best TV interview about the proposal. 'In the region, access to insurance is considered to be a luxury. Millions are left financially vulnerable and unprotected in the face of increasingly frequent and severe natural catastrophes.' Porte explained that the winning Student Challenge entry proposes leveraging the high level of banking products in LAC to create insurance markets and deliver products: 'When you're trying to create an insurance marketplace—you're trying to create appetites for these products—you need to use other distribution channels.' In addition to Burgos and Porte, students from University of Akron and Florida State University were finalists in the national competition, which was open to undergraduate and graduate students. 'The innovative ideas and thoughtful proposals put forward by these students point to a bright future for the insurance industry,' said Lee McDonald, AM Best's senior vice president, publication & news services. To view video interviews and Best's Review magazine interviews with the winning team and other finalists, please visit the 2025 Student Challenge landing page. AM Best's 2025 Student Challenge is a company initiative to support the development of new talent in the insurance industry. The company also provides an analytical development © 2025 by A.M. Best Company, its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on CONTACT: Lee McDonald Senior Vice President, Publication & News Services +1 908 882 2102 [email protected] KEYWORD: NEW JERSEY LATIN AMERICA NORTH AMERICA UNITED STATES EUROPE CARIBBEAN INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES EDUCATION INSURANCE FINANCE CONTINUING UNIVERSITY SOURCE: AM Best Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 06/02/2025 11:01 AM/DISC: 06/02/2025 11:01 AM
