Data availability is now at a point where the market can truly look to better address the threat from cargo accumulations.

Recent years have highlighted the scale of cargo accumulation risks and why the market needs to look at how it can accurately understand the exposures written.

Hurricane Ian is estimated to have cost the marine market USD 5 billion resulting from losses across the US east coast, causing damage by high winds and storm surge. This is on top of continued pressures facing global supply chains.

Natural catastrophes are not our sole consideration, however. The fire and explosion at the Port of Tianjin in 2015 cost marine underwriters more than USD 1 billion; the explosion at the Port of Beirut is estimated at USD 3 billion and Felicity Ace estimated at USD 500 million.

However, we now live in the era of data. It will be data, coupled with trust, which will finally provide the insured, the broker, insurer and reinsurer with the opportunity to truly understand their accumulation risks.

Detailed cargo data will allow the insurer to know the risk and rate it accurately. For re/insurers, it will also enable the creation of a complete picture of exposures and, with it, their aggregation risks.

However, to do so, trust will be key. For the market to be able to build a complete picture, it will require brokers, insurers and reinsurers to share the data, enabling the industry to better model their cargo risks.

The market can ill afford to deal with the scale of losses it has faced in recent years. It needs to lower claims, but to do so, it needs to make better use of data throughout the transactional process.

The systems are in place that will allow the information to be analysed and understood, but the sector must find a way to access the necessary data and it may well require those in the market to be willing to share data for a collective benefit.

Innovative potential collaborators should contact Jake Jacobs (jake.jacobs@concirrus.com) to explore how they could benefit from the solution.