RMS and Taiwan’s MSIG Mingtai Collaborate on Typhoon Risk Insights

August 27, 2015

RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based catastrophe risk management firm, has formed a technical collaboration with MSIG Mingtai Insurance Co. Ltd. to share industry information and insight about the local Taiwanese insurance market, as RMS develops a typhoon model for Taiwan.

The sharing of information and methodologies between the two companies combines Mingtai’s 50 years’ of experience in the Taiwan domestic insurance market with RMS’ scientific knowledge of the region, according to a statement from RMS. The collaboration will help RMS continue in its development of a probabilistic typhoon model and provide Mingtai with an improved understanding of typhoon risk for effective risk management, the company said.

“A better understanding and modeling of natural hazards, achieved through collaboration, will allow for more effective risk management,” said Y.M. Ku, senior executive vice president of MSIG Mingtai. “We are pleased to mutually develop a deeper understanding of Taiwan typhoon risk through this technical collaboration.”

Understanding typhoon risk is crucial in the region, said RMS, explaining that the western North Pacific basin is currently in the midst of a climatological period of heightened typhoon activity. Taiwan sits on the west of this basin.

Although the basin sees activity all year around, in an average year, the months from July to October are the busiest for typhoons, RMS indicated.

The typhoon risk to Taiwan, which is exposed to strong winds, heavy rainfall and storm surge associated with typhoons, was highlighted recently with the landfall of Typhoon Soudelor.

“RMS has a history of collaboration with industry partners, including reinsurers, insurers and brokers in the United States, Europe and Asia,” said Yasunori Araga, president, RMS Japan.

“We are pleased to extend our technical collaboration in Asia in Taiwan through our partnership with Mingtai.”

Currently in development, the RMS Taiwan Typhoon Model will capture the components of typhoon risk through modeling technologies, the company said, noting that it will be part of the Asia Typhoon Model, which is being built on a basin-wide event set.

Source: RMS

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters

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