Specialty insurer Palomar has used AIR Worldwide’s U.S. probabilistic flood model to obtain a first-ever successful rate filing for flood.
Palomar has become the first admitted firm to successfully offer a stand-alone residential flood insurance product in California, after its first-time launch of AIR’s flood model, Flood Guard.
The programme was first released by catastrophe risk modeller AIR in 2014, offering an advanced high-resolution proprietary rating system for assessing and managing inland flood risk throughout the U.S. floodplains and beyond.
Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Palomar Specialty, Jon Christianson, said; “We are extremely pleased to become the first admitted insurance company to successfully launch a stand-alone residential flood insurance product in California.”
Christianson commented that while historically the industry has struggled to develop new products for hazards such as flood, there’s now “a credible probabilistic model in the market that enables Palomar to thoughtfully and competitively price a flood insurance product in the private market.”
Flood Guard offers an alternative to FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and with its rating algorithm and online platform, it enables agents to quote and bind coverage in minutes.
Palomar Specialty said it would be writing Flood Guard exclusively through agents appointed with Prospect General Insurance Agency.
Palomar Specialty Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mac Armstrong, said; “Palomar Specialty has a wealth of experience leveraging technology and catastrophe analytics to automate our earthquake and wind products. Flood Guard is a natural extension of our analytical approach in developing new products that resonate with agents and property owners.”
Executive Vice President, AIR Worldwide, Rob Newbold, commented; “By using AIR’s probabilistic flood model in its rate filing, Palomar is paving the way for more homeowners and businesses to get flood insurance in the state of California.
“The company truly is an innovator in this space and is helping to create a strong and vibrant private flood insurance market.”
