Insurance readiness
Much of the loss from hazards is uninsured, and often nobody can say how much or why. The Global Risks Alliance (GRA) has designed an insurance readiness service for insurers, reinsurers and public authorities: it maps exposure, existing cover and data gaps, and sets out the questions an external insurance market would ask. It is never underwriting, placement, broking or a price for cover, and it promises no cover to anyone. The service is part of Finance and insurance readiness.
- 01InstitutionThe Global Risks Alliance (GRA)
- 02Service levelR0: information and enquiries
- 03In briefThe short answer
- 04The serviceProblem, work, and what each side brings
- 05Underwriting dataWhat an insurer would ask for first
- 06Capital viewHow the cover would be read by a supervisor
- 07External market questionsWhat an insurer would need to know
GRA · Institution · service level R0
The short answer.
Insurance readiness is GRA's designed service for insurers, reinsurers and public authorities that maps exposure, existing cover and data gaps, and sets out the questions an external insurance market would ask. It is never underwriting, placement, broking or a price for cover, and it promises no cover to anyone.
Exposure, hazard and the exceedance curve.
Which places drive loss in a severe year, and how far it reaches into reinsurance. Illustrative design values.
Problem, work, and what each side brings.
| Element | As designed |
|---|---|
| For | Insurers, reinsurers and public authorities |
| Problem | Much of the loss from hazards is uninsured, and nobody can say how much or why |
| Work | Map exposure, existing cover and data gaps |
| You receive | An exposure and protection-gap note that separates measured, estimated and unknown losses |
| You contribute | Exposure and portfolio data within your rights |
| Never | Underwriting, placement, broking or a price for cover |
What an insurer would ask for first.
| Data | Standard or source | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure schedule with location, construction, occupancy, year built and height | Open Exposure Data (OED) format used with Oasis | Primary modifiers drive vulnerability and therefore modelled loss |
| Historical losses by event | Owner records; EM-DAT and national loss databases as context | Calibration and credibility of the loss estimate |
| Hazard layers with return periods | Public hazard models and national maps | Basis for frequency and severity assumptions |
| Risk reduction measures in place | Engineering records | Whether mitigation can be reflected in terms |
How the cover would be read by a supervisor.
An insurer accepting the risk will hold capital against it under Solvency II, the Insurance Capital Standard or a local regime, and measure the contract under IFRS 17. Its question is therefore not only expected loss but the tail: what the cover adds at the 1-in-200 point of its own exceedance curve. GRA prepares the exposure and hazard evidence that lets an insurer answer that question itself. Specialist work continues at Insurance Nexus and Actuarial and Quantitative Risk.
What an insurer would need to know.
- 01
Exposure
What is at risk, where, at what value, and how reliable is the register?
- 02
Hazard and vulnerability
Which hazard models apply, with what local damage functions and uncertainty?
- 03
Accumulation
Where could one event, or one shared provider, trigger losses across many policies at once?
- 04
Existing cover
What is already insured, by whom in aggregate, and where cover has been withdrawn?
- 05
Data
What loss history and claims data exist, and what cannot be shared?
Readiness stops before the market.
No price, no terms
GRA never sets, suggests or discusses premiums, rates or coverage terms.
No broking or placement
GRA does not sell, solicit, negotiate, place or broker cover, and introduces no insurer.
Aggregated data only
Data from competing insurers is aggregated so that no firm can be identified.
Related: Protection gaps and the professional community at Insurance Nexus.
Terms used on this page.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Insurance protection gap | The difference between economic losses and insured losses, for an event, a year or an expected annual figure. |
| Insurability | Whether a risk can be insured at a premium that is both adequate for the insurer and affordable for the buyer, given its size, frequency and uncertainty. |
| Exposure database | A structured record of assets and people located in an area, used for risk analysis. |
| Regulated activity | An activity, such as lending, insurance underwriting, investment advice or arranging deals, that the law allows only to authorized firms under supervision. |
Where this page's references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
- Oasis Loss Modelling Framework (open-source catastrophe modelling)
- Solvency II Directive 2009/138/EC as amended by the 2025 review (apply from 30 January 2027)
- IAIS Insurance Core Principles and ComFrame, including the Insurance Capital Standard (adopted December 2024)
- IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts
- EM-DAT international disaster database (CRED)
Questions and answers.
Can GRA arrange insurance for a programme?
Can insurers share data with GRA without competition concerns?
Who uses an exposure and protection-gap note?
Around GRA.
Start with an enquiry.
The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.