Parametric Insurance/New ways of underwriting in the 21st century

Webinar at 12 - 1pm on Thursday 25 September 2025

This session is a pre-seminar webinar for our Flagship event "The Evolving Workplace in the 21st Century" happening on Thursday 9 October, Novotel, Leeds.

“Indemnity, or not Indemnity, that is the question.” An exploration of the growth and uses of parametric insurance products.

Brief overview

Loss payments under a parametric insurance contract are not determined on an indemnity basis, but in relation to the pre-specified ‘parameters’ of the triggering loss event.

Parametric insurance is not new, but is a now a growing area, with many insurers and brokers setting up dedicated parametric operations. It has applications in many areas of insurance, from reinsurance through to retail risks, and can often provide cover for risks that conventional insurance finds difficult. One particular growth area is weather-related risks – extremes of water (drought or flood), wind or temperature. Parametric structures often make use of sensor technology and so can offer speed and certainty of loss payment.

Learning objectives

1. How parametric insurance products differ from conventional indemnity policies.
2. The advantages and disadvantages of parametric insurance.
3. Applications areas for parametric insurance.

Biography – Dr Alan Punter, BTech, MSc, PhD, MBA

Alan Punter’s career has combined roles in academia and business, most often concurrently. On the academic side, he was a Professor at Cass (now Bayes) Business School, lecturing on the MSc Insurance and Risk Management degree, covering modules on Risk Management, Alternative Risk Financing and Insurance-Linked Securitisation. He has published several books and CII Study Guides on these subjects, and spoken at over 100 industry conferences around the world. On the business side, he spent 25 years working for Lloyd’s brokers in London, firstly Sedgwick, then A&A and ultimately Aon. Alan started in technical analysis roles and then moved into senior management positions in Captives, Financial Services, Research & Development, and finally holding the positions of CEO Aon Capital Markets and Managing Director in the Chairman’s Office. Since retirement, he has been a non-executive director for an MGA.

Alan is an active Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Insurers, a Court Assistant and Chairman of their Livery Committee, and takes part in other City Civic events. Two of his other passions are cycling (he cycles with a local club each week and takes part in several long-distance charity rides each year) and researching and giving talks on local history.

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Please note: This event is a regional collaboration between the local institutes in the area. Your booking details will be shared with the Insurance Institute of York, which is acting as the host institute for this event.