MENLO PARK, CALIF. (July 25, 2023) – Recent natural disasters have and will continue to expose commercial property (re)insurers to significant business interruption (BI) losses. Previously, commercial property (re)insurers priced business interruption risk solely as a function of physical damage to the insured property. Now, for the first time ever, (re)insurers can capture direct and contingent business interruption risk in their underwriting, pricing, and exposure management workflows using the One Concern DNA™ API.

Why it matters: Business interruption risk is a significant driver of insured loss. For Hurricane Harvey, BI losses were estimated to be between $6 and $9 billion alone. According to RMSI, the total business interruption losses from Hurricane Ian could be as high as $9 billion. 

As we enter into the busier part of hurricane season and a probable El Niño setup, (re)insurers will be under increased pressure to capture any potential business interruption risk adequately.

Estimating BI risk for natural catastrophe events has been challenging due to the lack of accurate measurement tools or data on dependency risk such as power outages, local community impacts, road/bridge impairment, and port/airport downtime on a business’ operations. In a claims study with a large insurer, One Concern’s BI risk scores were correlated with 90% of BI losses both in terms of geographic distribution and size of claim.

Zoom in: Business interruption risk refers to the potential impact on a company’s operations, revenue, and profitability caused by events such as natural disasters, infrastructure failures, or supply chain disruptions. The financial consequences arising from downtime and operational disruptions are frequently underestimated or overlooked by businesses and carriers alike. 

One Concern’s BI risk scores (low, medium, or high) capture both PDBI (property damage business interruption) and CBI (contingent business interruption), giving (re)insurers a view into the drivers or downtime risk for an insured location or portfolio. Corresponding downtime data behind the scores play a pivotal role in quantifying the business interruption impacts, informing coverage decisions, treaty reinsurance pricing, and facultative cessions.

What’s next: Business interruption and downtime data empowers decision-makers in other market sectors to make informed investment choices, develop effective risk mitigation/management strategies, and enhance business resilience. 

If you are interested in learning more and validating what you think you know about business interruption risk, please consider joining an upcoming One Concern Masterclass by reaching out at contact@oneconcern.com.