Hiscox Re expands flood insurance offering in US
Bermuda-based Hiscox Re and ILS has launched a new US personal lines flood product, available to its insurance carrier.
As the market deregulates, the private insurance market has an opportunity to support more customers with flood cover, the company said.
The new offering, FloodXtra, provides insurance carrier partners with rates, rules, forms, a ready-to-use underwriting portal and pricing system, and reinsurance.
Flooding is the most common natural disaster in the US, affecting every region and state. However, less than 12 percent of American homeowners have a flood insurance policy, according to Hiscox. Significant flooding in Texas and Louisiana floods during 2016, and more recently during Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma reinforce the scale of the challenge and the need to complement the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Currently more than 20 percent of NFIP flood insurance claims come from homes considered to be in low to moderate risk flood areas, where insurance take up is below 2 percent.
Bevis Tetlow, head of North American underwriting, commented: "Recent events have highlighted the inadequacy of flood insurance provisions in the US. The market is deregulating and the good news for consumers is this will give them a greater choice of flood cover.
"FloodXtra is part of this solution, allowing our carrier partners and ILS investors to leverage our in-house flood analytics and proprietary technology, which in turn boost US homeowners’ resilience to flood."
