Dr. Matt Hinds-Aldrich, Senior Risk Strategy Lead, was a recent guest on the FNO InsureTech podcast, joining hosts Rob Beller and Lee Boyd to talk about how new thinking around data can enhance insurers’ ability to measure, rate and mitigate fire risk and the challenges associated with insuring the peril, particular in wildfire-prone areas such as California.

Dr. Matt Hinds-Aldrich, Senior Risk Strategy Lead at AAIS and fire peril subject matter expert, recently joined Tom Louis from First Due to discuss why the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) still matters and why it needs to improve to meets the needs of the 21^st century fire service. Watch the entire discussion here:

With the holidays and the end of the year upon us, it is the time to reflect upon the past year. And it is the time of year we tend to think about coming together, as a community, to share our experiences. In our case, I’m referring to AAIS’s product-focused advisory councils.

Severe weather, especially wildfire and flood, is increasing across the United States. This is exacerbated by climate change with no reduction in sight. At the same time, cyber criminals, not limited by geography, can invade our homes and businesses from anywhere in the world. Insurers facing this triple threat to homeowners are keenly aware of the trends:

The AAIS Pulse newsmagazine recently featured a discussion with experts from Munich Re, Berkley Re Solutions, and AAIS hosted by AAIS Vice President of Products John Kadous on the emerging risks affecting policyholders in the homeowners market. The focus was on the evolving threats around cyber, fire and flood and how they’re being impacted by climate change, technology and more.

In an AAIS Webinar, FLAMES: The Modern Fire Protection Evaluation Model, AAIS Vice President Phil LeGrone, and AAIS Senior Risk Strategy Lead Matt Hinds-Aldrich, PhD, outlined the new fire model, FLAMES, and the advantages it offers over traditional models for underwriters assessing and managing non-cat fire risk.

With more than $22 billion in losses recorded annually, fire insurance is burning a hole in the insurance industry’s proverbial pocket. Having used the same approach to assessing public fire protection (PFP) risk for the past 30 years, insurers have failed to evaluate the impact it has on overall loss cost.