Swiss Re has acquired UK-based flood risk specialist Fathom, adding additional expertise and a “robust set of products” to complement its existing data and modelling. 

“We are very pleased to join forces with Fathom in our quest to narrow the protection gap for natural catastrophe risks, such as floods,” Swiss Re Reinsurance Solutions CEO Russell Higginbotham said. 

“Fathom's market-leading research and innovative tools in this area create great synergies with Swiss Re's risk knowledge and digital capabilities.” 

Swiss Re estimates that, globally, natural catastrophes caused $US100 billion ($149 billion) insured losses this year. At least $US12 billion ($18 billion) can be attributed to flood-related events, which is more than 30% higher than the past ten years’ annual average. 

Fathom was formed in 2013 following discussions by two researchers at the University of Bristol around obstacles that needed to be overcome to create comprehensive flood models. The company works with groups ranging from small organisations to government agencies and multinational corporations. 

“We are committed to helping organisations around the world to analyse, understand and respond to flood risk and the changing climate landscape,” Fathom CEO Stuart Whitfield said. “This transaction represents a further key step in helping us to achieve our vision of becoming the gold standard in the provision of water risk intelligence.”