As the world’s insurance and reinsurance leaders gather at the 2025 Rendez-Vous de Septembre, one of the conversations dominating the agenda is the rising toll of severe convective storms (SCS) and hail events. With record-breaking losses in Europe, Japan, and North America, the industry’s appetite for accurate, independent data has never been greater. PERILS, the independent Zurich-based catastrophe data provider, has responded by expanding its SCS and hail reporting footprint - an evolution shaped by both market demand and the realities of a changing climate.
On a bright afternoon in Monte Carlo, PERILS CEO Christoph Oehy (pictured left) and head of PERILS Asia-Pacific, Darryl Pidcock (pictured right), sat down with ReInsurance Business to discuss the company’s latest initiatives, the challenges of loss data standardization, and what the future holds for independent catastrophe reporting.
PERILS’ move to expand its SCS and hail reporting to the European Union, New Zealand, and Japan is a direct response to calls from the market. “It was a need that came from the industry and came up in past conferences many times,” Oehy explained. “Just last year in Canada, we had the largest insured event in Canadian history. Clearly there was a need for more real data.”
The expansion is timely. In 2024, insured losses from severe convective storms in Europe alone were estimated to have exceeded $15 billion, with Italy and France bearing the brunt of multiple billion-dollar hail events. Japan, too, saw a record-breaking hailstorm in the Kanto region in June 2024, resulting in insured losses of over $2 billion - the largest such event in the country’s history. Globally, SCS losses in 2024 are expected to surpass $60 billion, making it one of the costliest years on record for this peril.
As the losses mount, the industry’s need for robust, independent data has only grown. PERILS’ expanded reporting is not just a response to recent events, but a proactive step to help the market prepare for what lies ahead.
With PERILS’ expanded data collection, the industry is watching closely for emerging trends and surprises in the frequency and severity of SCS events. “Frequency - it’s too early to say,” Oehy noted. “We can say that with climate-related impacts, we’re going to see more severe events going forward. Climate change is one factor but there are other factors: densely populated areas being hit, and society becoming more vulnerable – solar panels on the roofs, car ports. Solar panels can be easily destroyed by large hail.”
Pidcock added that the vulnerability of modern infrastructure is amplifying losses. “More convective events in highly populated regions mean more exposure. With the warmer climate, we will see more moisture in the air leading to larger hail sizes.”
These observations underscore why the industry is so focused on data: as storms become more severe and unpredictable, reliable information is essential for both risk assessment and resilience planning.
The value of PERILS’ new SCS and hail data is already being felt in the market. “What it’s used most for is to develop and validate models,” Oehy explained. “It plays a key role in quantification, and exposure management is then something that they [insurers] do internally based on their own portfolios.”
This independent data is increasingly critical for reinsurers and insurers as they navigate a landscape of rising volatility and uncertainty. As the climate shifts and exposure grows, the ability to calibrate models with real-world data becomes a competitive advantage – and a necessity.
Expanding SCS and hail reporting across multiple geographies has not been without its hurdles and new challenges. “The interesting part around hail is that there’s the motor component to take into account – not just property. That [motor data] was something we had to start to collect. It was new for us to have that motor exposure. That can make 20-40% of the exposure in a hail event,” Oehy said. “As for country to country, it [hail] is widely covered in Europe. From a property perspective there wasn’t that much of a challenge with hail, but elsewhere the insurance penetration can be quite different. It’s quite a diverse picture.”
The diversity of insurance penetration and policy structures across regions means that PERILS must tailor its data collection and standardization efforts to each market. In Europe, for example, hail is often included as a standard peril in property policies, while in Japan and Australia, coverage can be more fragmented.
These challenges highlight the importance of collaboration. PERILS is working closely with insurers, reinsurers, and brokers to ensure that data is robust, comparable, and actionable across borders. As Pidcock noted: “It’s about working with insurers, reinsurers, and brokers to make sure the data is as robust as possible. The more we can standardize and share, the better prepared the industry will be for the next big event.”
As PERILS continues to expand its global reach, the company’s leadership is focused on deepening its existing datasets and responding to market needs. “We are almost covering everywhere now - it would be more about adding more countries to what we do,” Oehy said.
With severe convective storms and hail losses continuing to mount in 2025, the importance of accurate, independent data has never been clearer.
