Rob Newbold, President, Catastrophe and Risk Solutions: Verisk: Beyond a single view of risk: why catastrophe modelling is becoming more collaborative (412)

For decades, catastrophe modelling has largely been about choosing the best view of risk. But what happens when no single model can capture the full picture? 

In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks with Rob Newbold, President of Catastrophe and Risk Solutions at Verisk, about why the future of catastrophe modelling is becoming more open, collaborative and accessible. 

Rob explains the thinking behind Verisk's new Model Exchange platform and why enabling insurers to access third-party models alongside Verisk's own is less about changing strategy and more about continuing a long-standing commitment to giving clients greater choice. The conversation explores how broader access to catastrophe and cyber models could help organisations build a more complete understanding of risk while making advanced analytics available to a much wider audience. 

They also discuss why the global protection gap remains stubbornly difficult to close, why parametric insurance has not yet delivered on many of its early promises and where new modelling capability is still urgently needed, from flood to wildfire. 

Looking ahead, Rob shares his perspective on how agentic AI could fundamentally change catastrophe modelling workflows, allowing insurers to automate scenario analysis, respond more quickly to emerging events and make sophisticated risk analytics available without requiring specialist modelling expertise. 

In this episode you'll learn: 

• Why Verisk has opened its platform to third-party catastrophe and cyber models 
• How Model Exchange helps insurers build a more comprehensive view of global risk 
• Why collaboration between model providers could strengthen resilience across the industry 
• Where the biggest gaps remain in catastrophe modelling, including flood and emerging risks 
• Why the protection gap remains a persistent challenge despite better analytics 
• The reality of parametric insurance and why basis risk continues to limit wider adoption 
• How cloud platforms and SaaS delivery are making catastrophe models accessible beyond specialist insurance teams 
• What practical applications of agentic AI could look like for catastrophe modelling over the next 12 months 
• Why openness, transparency and competition may ultimately improve risk understanding across the market 

Rob's recommendations: 

• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell 
• Smart Brevity by Roy Schwartz, Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei 

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. 

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