Vortex launches weather insurance portal for outdoor events

US climate risk insurtech Vortex Weather Insurance has launched its Weather Insurance Portal, a new fully automated digital insurance platform aimed at the outdoor events industry.

Economic disruption caused by weather disruption runs into the billions of dollars. According to the European Environment Agency, ‘extreme weather events’ like storms, heatwaves and flooding have led to €500bn’s worth of economic losses in Europe alone during the last four decades. With parts of the US – like the Atlantic coast and so-called ‘Tornado Alley’ – already vulnerable to extreme weather, the effect on US businesses is likely to be just as high.

Vortex’s new portal allows event organisers and insurance brokers to quote, bind and insure outdoor events online in a matter of minutes. The portal expedites the underwriting process for parametric weather insurance, while users will have around-the-clock access to creating quotes, tracking rates, and activating policies on the spot.

Vortex says that their “seamless user experience” means that event organisers, who risk being out of pocket if their events are disrupted or cancelled, can expect settlement of a claim mailed to them within two weeks of the claim being triggered.

Portal ‘a massive leap forward’ for event organisers

The Kansas-based insurtech offers businesses in all 50 states a variety of affordable parametric weather index insurance products. Its focus on outdoor events means that clients include fairs and festivals, sporting tournaments and outdoor theatres. It uses parametric insurance, a type of insurance product that relies on pre-defined conditions being met before a payout is made.

It is commonly employed in connection with freak weather events, where the parameter might be something easily measurable such as strength of a storm or amount of rainfall. With parametric insurance, insureds typically receive payment quicker because no loss adjustment is required, although it differs from indemnity insurance because parametric insurance does not always cover the full extent of the real loss. In this sense, parametric insurance is often considered a ‘bounceback’ payment.

Andy Klaus, Vice President of Business Development at Vortex Weather Insurance, says: "We're excited to introduce the portal and its technology to insurance providers. The portal offers these providers and their clients parametric rain insurance policies from quote to binding in a matter of minutes. This is a massive leap forward for the insurtech industry.”