Global reinsurance broker Howden Re has expanded its ongoing collaboration with Mitiga Solutions to enhance Spain’s national approach to assessing volcanic risk.
The collaboration applies Mitiga’s proprietary volcanic catastrophe model to the Canary Islands to provide a deeper understanding of potential geological threats.
The program was developed by Howden Re and Howden Iberia in partnership with the Spanish special risks public insurance entity Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (CCS).
Howden Re explains that while flood and earthquake risks are often modelled, volcanic activity has traditionally been ignored in standard disaster frameworks.
The collaboration aims to close this gap by developing advanced analytics and Likely Maximum Loss (PML) estimates for key hazards such as floods, earthquakes, storms and volcanic eruptions, with a particular focus on enhancing how volcanic hazards are assessed.
As Howden Iberia Managing Director David Santos explains, “Catastrophe risks are becoming increasingly complex and advancing the way we model lesser-known hazards is critical. Partnering with Mitiga Solutions deepens our analytical capabilities and enhances our ability to provide clients with more robust, forward-looking insights.”
The 2021 eruption of La Palma’s Cumbre Vieja volcano highlighted demand for the product. The event resulted in 1,600 buildings and 80 kilometers of roads being destroyed by lava flows within a few months.
Combined with the prolonged ash fall, the flow of ash severely disrupted almost all key sectors on the island. Total economic losses exceeded US$800 million, with agriculture the hardest hit, with losses to banana producers alone exceeding US$57 million.
Mitiga is a climate technology company based in Barcelona. Providing science-based, AI-driven intelligence to help organizations assess, report and mitigate natural climate risks.
Its proprietary Volcano Cat model is designed to support the assessment of CCS exposure to lava flows and volcanic ash across Spain, forming a key component of the overall analytical framework.
Alex Martí, CEO of Mitiga Solutions, said: “Despite its potential to cause widespread damage, volcanic risk remains one of the most difficult natural hazards to quantify. Mitiga develops proprietary modeling capabilities to better assess volcanic risk, and the partnership with Howden Re creates the opportunity to bring this science into a broader risk management framework.”
By combining Howden Re’s reinsurance expertise with Mitiga’s scientific modeling, the project aims to create a more resilient national insurance system capable of predicting the financial impact of future volcanic eruptions.