Protecting cultural heritage sites and their associated tourism revenue streams
The challenge
Mexico is known for its cultural heritage, such as the monuments constructed by ancient civilizations. However, these magnificent archeological sites are not immune to the powerful effects of natural catastrophes. Following a series of earthquakes in 2017, the Mexican government was unable to find enough capacity to protect these sites through the traditional insurance market, leaving them partially uninsured and vulnerable.
Furthermore, the lack of precise information on these type of assets (e.g., replacement values, incomplete location data, etc.) created additional challenges for traditional insurance coverage.
The solution
To manage this protection gap, Swiss Re worked with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the agency responsible for protecting Mexico's cultural heritage, to develop a parametric earthquake coverage.
The result was an intensity-based solution which provides critical financial protection for over 2,000 Mexican archeological sites clustered in 200 locations. The product features multiple activation points, representing the geographic dispersion of INAH assets exposed to earthquakes.
The team worked to structure a coverage that fit the government's budget and made financial and economic sense for the carriers' risk balance sheet.