With California experiencing over 50 billion-dollar disasters since 1980, including wildfires, floods, droughts, and earthquakes, the need for a more efficient, data-driven response has never been greater. In just the past five years, eight catastrophic events have accounted for nearly 21% of the state’s total economic losses. The recent LA wildfires, among the most devastating disasters in U.S. history, further highlight California’s vulnerability.
CIERA, dedicated to improving the insurance industry’s disaster response, has identified operational challenges and data complexities as key barriers to effective recovery efforts. Through its partnership with MIS, the initiative will establish a centralized and standardized operating model, ensuring that insurance carriers and loss adjusters deploy resources efficiently and in alignment with state, federal, and local authorities.
MIS will provide CIERA members with real-time, verified disaster data, enabling faster and more accurate claims processing. This includes detailed intelligence on road closures, power outages, emergency declarations, and other critical information, helping insurers streamline responses and better serve policyholders.
By leveraging advanced data solutions, this partnership aims to strengthen California’s resilience to catastrophic events and improve post-disaster recovery efforts across the insurance sector.
Forbes McKenzie, founder and CEO of MIS, said: “We are thrilled to build on our partnership with CIERA, which marks a significant step in enhancing the insurance industry’s preparedness and response to California’s unique challenges in disaster recovery.”
The organizations have collaborated previously, with MIS supporting CIERA at its last two Annual Meetings. MIS’s Global Events Observer (GEO) platform, designed to deliver reliable post-catastrophe data, has become a key tool in the Lloyd’s of London disaster response process since its 2021 launch. GEO covers over 200 global catastrophic events, including wildfires, earthquakes, flooding, and hurricanes.
At the CIERA Annual Meeting in February, MIS will lead an exercise based on the HayWired scenario, developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and tailored to the insurance industry. GEO will be central to the exercise, enabling CIERA members to gain hands-on experience with the platform, in preparation for real events.
Regardless of whether CIERA is activated during a specific event, MIS will grant all CIERA members access to California-focused event assessments within GEO. CIERA members wishing to expand GEO’s use to assess national or global risks will also benefit from an exclusive discount.
