What is the role?
We seek an enthusiastic catastrophe research analyst who is looking for a new challenge and to advance to the next level. The ideal candidate will have expertise in hydrology, flood modelling or geospatial and data analytics. You will work closely with other catastrophe modelers, actuaries and brokers to help Howden Re deliver excellent service to our clients. The position will be based in one of our Continental Europe offices, preferably in Germany.
You will have the opportunity to evaluate a wide range of catastrophe models across multiple perils and regions, and to develop new methodologies for assessing emerging climate risks and innovative product offerings. Day-to-day you will have the opportunity to bring your own expertise and advanced analytical skills to help clients make decisions around capital requirements, reinsurance and risk mitigation strategies.
This is an external-facing role. Building your network will be encouraged, with colleagues, peers, clients and prospects, as well as the research community. You will also have the opportunity to grow your role to work in other catastrophe advisory projects, offering analytic services that deliver advanced technical services and modelling insights.
Howden Re’s unique entrepreneurial spirit fosters a culture of innovation. We strongly believe this is the key to successfully address and solve the current and future challenges met by the industry. The International Catastrophe Analytics team work as one team. This will give you a unique opportunity to benefit from other colleagues’ insights and experience and thus accelerate your professional development. Currently there are 42 embedded actuaries and catastrophe analysts in the International business with other analysts in the group centre, Specialty and US teams.
You will contribute to the differentiation of Howden Re in the marketplace by delivering superior service to existing clients and to shape our Catastrophe offering to help win new business. What sets us apart is down to us – helping clients understand their portfolios better and in knowing which outputs are required to solve a specific problem, and when. We already have a good share of regional and global multi-national accounts that, along with local business in regional markets, make for the opportunity to work on varied catastrophe projects and lines of business.
What will you be doing?
* Contribute to catastrophe advisory projects across a wide range of Natural Catastrophe perils with specific peril knowledge and advanced analytical skills.
* Perform technical model evaluation tests across all core components of a catastrophe model to develop a view of risk for our clients.
* Support development of innovative solutions for modelled and non-modelled perils and provide insights for post-event analyses.
* Liaise internally with the rest of the international Catastrophe Advisory team on specific projects and for overall R&D activity coordination.
* Communicate project results with both internal and external stakeholders, including clients and reinsurers.
* Maintaining and developing a network of contacts within the academic and reinsurance communities to ensure latest findings and scientific trends are translated into solutions for our clients.
What are we looking for?
* MSc/PhD in Hydrology, Geospatial Analytics, Engineering, Climate Science, or a related field.
* Strong programming skills in R, Python, or Matlab, with experience in data visualization.
* Proficient in GIS software.
* Excellent communication and teamwork skills.
* 2+ years’ experience in (re)insurance or R&D risk modelling roles (preferred).
* Familiarity with catastrophe models (preferred).
* Knowledge of data science, AI, or machine learning (a plus).
* German or other language skills (a plus).