Montpelier Reinsurance Ltd., the Bermuda subsidiary of Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd., has launched the Montpelier Risk Institute (“MRI”), a virtual risk institute that will leverage the complementary capabilities of scientists and insurance specialists to target new methods for quantifying risk. Partnering with Montpelier Re in MRI are the University of Western Ontario, the affiliated Institute for Catastrophic Research in Ontario, Canada, and several private research institutions in Europe.

MRI was formed to promote global research, knowledge exchange, and advanced model development on natural catastrophe and man-made risk. The Institute's goal is to collaborate to better understand, calculate, mitigate, and hedge risk in a changing environment. MRI will be overseen by a steering committee led by Dr. Gero Michel, chief risk officer and head of risk analytics at Montpelier Re, and composed of representatives from academia and government.

“By fostering collaboration between scientists and insurance specialists, MRI will seek more accurate ways to assess risk across various scales, territories, and perils,” said Dr. Michel. “As risk becomes more interconnected in a changing environment and climate, it is very important that our models and risk assessment techniques evolve as well.”