OM DENNE EPISODE
"We're seeing 100-year floods happen multiple times a year. That's just crazy."
Dr. Peter Sousounis has spent over two decades inside the catastrophe modelling industry, the hidden infrastructure that decides what you pay for insurance and whether you can get it at all. In this wide-ranging conversation, he exposes why most companies are still treating climate risk as a "box-ticking exercise," why your premiums are rising faster than inflation even in low-risk areas, and why AI might finally fix the fatal flaw in how we model disasters.
Report mentioned by Dr. Peter Sousounis as a reference: https://www.soa.org/resources/research-reports/2024/ins-availability-climate-risk-areas/
Time Stamps:
00:00 - 02:11 Introduction & What Are Catastrophe Models?
02:11 - 12:24 Climate Change & Extreme Weather Evidence
12:24 - 18:07 Quick-Fire Climate Science Questions
18:07 - 35:51 Insurance, Catastrophe Models & Climate Risk
35:51 - 48:40 Net Zero, Transition Risk & Business Mindset
48:40 - 1:00:46 AI, Future Risks & Closing
We dive deep into:
👉🏻 Why flood is the "biggest problem" — happening everywhere, even drought-stricken areas, with 100-year events now occurring multiple times per year
👉🏻 Hurricane Harvey: how a 2,000-year storm became a 100-year storm in just two decades — and why "two times Harvey" is coming
👉🏻 The "secondary perils" explosion: wildfire and hail claims have increased tenfold since 2000, while primary peril claims only tripled
👉🏻 Why California, Florida, and Louisiana are becoming "effectively uninsurable" — and why regulation is making it worse
👉🏻 Compound events: when wildfire burn scars turn ordinary rain into catastrophic floods — and why catastrophe models can't model this
👉🏻 Net zero transition risk: devalued petroleum assets, litigation exposure, and the unknown risks of insuring solar farms and wind turbines
👉🏻 The boardroom question that would change everything: "What climate assumptions are embedded in your business — and what happens if they're wrong?"
Dr. Peter Sousounis spent his career translating physics into risk and he's worried that too many companies are hitting the "snooze alarm" on climate.
This is a guest episode of Let's Climunicate.
🎙️ Host: Alberto Troccoli | Let's Communicate
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So, what is Let’s Climunicate?
Let’s Climunicate is a long-form podcast and YouTube channel dedicated to rigorous, balanced discussions at the intersection of climate science, policy, economics, and societal responses.
Hosted by Dr. Alberto Troccoli, each episode features in-depth, conversations with leading researchers, policymakers, and industry experts. We make complex climate topics accessible without oversimplifying them and we’re not afraid to test assumptions, challenge narratives, and make space for nuance and debate.
🎧 What you’ll find here:
👉🏻 Expert interviews on climate risk, insurance, extreme weather, and energy transition
👉🏻 Evidence-driven conversations that respect your intelligence
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