Property insurer FM has launched the FM Worldwide Hail Hazard Map, a new global resource designed to help organisations better understand, quantify and reduce exposure to the growing threat of hail damage.
In a statement, FM noted that hail has emerged as one of the fastest-growing contributors to property loss over the past decade, driven by evolving climate conditions, including the increasing frequency and intensity of severe convective storms.
For many companies, hail now represents a rising threat to business continuity, with losses and disruption commonly stemming from damage to roofs, facades, yard storage and roof-mounted equipment, including HVAC systems and solar panel installations.
“With hail losses rising sharply in recent years, businesses need a far more precise view of where their vulnerabilities truly lie,” said FM Chief Engineer Stuart Keller.
Before this development, FM’s hail hazard mapping has been limited to Australia, in the APAC region, the other being the US.
Australia continues to experience some of the world’s most costly hail events. Advances in data availability and modelling capability have now enabled FM to extend this analysis globally.
The map is built on more than 500,000 actual hail observations, combined with physics-based modelling, allowing FM to expand hail hazard insights to regions that were previously unmapped, and enabling clients to benefit from the same level of insight that has long informed loss prevention strategies in Australia.