Earlier this year, ICMIF Supporting Member Descartes launched an innovative parametric flood insurance product for commercial customers in the United States. Descartes, a global leader in corporate parametric insurance solutions for climate and emerging risks, became a Supporting Member in September 2025.
The company’s new Flood-at-Location policy is designed to offer fast, transparent, and flexible protection against pluvial, fluvial, and coastal flooding. Using advanced on-site sensors to measure flood depth in real time, the product enables almost immediate claims assessment and payout, typically within days, without the need for loss adjusters or lengthy investigations.
The policy provides limits of up to USD 70 million per contract and can cover any economic loss resulting from flooding, including property damage, business interruption, and extra expenses. Unlike traditional insurance, Descartes says payouts are triggered by measured flood depth rather than physical damage, making coverage accessible to a wide range of businesses and industries.
Descartes’ Head of Americas, Daniel Vetter, said: “This responsive and remarkable new product delivers unparalleled, flexible flood coverage for commercial properties. For all the reasons that conventional insurance for flood is sometimes unsatisfactory – slow claims payments, exclusions, sub-limits, or a lack of availability – this parametric product will fill the existing gap we’re seeing in the market.”
The company’s Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Kevin Dedieu, added: “This market-leading coverage follows intensive research and development conducted by Descartes in-house and with our technology partners. We developed this product because our brokers shared with us that commercial flood products available at the time did not meet their clients’ needs.”
Descartes’ Flood-at-Location product complements traditional property insurance by offering coverage where exclusions or sub-limits may apply and can also provide protection in excess of the US National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) limits.
As a new ICMIF Supporting Member, Descartes joins a global community of organisations dedicated to strengthening resilience and innovation within the mutual and cooperative insurance sector. Supporting Members are trusted suppliers that provide specialist expertise and innovative solutions to ICMIF members.
