nexustandards.com/finance · 3 taught
Finance, Insurance and the Economy
NRS-F3 Insurance, catastrophe risk and protection gaps; NRS-F8 Parametric and index-based risk transfer
3standards1discipline
Illustrative: event footprints crossing a portfolio, losses rising and the exceedance-probability curve
Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium · Finance and Economics · Department of Insurance and Actuarial Science
Underwriting, catastrophe accumulation, reinsurance structures, solvency and protection gaps
Insurance, reinsurance and protection gaps
Insurance, reinsurance and protection gaps covers how risk is pooled and transferred through insurance and reinsurance: underwriting and pricing, property and casualty, life and health, reinsurance structures, catastrophe accumulation, solvency and capital, Takaful and insurtech, and the protection gaps where losses are not insured.
- Courses
- In preparation
- Levels
- L2 Intermediate
- Labs
- Exposure lab, Trigger lab, Map lab
- Underwriting and pricing
- Property and casualty
- Life and health insurance
- Reinsurance structures
- Catastrophe accumulation
- Protection gaps
- Takaful
- Insurtech and AI
- Solvency and capital
02Maps
Build a twin of any place
Search any place or open the world; the layers and generators follow insurance, reinsurance and protection gaps on the planet map, the globe and in 3D.
- Terrain 0 to 66 m
- 30 power plants, 11,875 MW
- 7 refineries and chemical works
- 2 port land
- 29 named works
- 154 named industrial sites
- Surface water extent, OPERA DSWx (HLS): read live when the 3D twin opens
- Built-up and settlement extent, HBASE 2010: read live when the 3D twin opens
Drag to move, right drag or Shift with a drag to turn and tilt, Ctrl with the wheel to zoom. Keyboard: arrows move, Shift with arrows turn and tilt, + and – zoom, 0 resets, V steps through the views, Escape clears.
Flat plan of the same data: relief as contours from the inline grid, the plants by capacity, the industrial points by kind and the numbers below. The 3D twin opens on devices that can draw it, once its data and code have been checked.
The boundaries, names and designations shown do not imply any judgement on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Countries: Natural Earth (public domain).
03Live map
Activity and exposure in the Gulf of Mexico coast
Night-time lights and population, a proxy for economic activity, with the floods and fires that put assets at risk, over the Gulf of Mexico coast.
The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.
Layers 2
Activity and exposure
Keyboard, with the map focused
Hold Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll to zoom
Latest available
NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth
Loading the latest NASA imagery.
Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.
Activity and exposure, framed on the Gulf of Mexico coast.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.
Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONETSources and licences
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
- VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), VIIRS 375 m active fire product, NASA LANCE; vector tiles via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
- Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
- © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
- Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
- Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
- Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
- NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- Optional layers (4 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.
Layers and dates
- Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
- Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
- Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
- Active fires and thermal anomalies: VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS), NASA LANCE FIRMS · 13 Oct 2026
- Land surface temperature, day, 8-day composite: VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day, NASA LANCE · 14 Sep 2026
04The subject
The subject, methods and measures and debates and bodies
The field and its scope
For underwriters, actuaries, brokers, risk managers and policy staff who need to understand how risk is pooled, priced and transferred, and why some losses are not insured.
Quantities and units
Methods and their limits
Each method is listed with what it assumes and where it fails.
What the field debates
Bodies that set practice, and the data they publish
Bodies and standards are named so learners can find and apply their published work; the Academy teaches their use and links to the publisher, and no affiliation is implied.
05The method
From a loss tail to a premium: return-period losses, capital and the price of cover
An insurer's catastrophe losses follow a heavy tail; the 1-in-200-year loss sets the capital it must hold; the premium must pay expected claims, the cost of that capital and expenses, and the combined ratio shows whether it does.
Sources: Froot, The market for catastrophe risk: a clinical examination (2001); Directive 2009/138/EC on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of insurance and reinsurance (Solvency II) (2009); Embrechts, Kluppelberg and Mikosch, Modelling extremal events for insurance and finance (1997).
06At a glance
At a glance, with 5 related topics
Insurance, reinsurance and protection gaps at a glance
risksacademy.comfinance-economicsdiscipline
- Open, 0
- In preparation, 2
- Also taught here, 2
- Subtopics, 9
Nexus Standards it teaches and relies on
The Nexus Standards the discipline teaches toward, grouped by master standard, with the disciplines that teach each.
Nexus Standards at the AcademyThe Academy proposes how each discipline teaches toward the Nexus Standards; the mapping is open for public review.
Research and tools
Research and preprints as they are published, by discipline, with the faculty's other tools.
The hub lists the newest research and preprints for Insurance, reinsurance and protection gaps, each with its source and date. Open the research hub
The methods it teaches
From the Academy's risk taxonomy: the discipline's own entries and those of its primary courses, with how many courses teach each.
Methods and practice
- Catastrophe modelling1 course
- Probability, return periods and loss metrics1 course
Frameworks and standards
- Risk-based insurance solvency regimes1 course
What is changing now
Recent developments in insurance, reinsurance and protection gaps, each with its source; sources checked on 16 October 2026.
Courses in this discipline
Courses for this discipline are in development; until they open, study it through the connected courses and open lessons below.
Courses with this primary disciplineIn preparation
- RAN-310Risk in Insurance and ReinsuranceIn preparationNexus, L2 Intermediate, 12 hours (estimate)
- RAT-226Risk Financing and Transfer: Insurance, Parametric Cover and PoolsIn preparationTechnical, L2 Intermediate, 10 hours (estimate)
Courses from connected disciplines that also teach this field
Each course has its primary discipline elsewhere and teaches this field as part of its scope.
From connected disciplinesIn preparation
- RAN-313Agricultural Risk ManagementIn preparationNexus, L2 Intermediate, 10 hours (estimate), primary discipline: Food systems and agriculture
- RAT-218Cyber Risk QuantificationIn preparationTechnical, L3 Advanced, 10 hours (estimate), primary discipline: Cybersecurity and digital resilience
07Labs
How the subject is practised in labs
| Lab | What you do in it | Courses using it |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure lab | Overlay people and assets with hazard footprints | 2 |
| Trigger lab | Set forecast thresholds, pre-agreed actions and messages | 2 |
| Map lab | Read hazard, exposure and boundaries on real maps | 1 |
08Console
How Insurance, reinsurance and protection gaps is taught, as a process you can run
Press Play to run this process from this page's own data.
09Practice
Practice, learning and connections
How technology helps and what risk it brings
Achievements in this discipline
Pathways that teach it
Where the subject is practised
The two Foundry systems where it is practised
- FoundryNXS-GRX systemHazard, exposure and loss data for underwritingData room
- NXS-DSS systemCatastrophe scenarios and event setsScenarios room
Foundry system pages describe what each system and its rooms are designed to do; the courses teach the methods these systems apply.
Disciplines it depends on
Across the ecosystem
10Take part
Take part in Finance and Economics
Start from who you are.
11References
Core references and where to begin
Start with Rothschild, then Kunreuther, then Grossi.
12Questions
Questions, answers and key terms
Is study here free?
Yes. Every course and learning material of Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium, is free to study, self-paced or with a cohort. Ordinary participation has no fee; paid work, internships and fellowships are separate arrangements.
What does completing a course give me?
A completion record: the course, its version, the date and what was assessed, private by default and shared by you. It stacks into discipline, department and programme achievements. A record states what was studied and assessed and does not certify competence; it is not a licence, a professional title or an employment status.
Where do the data and the places come from?
Every faculty teaches on a twin of a real place built from open data; each layer carries its provider, licence and date, and every result on the Academy states its source. Maps and figures are indicators for teaching, never an assessment of a place.
How do I take part beyond the courses in insurance, reinsurance and protection gaps?
Form a competence cell of three to seven people, study a shared pathway, take a supervised assignment in the National Working Groups, or bring a cohort from your institution. For organisations.
Key terms
Term
Underwriting
Assessing and pricing a risk before accepting it for insurance.
Term
Reinsurance treaty
An agreement under which a reinsurer accepts a share of an insurer's portfolio.
Term
Protection gap
The difference between total and insured losses.
Term
Accumulation
The build-up of many insured exposures that one event can affect at once.
ReportsContribute
Contribute evidence from this page.
Reports is the Consortium's quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.
Risk Academy
Related
Around Insurance, reinsurance and protection gaps
Insurance, reinsurance and protection gaps
Prepare with a related course
Open courses in connected disciplines teach the methods this discipline will build on.