CatIQ Connect 2026

February 2 - 4, 2026 | Marriott Downtown Toronto

February 2, 2026 | All times Eastern Standard

5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Opening Cocktail

Opening Cocktail at the ICLR Toronto Climate Resilience Centre where attendees can register for an in-depth tour focusing on resilience strategies for (a) wildfire, (b) flood, or (c) high wind/hail. 

Session Sponsor

February 3, 2026 | All times Eastern Standard

8:00 am - 7:00 pm
Registration Open

Say hello and pick up your badge at the registration desk.

8:00 am - 8:45 am
Breakfast

Fuel up for a day of catastrophe content!

8:45 am - 9:00 am
Welcome Address

9:00 am - 9:15 am
Opening Remarks

Nevina Kishun

Speaker
Nevina Kishun
CEO
MSA Research

LinkedIn Profile for Nevina Kishun
Laura Twidle

Speaker
Laura Twidle
President and CEO
Catastrophe Indices and Quantification

LinkedIn Profile for Laura Twidle

9:15 am - 9:45 am
2025 CATs and Stats

The conference will begin with an overview of the catastrophes that occurred in 2025. This comprehensive review will include a chronology and description of the year’s events, insured loss estimates, and a bigger picture look at how 2025 stacks up against previous years. Provided by CatIQ.

Laura Twidle

Speaker
Laura Twidle
President and CEO
Catastrophe Indices and Quantification

LinkedIn Profile for Laura Twidle

9:45 am - 10:45 am
Is Canada embracing adaptation with sufficient speed, breadth and vision?

Is Canada embracing adaptation with sufficient speed, breadth and vision to ensure the well-being of its citizens, businesses and cultural institutions for decades to come?

Blair Feltmate

Speaker
Dr. Blair Feltmate
Head, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation
University of Waterloo

LinkedIn Profile for Dr. Blair Feltmate

Speaker
Mike Pedersen
Former President and CEO
TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank

LinkedIn Profile for Mike Pedersen

10:45 am - 11:15 am
Networking Break

11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Government Updates

12:15 pm - 1:00 pm
Buffet Lunch

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Keynote Address
Earthquake Insurance: A Reality Check

Speaker
Alister Campbell
President & CEO
PACICC

LinkedIn Profile for Alister Campbell
Paul Kovacs

Speaker
Paul Kovacs
Executive Director
Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction

LinkedIn Profile for Paul Kovacs

Concurrent Session A
2:00 pm - 2:50 pm
In Case of Emergency!

Show off your preparedness proficienty and test your catastrophe competence at the 4th Annual CatIQ Connect After Lunch Quiz Show.

Shawna Peddle

Speaker
Shawna Peddle
Associate Vice-President, Sustainability, Sustainability & Citizenship
The Co-operators Group

LinkedIn Profile for Shawna Peddle

Speaker
Monica Vaswani
Warning Preparedness Meteorologist
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Concurrent Session B
2:00 pm - 2:50 pm
Fire Prevention and Recovery

Afternoon Concurrent Session A
2:50 pm - 3:35 pm
Earthquake Scenarios

Speaker
David Gregory
Product Management Director, Catastrophe Risk
Cotality

LinkedIn Profile for David Gregory

Speaker
Tiegan Hobbs
Seismic Risk Scientist, Geological Survey of Canada
Natural Resources Canada

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Concurrent Session B
2:50 pm - 3:35 pm
AI

Moderator
Martin Kadlec

Team lead and catastrophe model developer
Aon

Speaker
Finn Magee
CEO
Insurtech Canada

LinkedIn Profile for Finn Magee

Speaker
To Be Announced

Speaker
To Be Announced

3:35 pm - 4:05 pm
Networking Break

Session Sponsor

4:05 pm - 5:05 pm
2025 CAT Focus

5:05 pm - 5:30 pm
Student Delegate Presentations

See up-and-coming research from the Canadian CAT community as our 2026 Student Delegate Program winners share short presentations on their work. Also join us for the poster session, taking place immediately following these presentations during the cocktail hour.

5:30 pm
Cocktail Reception

Mingle with your peers, view posters and chat with our student delegates, and try out this year’s signature cocktail as we wind down from a full day of catastrophe content.

Session Sponsor

February 4, 2026 | All times Eastern Standard

8:00 am
Registration Open

8:00 am - 8:45 am
Breakfast

8:45 am - 9:00 am
Fresh Perspectives: Challenge the Status Quo

Nevina Kishun

Speaker
Nevina Kishun
CEO
MSA Research

LinkedIn Profile for Nevina Kishun

Speaker
To Be Announced

Speaker
To Be Announced

9:00 am - 10:00 am
Regulation Updates

10:00 am - 10:30 am
Networking Break

Morning Concurrent Session A
10:30 am - 11:30 am
From Impact to Invoice: Navigating Post-CAT Claims Dynamics in 2026

Kyle Winston

Speaker
Kyle Winston
Chair
CRU GROUP

LinkedIn Profile for Kyle Winston
Cortney Young

Speaker
Cortney Young
SVP, Business Development
Paul Davis Canada

LinkedIn Profile for Cortney Young

Morning Concurrent Session B
10:30 am - 11:30 am
Parametric Insurance

11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Quantifying the Impacts: Flooding and Mental Health

Preparing for the human impact of catastrophes is, intuitively, an important component of disaster readiness, but one that is typically harder to track than factors like construction and material costs. This session will detail the findings of a first-of-its-kind study directly relating trends in mental health service usage to the aftermath of Canadian flooding events.

Kathryn Bakos

Speaker
Kathryn Bakos
Managing Director, Finance and Resilience
Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation

LinkedIn Profile for Kathryn Bakos

12:30 pm - 1:15 pm
Buffet Lunch

1:15 pm - 2:00 pm
Inclusive Resilience: Opportunities and Obstacles

Exploring community-based CAT insurance and its potential to address equity issues and protection gaps with innovative solutions.

Moderator
Syzan Talo

Managing Director
Guy Carpenter

Speaker
Derek Cook
Director
Canadian Poverty Institute at Ambrose University

Speaker
Joseph Becker
Senior Vice President
Guy Carpenter

LinkedIn Profile for Joseph Becker

Concurrent Session A
2:15 pm - 3:05 pm
When Incentives Meet Human Nature: The Social Science of Risk Mitigation

Join us to examine the psychology, perception, and practical barriers behind the stubbornly low uptake of risk reduction programs.

Speaker
Lou Di Gironimo
General Manager
Toronto Water

LinkedIn Profile for Lou Di Gironimo

Speaker
To Be Announced

Speaker
To Be Announced

Concurrent Session B
2:15 pm - 3:05 pm
Sharper Models for Sharper Risks

The latest in catastrophe modelling, with a focus on what’s new for the Canadian market.

Speaker
Ladislav Palán
Lead in climate change quantification for flood
Aon Impact Forecasting

LinkedIn Profile for Ladislav Palán

Speaker
To Be Announced

Speaker
To Be Announced

3:05 pm - 4:00 pm
The Post-Smokey Era: Communicating Risk in the 21st Century

This panel explores innovative communication strategies to engage new audiences—including younger generations—and build capacity for effective risk reduction and mitigation.

4:05 pm - 4:30 pm
2026 CATs: The Forecast Says?

Steve Bowen

Speaker
Steve Bowen
Chief Science Officer
Gallagher Re

LinkedIn Profile for Steve Bowen

4:30 pm
Closing Remarks

Nevina Kishun

Speaker
Nevina Kishun
CEO
MSA Research

LinkedIn Profile for Nevina Kishun
Laura Twidle

Speaker
Laura Twidle
President and CEO
Catastrophe Indices and Quantification

LinkedIn Profile for Laura Twidle

Don’t Miss Out, Register today for CatIQ Connect!

REGISTER NOW
GET INVOLVED

If you have any questions, please contact us at connectcontact@catiq.com.

Steering Committee Members

Amanda Wilson
Regional Sales Manager, Business Development
Paul Davis Canada

Caroline Floyd

Caroline Floyd
Director
Catastrophe Indices and Quantification

Cortney Young

Cortney Young
SVP, Business Development
Paul Davis Canada

Glenn McGillivray

Glenn McGillivray
Managing Director
Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction

Izzy Graham

Izzy Graham
Senior Reinsurance Broker
Aon

Jennifer Spinney
Assistant Professor
York University

Jim Abraham

Jim Abraham
Past President and Fellow
Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society

Karen Francis

Karen Francis
Senior Vice President
Guy Carpenter

Kathryn Bakos

Kathryn Bakos
Managing Director, Finance and Resilience
Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation

Ken Kwok
Executive Director
Environment and Climate Change Canada

Ken Mok

Ken Mok
Executive Vice President
Gallagher Re

Kyle Winston

Kyle Winston
Chair
CRU GROUP

Laura Twidle

Laura Twidle
President and CEO
Catastrophe Indices and Quantification

Lorenzo Di Iorio
Assistant Vice President
Munich Re

Nevina Kishun

Nevina Kishun
CEO
MSA Research

Phil Donelson
Vice President, Public Policy
Insurance Bureau of Canada

Sharmalene Mendis-Millard

Sharmalene Mendis-Millard
Director
Partners for Action - University of Waterloo

Shaun Walsh
VP, Head of Property & Exposure Management, Central Technical Unit
Aviva Canada Inc.