CatIQ Connect 2027
February 2 - 3, 2027 | Marriott Downtown Toronto
February 2, 2027 | All times Eastern Standard
8:00 am
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7:00 pm
Registration Opens
Say hello and pick up your badge at the registration desk.
8:00 am
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8:45 am
Breakfast
Fuel up for a day of catastrophe content!
Session Sponsor
8:30 am
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8:45 am
Welcome Address & Opening Remarks
8:45 am
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9:10 am
Cats and Stats 2026
A CatIQ Connect must-see, dive deep into the catastrophes that occurred in 2026. This comprehensive review will include a chronology and description of the year’s events, insured loss estimates, and a bigger picture look at how 2026 stacks up against previous years. Presented by CatIQ.
9:10 am
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9:30 am
2027 CATs: The Forecast Says?
With 2026 events fresh in our minds, what will drive weather events in 2027? This session decodes the signals Mother Nature is sending for 2027 CAT trends, including a look at the current strong El Niño and how its impacts may play out in Canada and abroad.
9:30 am
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10:30 am
The Big One in Quebec - A Live Catastrophe Simulation
Join us for CatIQ Connects first-ever live catastrophe simulation, an interactive experience that puts attendees at the centre of a unfolding disaster scenario.
Through news bulletins, expert analysis, audience interaction, and a few unexpected challenges, attendees will consider key decisions facing insurers, governments, emergency managers, businesses, and communities. Your input will shape the discussion as the scenario develops and establish common ground for discussions that follow through the rest of the conference.
Speaker
Dr. Tiegan Hobbs
Seismic Risk Scientist, Geological Survey of Canada
Natural Resources Canada
10:30 am
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11:00 am
Networking Break
Session Sponsor
Morning Concurrent Session A
11:00 am
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12:00 pm
Aftermath: Claims and Operational Response
Speakers: To Be Announced
Building on the risks, lessons, and opportunities touched on in the initial simulation session, this interest track is for attendees who want to delve deeper into the claims and operations side things.
Morning Concurrent Session B
11:00 am
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12:00 pm
Aftermath: Political, Regulatory, and Community Concerns
Speakers: To Be Announced
Building on the risks, lessons, and opportunities touched on in the initial simulation session, this interest track is for attendees whose interests lean towards regulatory, government, and community-level concerns.
12:00 pm
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12:50 pm
Buffet Lunch
12:50 pm
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1:30 pm
Keynote Discussion - Systemic Risk
Are we underestimating systemic risk in Canada? Explore the life cycle, from the accumulation of risk, to an event, to the financial operational response. How does the regulator ensure there is enough protection to limit systemic risk, how do we get there, and what are the obstacles?
1:30 pm
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1:45 pm
Post-Lunch Break
1:45 pm
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2:05 pm
Student Delegate Presentations
See up-and-coming research from the Canadian CAT community as our 2027 Student Delegate Program winners share short presentations on their work. Also join us for the poster session, taking place at the conclusion of the day during the cocktail hour.
2:05 pm
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2:30 pm
FireSmart Canada: Working Together for the Biggest Impact
Organizations across the risk management and catastrophe landscape are faced with the same question: How can we reduce risk and losses? FireSmart Canada shares this goal, working to reduce the loss of structures, values, lives and, ultimately, a way of life. Meaningful risk reduction requires a strategic approach that will help all impacted communities to implement mitigation best practices.
2:30 pm
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3:15 pm
Catastrophe Office Hours: Ask the Experts
Speakers: To Be Announced
Got a question? Something you’ve always wanted to know more about? Want to follow a thread from earlier in the day? You’ve come to the right place.
Welcome to CatIQ Connect Office Hours! Seize the opportunity to ask your questions in a more intimate setting, with subject matter experts available to discuss a host of topics, from insurtechs and CAT bonds, to earthquake and severe weather risk, to resilience financing and disaster recovery, and climate analytics to catastrophe data.
3:15 pm
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3:45 pm
Networking Break
Session Sponsor
Afternoon Concurrent Session A
3:45 pm
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4:45 pm
If Not Traditional Insurance, Then What?
If traditional insurance is too expensive, what other options are there? This session aims to explore alternatives means of risk transfer, including reciprocals, captives, and capital markets.
Afternoon Concurrent Session B
3:45 pm
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4:45 pm
Plunge into Pluvial Flood Modelling
In more than one Canadian community, 2026 will go down in the record books as “That Summer It Wouldn’t Stop Raining.” How did the pluvial models perform on these heavy urban rainfall events? How do you make model output relevant to the end users in these scenarios, and what are we learning that can be applied to models in the future?
Moderator
Abigail Shahriyar
AVP Catastrophe Modelling, Exposure Management & Reinsurance
Aviva Canada
4:50 pm
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5:30 pm
2026 CAT Focus
Speakers: To Be Announced
A closer look at 2026’s big impact events, on a local level.
5:30 pm
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6:00 pm
Test your CAT IQ
Think you know CATs? Prove it at the 5th Annual CatIQ Connect Quiz Show. Join us for your chance to win in this lively, interactive session.
6:00 pm
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7:00 pm
Cocktail Reception
Mingle with your peers, view posters and chat with our student delgates, and try out this year’s signature cocktail as we wind down from a full day of catastrophe content.
Session Sponsor
February 3, 2027 | All times Eastern Standard
8:15 am
Registration Opens
8:15 am
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9:00 am
Breakfast
Fuel up for a day of catastrophe content!
9:00 am
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9:45 am
Increasing Uptake of Mitigation Measures: Insights from Behavioural Science
This interactive presentation will share insights from psychology that help explain the gap between optimal adoption in mitigation measures and real-world uptake. Drawing on global case studies, Sasha will share practical and innovative examples of how to boost mitigation uptake by making those actions EAST: easier, more attractive, more social, and more timely.
9:45 am
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10:45 am
Fireside Chat: From Scenario to Resilience – Understanding the Purpose and Value of OSFI’s Climate Risk Framework
What are OSFI’s goals with initiatives like B-15, and how do they help strengthen Canada’s financial system? This fireside chat will highlight work going on at OSFI and dig into the rationale behind initiatives impacting the insurance and risk management landscape.
Moderator
Kathryn Bakos
Managing Director, Finance and Resilience
Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation
Speaker
Javinder Sidhu
Managing Director, Catastrophic Risk
OSFI
10:45 am
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11:15 am
Networking Break
Session Sponsor
Morning Concurrent Session A
11:15 am
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12:20 pm
Herding CATs
Was 2026 a busy year? Turns out, that depends who you ask.
This expert panel looks at the year through the lens of claims, workforce, and operational response. How did the catastrophe playbook play out in 2026, and what gaps were exposed? Consider comparisons to previous years, regional differences, and government jurisdictions. What roadblocks still exist and how to we build resilience into our response?
Morning Concurrent Session B
11:15 am
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12:20 pm
Wildfire Risk In Focus: What's Actually Driving Loss?
Now that the smoke has cleared on another notable fire year in Canada, what can we learn? This panel will provide insights on recent fire events, focusing on case studies, real-world behaviour and how it compares to models, and a ground-level view of factors driving loss.
12:30 pm
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1:15 pm
Buffet Lunch
1:15 pm
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2:10 pm
Keynote Address
To Be Announced
2:10 pm
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2:30 pm
Post Lunch Break
Afternoon Concurrent Session A
2:30 pm
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3:30 pm
The Potential of Parametric
Parametric insurance has generated a lot of buzz in recent years amid growing interest in more nimble approaches to managing catastrophic risk. This session explores how parametric insurance is being applied across a range of sectors and perils. Through real-world case studies, experts unpack how this alternative approach works in the real world, from municipalities to agriculture to the individual homeowner.
Afternoon Concurrent Session B
2:30 pm
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3:30 pm
Beyond the Hype: What's Actually Working for AI in Claims?
Separating the real value from the hype remains a challenge across industries when it comes to AI, so where is it actually making a difference in the claims ecosystem? This panel brings together claims and technology leaders to discuss practical approaches to building AI-enabled solutions, lessons learned from the early adopters, and the ongoing challenges in this radpily evolving space.
3:40 pm
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4:30 pm
Session To Be Announced
4:30 pm
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4:45 pm
Closing Remarks
4:50 pm
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5:30 pm
CatIQ Platform Bootcamp
Curious about CatIQ data? Interested in learning more about what you can do with the platform and what new features are coming soon? Join us for this training session. (Indicate your interest on your registration.)
Be a part of CatIQ Connect!
If you have any questions, please contact us at connectcontact@catiq.com.
Steering Committee Members
Alena Kharkavets
Director and Head of Claims, North America, Insurance Consulting and Technology
Willis Towers Watson
