Liberty Mutual Re has made a parametric payment to the Mexican government after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake on July 17 triggered cover within weeks of the program starting, and has appointed Fredrik H. Øyan as market manager for the Nordics.
The earthquake struck off Mexico's southern coast and triggered the government's nationwide parametric earthquake and volcanic risk insurance program, for which Liberty Mutual Reinsurance (LM Re) has been lead capacity provider since June. The program is overseen by Mexico's finance ministry, administered by state-owned insurer Agroasemex and was placed by Augment Risk and domestic broker TBS.
The policy uses ShakeNet Parametric, LM Re's earthquake product, powered by Safehub's sensor network and the Global Earthquake Model's OpenQuake engine. Safehub sensors recorded shaking within 80 km of the epicenter, and LM Re describes the program as the largest ShakeNet Parametric deployment to date. Parametric cover pays on measured ground motion rather than assessed damage, and early reports from Mexican authorities described minor damage and no deaths.
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LM Re says the sensor data reduces basis risk, but the announcement does not give the payment amount or date, or the trigger thresholds. It is the second ShakeNet Parametric payout in three months, after LM Re and Safehub settled a claim in Peru 21 days after a magnitude 5.8 earthquake in May.
IB Reinsurance reported the program's launch in June, when Mexico doubled its overall parametric catastrophe insurance arrangement across perils to about US$575 million for 2026-27. Jean-Christophe Garaix, head of parametrics and agriculture at LM Re, said additional large-scale projects are "currently being developed in markets around the world".
Øyan joins to lead Nordics
LM Re has appointed Fredrik H. Øyan as market manager, Nordics, based in Oslo and starting on November 1. He will work with underwriting teams in Cologne, London and Madrid to support growth in Northern Europe.
Øyan has more than 20 years in the Nordic insurance and reinsurance markets, including more than a decade holding overall underwriting responsibility for property and casualty lines while leading reinsurance purchasing across all lines. At Protector Forsikring ASA, he played a central role in its expansion into Sweden, Denmark and the UK. He has also worked as a broker at Willis in London.
Andreas Blosche, head of Northern Europe at LM Re since October 2025, said Øyan will play an important role in "strengthening our presence and partnerships across the Nordic region".
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