Adrian Champion has a PhD in Meteorology from the University of Reading, researching the impact of climate change on extratropical cyclones. After his PhD he was a Postdoctoral Research Assistant within the same department, during which time he worked closely with the (re)insurance sector on European windstorm catalogues, as well as flooding projects. He then moved to the University of Exeter as a Research Fellow where he continued his close collaboration with the (re)insurance industry whilst also furthering his research on European windstorms and climate change.

After the University of Exeter, he worked at the UK Met Office as a managing consultant, working on a variety of projects that applied Met Office data, tools, and expertise to deliver solutions. He now works at Aon, a re-insurance broker, as Climate Research Lead EMEA. His role is to improve Aon’s view on the risk of a range of natural hazards, and the impact of climate change on the risks associated with these hazards. He also evaluates the catastrophe models that are used by the industry to calculate risk.

As an Associate Business Fellow of the CGFI he is involved in Flagship 1 which is creating a combined wind and flood hazard event set for the (re)insurance industry. Currently these perils are modelled independently, and their risks are calculated separately. The research being undertaken within CGFI will improve Aon’s understanding of these hazards and allow them and their clients to make better decisions. Adrian hopes that he can also help the CGFI through this collaboration by representing the views and needs of the (re)insurance sector, providing strategic insight as to how the CGFI can help the (re)insurance sector.