Service · calculation agent
The index computed, the trigger tested, the event report issued.
The calculation agent is the party named in the contract that turns named data into the number the payout follows. Contracts also call it the independent third party, settlement services or trigger verification. It is the same job.
Two run services
I run the calculation, or I check the one you run.
Both follow an onboarding that defines and backtests the index (from EUR 10,000). Most clients start with a fixed-price audit.
Calculation agent
I run the calculation and issue the event report the payout follows.
- The calculation runs on my server, from the data sources named in the contract
- Event report with index value, tier, payout, sources, dataset versions and hashes
- Two event calculations a year included
- Available about six weeks after signature, set up per contract
from EUR 12,000 / year per programme
Pipeline support and independent verification
Your pipeline, your servers; I maintain it and check its results.
- The pipeline runs at your side
- I maintain it and check its results against the contract
- A written note when a result does not match the wording
- Suited to carriers, reinsurers, donors and programme boards
from EUR 8,000 / year per programme
How it runs
The same six steps for every programme.
- 01
Data in
Sources named in the contract (NOAA, ERA5, IMERG, Sentinel). Pulled on schedule, with the fallback source agreed in advance.
- 02
Checks
Every input checked for coverage, units, gaps and known dataset defects. Every file hashed.
- 03
Index
The index exactly as the policy wording defines it. The same code runs the backtest and the live calculation.
- 04
Trigger
Tested against the payout ladder, cell by cell or district by district.
- 05
Payout
A payout report for each cell: value, tier, amount and the data used.
- 06
Audit trail
Every figure traced to input hashes and code version. A rerun gives the same answer.
What an event report contains
A report anyone can rerun.
One report per event, with the evidence behind it. Below is the shape of it, filled with the Mayotte backtest, a proof of concept on public data.
- Programme
- Mayotte barrier reef, bleaching cover (proof of concept)
- Index
- Degree Heating Weeks, sector maximum over the season
- Source
- NOAA Coral Reef Watch 5 km, CoralTemp
- Ladder
- 3.0 / 6.0 / 9.0 °C-weeks → 25 / 60 / 100%
- Result
- Eastern barrier, 2024: tier 3, full limit
- Backtest
- Caught 2010, 2016 and 2024, the three documented bleaching years, with no false positives over 16 seasons
- Evidence
- Input file hashes, code version, run log
Questions buyers ask
What happens if you are not available on payout day?
Continuity
What exists today: a documented method, an input check and a content hash at each stage, and reports that can be rerun from their stated inputs and code version. The hosted calculation, its run schedule and its continuity arrangements are set up per contract, before the season starts.
Independence
I write no cover, hold no risk capacity and take no fee linked to the payout amount. If I have worked on a product’s design, I say so before taking the agent role on it.
Data rights
Public sources such as ERA5, CHIRPS and NOAA allow this use. CHIRPS v2 production ends after December 2026, so new rainfall work uses CHIRPS v3. Commercial data, such as some SAR imagery, needs its licence checked for payout use. I do that before the contract, not after the event.
What it is not
Engineering and calculation, not actuarial sign-off and not pricing. I compute and document the index; pricing stays with your actuaries and underwriters.