Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction

What Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction does

The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) is an independent, not-for-profit research institute founded in 1998 by Canada's property and casualty insurance industry and affiliated with Western University in London, Ontario. The organization's mission is to reduce loss of life and property from severe weather and earthquakes by generating applied, multidisciplinary research spanning wind and seismic engineering, atmospheric science, hydrology, risk perception, economics, geography, health sciences, and public policy. ICLR operates a portfolio of digital hazard-assessment tools (CATview GIS portal, IDF_CC rainfall tool, Flood Map Viewer, QuakeSmart earthquake risk tool), the PIEVC climate vulnerability assessment protocol, the HailSmart program, the Basement Flood Protection Lab (with the University of Guelph), and three physical Resilience Display Centres in Toronto, London, and Winnipeg. Outputs include research papers, technical reports, 450+ educational videos, Friday Forum webinars, and the Resilient Homes Task Force co-led with the Canadian Home Builders' Association.

ICLR is governed by a Board of Directors drawn from member insurance companies (Intact Financial, TD Bank Group, Wawanesa, Co-operators, Swiss Re Canada, Munich Re Canada, SCOR Canada, Aviva Canada, Definity, SGI Canada, Beneva) plus Western University appointees, with quarterly Insurance Advisory Committee meetings. The business model is a non-commercial, recurring membership-funded research institute; all resources — tools, publications, toolkits, and centre exhibits — are provided free of charge to municipalities, home builders, businesses, infrastructure operators, and homeowners across Canada. Outreach extends through YouTube, Friday Forum webinars, email newsletters, social media, and frequent earned media coverage on CBC, CTV, TVO, and major Canadian print outlets. ICLR staff influence Canadian building codes and climate adaptation policy through service on nine National Standards of Canada technical committees and the National Research Council's Wildland Urban Interface Fires Technical Committee.

The institute's competitive position rests on a concentration of internationally credentialed researchers (including IPCC contributing author Paul Kovacs and Order of Canada recipient Gordon McBean), exclusive stewardship of the PIEVC Protocol (acquired from Engineers Canada in 2020), and structural entrenchment as the Canadian insurance industry's designated catastrophe research arm. ICLR claims research demonstrates disaster mitigation can avoid up to $13 in losses per $1 invested, with a recent NRC benefit-cost analysis showing climate-resilient building standards would save Canada an estimated $4.7 billion annually at a 12-to-1 return.

Name

Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction

Legal name

Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction

Website

https://iclr.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction is an independent, not-for-profit research institute founded in 1998 by Canada's property and casualty insurance industry and affiliated with Western University, generating applied multidisciplinary research and free digital tools to reduce loss of life and property from severe weather and earthquakes across Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disaster Risk Reduction Research

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Adaptation & Resilience Planning Platforms (CAPEX Prioritization, Cost–Benefit, NBS) (EUABALAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Resilience Finance & Risk Transfer Analytics (Parametric Design, Cat Bonds, Public Risk Pools) (EUABALAK), Emergency Response, Spill Prevention & Crisis Preparedness (BPAHAJAM), Emergency Management & National Resilience (Civil Protection) (BPAIAAAI)

Keywords

• Disaster risk reduction research
• Catastrophic loss prevention
• Climate resilience consulting
• Natural hazard assessment tools
• Building code research

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Insurance Industry Membership and Funding: ICLR is a not-for-profit research institute founded and funded by Canada's property and casualty insurance industry. Oversight comes from member insurance companies through a Board of Directors. An Insurance Advisory Committee meets quarterly with participation from senior underwriting and claims officials of member insurers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ICLR is an independent, not-for-profit research institute that conducts multi-disciplinary research and communicates evidence-based guidance to reduce loss of life and property caused by severe weather and earthquakes in Canada. Its core offering is a portfolio of free digital hazard assessment tools (PIEVC protocol, CATview GIS portal, IDF_CC rainfall tool, Flood Map Viewer, QuakeSmart earthquake tool), educational programs (HailSmart, Open for Business, Cities Adapt, Resilient Homes Task Force), research papers and webinars, and three physical Resilience Display Centres that translate applied research into actionable guidance for insurers, municipalities, home builders, businesses and homeowners.

Product overview

The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) is an independent, not-for-profit research institute founded by Canada's property and casualty insurance industry and affiliated with Western University. Rather than a single unified product, ICLR operates as a portfolio of research programs, digital tools, and educational resources focused on multidisciplinary disaster prevention. The core offerings include digital hazard assessment tools (CATview GIS portal, IDF_CC rainfall analysis tool, Flood Map Viewer, QuakeSmart earthquake risk tool), the PIEVC climate vulnerability assessment protocol, the HailSmart program, the Basement Flood Protection Lab (in collaboration with University of Guelph), and Resilience Display Centres in Toronto, London, and Winnipeg. These are complemented by the Open for Business Toolkit for businesses, the Cities Adapt publication series, the Resilient Homes Task Force (with CHBA), and Wildfire Community Preparedness Day initiatives. ICLR also provides extensive research papers, a video library of 450+ videos, Friday Forum webinars, and targeted resources for homes, municipalities, businesses, and infrastructure across all major natural hazards (earthquake, flood, hail, wildfire, wind).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PIEVC Program: Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee program providing a roadmap for systematic assessment of infrastructure resilience to extreme weather and climate change effects.
• HailSmart Program
• Basement Flood Protection Lab
• CATview
• Cities Adapt
• IDF_CC
• QuakeSmart
• Resilient Homes Task Force
• Open for Business

Products and services

• PIEVC Program (Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee) Systematic climate vulnerability assessment protocol that guides engineers in factoring climate change impacts into the design, operation, and maintenance of public infrastructure; offered free for public infrastructure applications in Canada.
• CATview Natural hazard GIS portal providing interactive map layers for a range of natural hazards including flood, earthquake, wildfire, wind and hail, with additional datasets added as they become available.
• IDF_CC Tool Web-based intensity-duration-frequency tool to update and adapt local extreme rainfall statistics to climate change, pre-loaded with 898 Environment and Climate Change Canada rain stations.
• Flood Map Viewer Flood hazard and flood risk maps generated using the CaMa-Flood model for national, provincial or regional scale analysis.
• QuakeSmart Earthquake Risk Tool Earthquake risk tool developed with CoreLogic Canada Earthquake Model providing insights into relative earthquake risk across Canada by postal code.
• HailSmart Program Program providing guidance on protecting homes and vehicles from hail damage, including resources for businesses and commercial properties.
• Basement Flood Protection Lab Collaboration between ICLR and the University of Guelph's School of Engineering researching technologies applied to control urban flood risk in Canada.
• Resilience Display Centres Hands-on exhibition centres in Toronto, London and Winnipeg demonstrating practical, cost-effective methods for becoming resilient to natural hazards including basement flooding, wildfire, extreme wind, earthquake and hail.
• Open for Business Toolkit Disaster protection and recovery planning toolkit for small to mid-sized businesses, adapted from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IIBHS) program for use in Canada.
• Cities Adapt Program Series of books documenting local governments adapting to climate change and building resilient communities, celebrating local leadership in climate adaptation.
• Backwater Valve Installation Resource Microsite providing protocols for plumbers, installers and inspectors for the installation of backwater valves in homes serviced by underground public sewer systems.
• Resilient Homes Task Force Collaborative initiative between ICLR and the Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA) focused on improving home resilience to natural disasters.
• Research Paper Series Technical reports and research papers covering Alberta Climate Ready Homes, societal loss from natural catastrophes, flood mapping, wildland-urban interface fire case studies and embodied carbon assessment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Disaster mitigation avoids up to $13 in losses per $1 invested (based on Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves study by NIBS)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Western UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999ICLR is affiliated with Western University (formerly University of Western Ontario). Established in autumn 1998 with operations starting in Toronto, ICLR formalized its partnership with Western University in 1999, opening an office on campus in September 1999. The affiliation provides academic credibility, access to research talent, and a base at Western's Discovery Park where the Climate Resilience Centre is located. Faculty including Dean Ken Coley (Faculty of Engineering) serve on ICLR's Board of Directors.
• FireSmart CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICLR collaborates with FireSmart Canada on wildfire prevention initiatives. FireSmart Canada and ICLR jointly developed the Wawanesa Community Wildfire Prevention Grants program and collaborate on the Wildfire Community Preparedness Day campaign observed annually on the first Saturday in May. ICLR's Dan Sandink serves on FireSmart Canada's Technical Committee.
• Co-operatorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-operators is a founding partner of the Wildfire Community Preparedness Day campaign alongside ICLR and FireSmart Canada. Lisa Guglietti, Executive Vice President & COO of The Co-operators, serves on ICLR's Board of Directors. The partnership supports annual wildfire awareness campaigns across Canada.
• Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerICLR and CHBA jointly launched the Resilient Homes Task Force, a collaborative initiative to advance disaster-resilient home construction standards in Canada. This is ICLR's most prominent co-branded program, combining ICLR's research expertise with CHBA's reach into Canada's home building industry.
• University of Guelph School of EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICLR collaborates with the University of Guelph's School of Engineering on the Basement Flood Protection Lab, a research initiative studying technologies to control urban flood risk in Canada. The lab conducts hands-on research to evaluate flood mitigation technologies.
• Canadian Centre for Recovery and ResilienceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Canadian Centre for Recovery and Resilience (CCFRR) is listed as a partner/program site on ICLR's website. CCFRR serves as a networking hub for recovery actors, sharing success stories and building capacity for disaster recovery and resilience.
• Canadian Provincial and Territorial Wildfire AgenciescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThese agencies collaborate with ICLR and FireSmart Canada on the annual Wildfire Community Preparedness Day campaign, supporting events scheduled between May and October 2026 across Canada.
• National Research Council Canada (NRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICLR conducted a benefit-cost analysis of NRC's Climate Resilient Buildings and Core Public Infrastructure (CRBCPI) Initiative, finding it will save Canada an estimated $4.7 billion per year. ICLR's Dan Sandink serves on NRC's Adaptation Plenary. The NRC study demonstrates a deep research partnership.
• Climate Risk Institute and GIZcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICLR, Climate Risk Institute, and GIZ assumed control of the PIEVC Protocol from Engineers Canada in February 2020. The PIEVC Protocol is a climate vulnerability assessment program for public infrastructure in Canada.
• Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IIBHS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICLR has an agreement with IIBHS (based in Tampa, Florida) to employ its Open for Business disaster resilience strategies in Canada, adapting the program for Canadian small and mid-sized businesses.
• SPA RiskminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Keith Porter, ICLR's Chief Engineer, is principal of SPA Risk, a Denver-based applied research firm. He led the Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves studies for FEMA.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS): The US counterpart to ICLR, IBHS is an insurance industry-funded non-profit research organization focused on property loss prevention from natural hazards. ICLR has an active agreement with IBHS to adapt the Open for Business toolkit for Canada, making it the closest functional peer.
• FireSmart Canada: Canada's national wildfire preparedness program collaborating directly with ICLR on the Wawanesa Community Wildfire Prevention Grants and Wildfire Community Preparedness Day. Shares mission focus on community-level disaster resilience with overlapping technical committee membership.
• Climate Risk Institute: Canadian organization that co-leads the PIEVC Protocol with ICLR and GIZ. Directly comparable as a scientific and technical consulting organization focused on climate risk adaptation and infrastructure vulnerability assessment.
• National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS): US-based non-profit that produced the Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves study cited by ICLR (the $13-per-$1 ROI figure). Comparable as a building sciences research institute producing applied research with industry and government stakeholders.

Broad incumbents

• CoreLogic: CoreLogic partnered with ICLR to develop the QuakeSmart earthquake risk tool. Comparable as a provider of property-level natural hazard risk data and analytics, though operating as a commercial data and analytics vendor at much greater scale.
• AIR Worldwide: A catastrophe modeling firm owned by Verisk that produces software and analytics for natural hazard risk assessment. Comparable to ICLR's PIEVC and CATview tools as a provider of catastrophe risk analytics, but operates commercially at global scale.
• Swiss Re Institute: Swiss Re's research arm produces extensive publications on natural catastrophe trends and climate risk. Swiss Re Canada is an ICLR board member; comparable as a producer of applied insurance and climate risk research at a much larger global scale.
• FM Global: Commercial property insurer and one of the world's largest operators of fire and natural hazard research testing facilities. Comparable as an insurance-industry-funded research organization focused on property loss prevention, with much broader commercial scope.
• Munich Re (NatCat Research): Munich Re is an ICLR member company and one of the world's largest reinsurers, with extensive in-house natural catastrophe and climate risk research. Comparable as a producer of applied catastrophe loss and risk modeling research, though operating as a commercial entity with much broader scope.

Emerging players

• Pacific Disaster Center: Applied research center focused on disaster management and resilience analytics for governments and humanitarian organizations. Comparable as an applied disaster risk research organization with overlapping use cases for resilience and risk analytics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ICLRCanada
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ICLRinfo
• Facebookfacebook.com/InstituteforCatastrophicLossReduction
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institute-for-catastrophic-loss-reduction-iclr-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction