Parametric catastrophe bonds for tsunamis: Cat-in-a-box trigger and intensity-based index trigger methods

This study presents a calibration of CAT-in-a-Box and intensity-based index trigger mechanisms for parametric tsunami catastrophe bonds. Trigger conditions for the former are based on fundamental event characteristics, such as earthquake location and magnitude, whereas those for the latter utilize tsunami wave height measurements at a series of observation stations. These solutions are illustrated for a building portfolio in Iwanuma City in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, by considering a new seafloor observation network S-net off the Tohoku-Hokkaido coast of Japan. Performances of the two types of parametric solutions are quantitatively evaluated and compared with each other to discuss their advantages and disadvantages.