Rade was based in the USA, in Florida, and knows well the perils of natural disasters. His interests include changing population demographics and catastrophe exposure, climate change adaptation, disaster planning and modelling. He has a lot of experience with storm pathways and hurricanes, and has some insights into the bushfires disaster.

Rade has extensive experience globally, particularly in Asia Pacific (e.g. China, Southeast Asia). Previously he was Chair of the International Actuarial Association’s Resource and Environmental Working Group. He is currently a member of Actuaries Institute’s Climate Change Working Group and Co-Chair of the Institute’s Insurance Affordability Task Force. He is also Principal at Finity Consulting. 

Rade is the Actuaries Institute’s spokesman on climate, and the Institute’s climate index, which measures extremes in weather every quarter. The index measures extreme weather conditions and sea levels across Australia, and how these vary over time. It was launched a little over a year ago, to show changes in the frequency, or rate of occurrence, of extreme high and low temperatures, heavy precipitation, dry days, strong winds and changes in sea levels. It is collated at the end of each season following the release of data from the BoM. The data is collected nationally and grouped into 12 climatically consistent regions. Each season is compared to the same season in previous years and against a reference period of 1981-2010.

It’s a first for Australia. From the last index release: ‘Recent events, including the devastating bushfires in multiple states, underscore how important it is to get an objective view on climate patterns. The Australian Actuaries Climate Index clearly shows extreme weather is happening more often.’