Mark Leplastrier joined the insurance industry in 2001 and holds the position of Executive Manager Natural Perils at IAG. As the focus and importance of identifying and quantifying peril risk has grown he now manages a team of specialists in the fields of meteorology, climate, hydrology, engineering and spatial data. As a team they assist in the functions of catastrophe modelling for reinsurance requirements, risk based pricing and major event support. A growing area has been in understanding community impacts from natural perils and practical ways to reduce risk.