ICLR Friday Forum: Estimating Hail Damage Using Radar and Model Guidance (August 6, 2025)

On August 6, 2025 ICLR hosted a Friday Forum webinar titled 'Estimating Hail Damage Using Radar and Model Guidance'.

The presentation introduced two complementary data-driven models for estimating hail damage in Australia, developed using radar data, meteorological predictors, and insurance claims. The first model (R-HDE) estimates residential damage and reveals biases in traditional radar-based hail size estimates under specific environmental conditions. The second model (V-HDE) focuses on vehicular damage, leveraging distinct physical predictors and an adaptive smoothing approach to improve risk mapping in low-exposure areas. Discussions included the vulnerability analysis and application by Suncorp for assessing hail damage risk.

Dr Luis Ackermann is a Research Scientist at the Bureau of Meteorology, specialising in improving radar-derived hail estimates. He has over 13 years of experience in atmospheric physics and chemistry, with leadership roles in multiple international field campaigns and a PhD from Monash University focused on cloud microphysics in southeastern Australia.
 
Dr Joshua Soderholm is a Research Scientist at the Bureau of Meteorology, specialising in thunderstorm observations and nowcasting. His work also includes developing new hail measurement approaches and works closely with the Canadian Severe Storms Lab and the ICECHIP project to collect new observations for informing improved hail physics and nowcasting.
 
Dr Rhys Whitley is the Natural Perils Scientific Specialist at Suncorp Group, one of Australia's largest general insurers. With more than 8 years experience at Suncorp, Rhys has led the development of novel approaches for assessing natural peril risk and informing pricing. 

Dr Luis Ackermann is a Research Scientist at the Bureau of Meteorology, specialising in improving radar-derived hail estimates. He has over 13 years of experience in atmospheric physics and chemistry, with leadership roles in multiple international field campaigns and a PhD from Monash University focused on cloud microphysics in southeastern Australia.
 
Dr Joshua Soderholm is a Research Scientist at the Bureau of Meteorology, specialising in thunderstorm observations and nowcasting. His work also includes developing new hail measurement approaches and works closely with the Canadian Severe Storms Lab and the ICECHIP project to collect new observations for informing improved hail physics and nowcasting.
 
Dr Rhys Whitley is the Natural Perils Scientific Specialist at Suncorp Group, one of Australia's largest general insurers. With more than 8 years experience at Suncorp, Rhys has led the development of novel approaches for assessing natural peril risk and informing pricing.