“This year, the invitation list was loaded with a next-generation A List of who may run big media one day.

“Here are a few names to watch: Jay Adelson, chairman and chief executive of Digg; Michael Birch of Bebo (recently acquired by AOL); Jeffrey Boyd of Priceline.com; David Friedberg of WeatherBill; Janus Friis, co-founder of Joost; Jeffrey Jordan of OpenTable; Blake Krikorian, chairman of Sling Media; Max Levchin, chief executive of Slide.com, David Liu, chief executive of The Knot; Gary Marino, chief executive of Bill Me Later; and Peter Thiel of Clarium Capital (also a director at Facebook and co-founder of the eBay-owned PayPal service).” (continue reading)

“WeatherBill, an online venture launched last year, allows companies and individuals to weatherproof revenues” (continue reading)

“Friday begins with a panel of conference newbies: Gary Marino, chief executive of Bill Me Later; Max Levchin, chief executive of Slide.com; and David Friedberg, chief executive of WeatherBill. (Expect lots of people to wake up early to check out their next potential acquisition targets.)” (continue reading)

“[WeatherBill] provides the only online service that allows businesses to protect revenue and/or control costs associated with the adverse effects from weather. Further, it democratizes weather protection, by giving customers the power to create and implement weather coverage when and where they need it, based on the specific type of ‘bad weather’ protection they need.”

“SANTA ANA – It may not be known as a lovers’ paradise, but this city has been named one of the most ideal destinations in the country for an outdoor wedding.” (continue reading)

“San Francisco-based WeatherBill is offering operators the opportunity to buy contracts that protect their clients against holidays ruined by bad weather. Which means that if your trip is washed out, you get your money back.” (continue reading)

“Ex-Google employee David Friedberg, who established WeatherBill last year, has signed a deal with online travel portal Priceline and is looking to work with UK travel companies.” (continue reading)

“Priceline introduced Sunshine Guaranteed vacation packages to more than 100 destinations in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and Europe as a way to encourage bookings from travelers who may fear soggy fairways, muddy country roads or rainy beach days on their holiday getaways.” (Subscription-based publication. To join and read more, click here.)

The insurance is being provided through WeatherBill, a weather-related startup founded by ex-Googler David Friedberg in early 2007. (continue reading)

“This week, priceline.com announced an unusual deal. The company will refund money to buyers of its vacation packages if it rains more than a half an inch a day during half or more of the holiday. How’s that possible, by using financial products that hedge against extremes in heat, cold, wind and rain. They’re called weather derivatives. Think of them as futures contracts which pay off under specific weather conditions. It could be a powerful hurricane hitting the coast or a drought in the nation’s corn belt. There are weather contracts that cover all possibilities.”

(Clisk here to read the transcript. Click here to watch the video that starts around 8:30)

Miami, FL, JUNE 4, 2008 - The weather risk market experienced robust growth for 2007-2008, with the number of contracts traded increasing 35% compared to the previous year, according to the Weather Risk Management Association (WRMA).

The total number of contracts traded - futures and over-the-counter derivatives - totaled 985,000 for 2007-2008, compared to 730,000 contracts in 2006-2007. Notional value of the contracts rose 76 percent to $32-billion in 2007-2008, up from $19-billion in 2006-2007.

The latest survey results were announced by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) during WRMA’s Annual Meeting held June 2-4, 2008 at The Shore Club in Miami, Florida, which celebrated the Association’s 10th Anniversary.

The weather risk market is growing rapidly in terms of geography and diversity of participants. In India, Latin America and Southeast Asia, the weather market is expanding as companies seek to offset weather risks to agriculture and other sectors. Several Indian companies have joined WRMA and the Association is setting up a regional committee to serve those new members.

The industry also is seeing more diversity of participants with insurance companies, banks, hedge funds and end-users active in the market. As evidence of a healthy increase in the volume of end-user transactions, the survey shows that the proportion of trades reported between WRMA members and non-members rose to 90 percent for 2007-2008.

“The activity we’ve seen this year is indicative of a strongly growing market,” says Martin Malinow, CEO of Galileo Weather Risk Management and the newly elected president of WRMA. “We have spent the last 10 years creating foundations for growth and we can now begin to reap the rewards,” Malinow says.

“As WRMA celebrates its 10th anniversary of serving the weather risk management industry, we’re pleased to see its reach expanding across the globe,” says Gearóid Lane, managing director of British Gas New Energy and outgoing President of WRMA.

The WRMA/PwC survey gathers important data for the industry such as the notional value of the contracts, contract types and regional breakdowns. The survey runs from April 1 through March 31 of the following year, in order to capture the complete winter and summer seasons. WRMA engages PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to conduct this annual survey to ensure that an independent third party collects and tabulates the data.

About the Weather Risk Management Association
Founded in 1999 by some of the leading companies in the industry, the Weather Risk Management Association (WRMA) is an international trade organization dedicated to promoting the industry, both to those within it and to end-users. The industry began in 1997, offering companies the opportunity to control their financial exposure to weather conditions.  As a part of its mission, WRMA initiates surveys of the industry, advocates the standardization of contracts and other documentation used for transactions and sponsors forums and conferences around the world for members to meet and discuss a range of topics, such as international markets, data collection issues, and tax and legal matters.

“‘Given the prices of commodities these days and the volatility of weather,’ says Jeff Hamlin, director of business development for San Francisco-based Weatherbill, ‘people are going to look for ways to remove that unpredictability of weather from the impact on revenues.’”

Jeff Hamlin, director of business development for Weatherbill.com and Mike Smith, CEO of Weatherdata Services, a risk management firm, joined me this morning to talk about the companies effected by natural disasters, why some prepare better than others, the costs of risk management specialists and products like weather derivatives. (watch the video)

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – May 13, 2008 – WeatherBill (www.weatherbill.com) today announced that
Jens Boening, a weather risk management industry leader, has been appointed as Managing Director,
Europe and Asia for the company. Boening will be based out of WeatherBill’s new United Kingdom
branch office, and will be positioned to better serve the needs of WeatherBill’s rapidly growing European
and Asian client base of weather-sensitive companies. Boening will report directly to WeatherBill’s CEO
and Founder David Friedberg.

“Jens is a well recognized weather derivatives expert and we’re excited to be offering our European
clients a direct WeatherBill contact in the UK,” says Friedberg. “A recognized leader in the weather
market, Jens brings valuable risk management structuring experience and industry insight to our team. We
are looking forward to working with him as he utilizes and expands our innovative platform for simple
automated weather coverage.”

Prior to joining WeatherBill, Boening was responsible for Merrill Lynch’s weather origination and
structuring activities for Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Pacific Rim. He has more than a decade of
experience in commodities and weather markets, having provided risk management solutions to energy
corporations, industrial clients, financial institutions and investors. Boening has also developed Merrill
Lynch’s Continental European and Scandinavian power trading businesses, and is an active member of
the Board of Directors of the Weather Risk Management Association.

Boening will be responsible for WeatherBill’s sales and marketing activities throughout Europe and Asia,
and will be assisting companies large and small in creating custom weather coverage to protect profits
from the impact of bad weather.

“WeatherBill has overcome two of the major shortcomings in making weather derivatives accessible to
companies,” says Boening. “First, WeatherBill has made a product that is highly customizable and easy to
understand, enabling companies to price and purchase weather coverage that better suits their needs.
Second, WeatherBill has made weather coverage absolutely transparent and easily accessible through its
unique technology and free-of-charge online platform. This will help take the weather market as a whole
to another level. I am excited to join WeatherBill and work with existing and new clients in Europe and
Asia to help them better manage the financial impact of adverse weather.”

Ever wonder how hot or how cold the past several summers and winters have been? Check out these stats from a period of 30 year averages compiled by WeatherBill, a company that provides weather protection services for companies and industries. (continue reading)

In a new study conducted by WeatherBill; a weather-risk management outfit based in San Francisco, California, USA , it has been shown that there may be hope in calculating how weather patterns averaged out over 30 years along with seasonal averages can compare with the present outside temperature to create a reliable figure. (continue reading)

New research shows that the extent of weather-related airline flight delays and disruptions at any major U.S. airport in any given season can be predicted reliably. (continue reading)

WeatherBill has published a study identifying the relationship between weather conditions and flight disruptions (both cancellations and delays) in the United States. (continue reading)

A study from WeatherBill has found that 14 percent of all flight disruptions are caused by unexpected weather conditions. (continue reading)

Doesn’t it seem like whenever a drop of rain falls on the New York City tarmac that all flight delays skyrocket? Well, it’s not your imagination. We now have numbers to prove it! (continue reading)

WeatherBill, a company that provides weather protection services for companies and industries, analyzed U.S. rainfall and rainy day data, from 200 National Weather Service Stations in 195 cities across 48 states, from the last thirty years to identify precipitation averages, seasonality, volatility and trends. (continue reading)

What’s more, New Orleans is the third rainiest city in the 48 contiguous states, with an average of 65 inches of rain per year, according to a study conducted by WeatherBill Inc. of San Francisco. (Lafayette, Baton Rouge and Lake Charles were all in the top 10.)

“You do those calculations and you see how much water is just running off,” Evans said. (read the entire article)

… a way for small companies to hedge the weather: They can buy contracts for a specific day, week, or quarter, receiving payment if weather clobbers revenues. (continue reading)

In this business, it’s natural to find yourself praying to the weather gods to smile on your carwash.  (continue reading)

SAN FRANCISCO Calif. – Feb. 07, 2008 – WeatherBill today announced that Christine Ingraham, a weather insurance industry leader, has been appointed as Sales Director for the company’s new East Coast branch in Georgetown, Massachusetts. Ingraham and the new East Coast office will better serve the needs of WeatherBill’s rapidly growing client base and distribution partners, including insurance agencies, brokers, and other financial services professionals. Ingraham will report directly to WeatherBill’s CEO and Founder David Friedberg.

“Christine’s expertise and credibility are well recognized in the weather insurance industry and we’re thrilled to have her on the team,” says Friedberg. “She’s looking forward to offering clients a new, hassle-free form of weather coverage. Unlike insurance, WeatherBill does not require a claims process, underwriting or proof of loss. Christine can now provide brokers and business owners with instant pricing for contracts that support up to millions of dollars in coverage. That fast flexibility opens the door to weather-sensitive businesses left unserved in the past.”

Ingraham has over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry; twelve of which were spent in weather insurance. She most recently served as a President of the WKF&C Specialty of Massachusetts (a subsidiary of WKF&C Agency, Inc. New York) where she worked directly with surplus lines brokers in developing weather programs. She has worked at both agency and carrier levels, previously at Good Weather Insurance Agency (the original U.S. provider of weather insurance), Met P&C, and Travelers Insurance Company.

Ingraham will assist clients and retail insurance agents in designing custom profit-protection programs in North America and Europe. Ingraham’s experience includes designing coverage for professional sports teams, advertising agencies, production/promotion providers, music events, travel companies, small businesses, municipalities, and entertainment venues.

“The easy customizable solutions offered by WeatherBill will serve the industry quite well,” says Ingraham. “WeatherBill is exciting and innovative, enabling powerful yet affordable coverage for containing cost, stabilizing income and increasing sales opportunities for any business. It is energizing and rewarding to provide business owners with products designed specifically to minimize financial loss caused by the weather. This industry is truly about helping people.”

WeatherBill, Inc. (www.weatherbill.com) provides the only online service that allows businesses to protect revenue and control costs from the impact of bad weather. Founded by CEO David Friedberg and CTO Siraj Khaliq, former members of the Google team, WeatherBill is funded by New Enterprise Associates, Index Ventures, and Allen & Company and is backed by Nephila Capital, one of the world’s largest weather risk and catastrophe reinsurance fund managers.

When it doesn’t rain, it pours. Money, that is. (continue reading)

It was a year ago today that a crippling freeze began in the central San Joaquin Valley and ended up costing citrus growers and packers such as Phillip LoBue a total of hundreds of millions of dollars. (continue reading)

To protect against warmer winters, a study suggests vintners could cushion their icewine crop with a well-placed wager (continue reading)

Thousands of Quebec travelers who came out on the winning end of a quirky promotion from itravel2000.com have an entrepreneur with a background in astrophysics to thank for their good fortune. (continue reading)

Carmelo Mauro woke up at 4 a.m. yesterday, opened the front door of his Mississauga home and stuck his head outside, hoping to see the yard blanketed in snow.

The 56-year-old father of four waited until the sun rose before rousing his family to happily tell them about the storm. Then, every few hours throughout the day, he went out with a metal ruler and measured the height of the snow. (continue reading)

Thousands of Quebecers will be traveling on the dime of an online travel risk management service, thanks to more than five inches of snow that fell at Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport in Montreal. (continue reading)

Thanks to a national marketing gamble with Mother Nature by online travel retailer itravel2000.com, Mandeville and other Quebecers who booked trips between June 12 and Dec. 7 for travel between Nov. 1 and April 30 will get the price of their vacations - minus the taxes - refunded. (continue reading)

Thousands of Quebec residents won free vacations after snow blanketed Montreal on New Year’s Day, qualifying them for refunds under a travel company’s promotion. (continue reading)

Thousands of travelers from Quebec will get a late holiday gift because of a New Year’s Day blast of snow. (continue reading and see video)

Thousands of Canadians won a free winter getaway Wednesday in this country’s largest ever travel promotion which was pegged to a minimum five inches (12.7 cm) of snow falling on New Year’s day. (continue reading)

The “Let It Snow promotion” by itravel2000.com, Canada’s largest online travel retailer, offered holidayers who booked through the company a chance to win their vacation package, flight or hotel if five inches (12.7 centimeters) of snow fell at one of four airports nearest them - specifically Montreal, Toronto, Halifax and Calgary - on New Year’s Day. (continue reading)

Thousands of Canadians hoped to start the new year off with a free vacation if more than 12.7 centimetres of snow fell on their part of the country Tuesday. (continue reading)

“Historically, the concept of weather motivating or deterring filmgoers was based on speculation and anecdote,” said David Friedberg, founder and CEO of WeatherBill. “It’s remarkable that such a weather-sensitive industry hasn’t had a publicly available fact-based weather study. We believe it’s important for the film industry to understand the impact of weather on revenue as a first step in managing weather risk and protecting profits.”

WeatherBill analyzed nearly ten years of United Kingdom box office data to identify the effect of weather on revenue from each weekend’s ten top-grossing films. Both temperature and precipitation can negatively impact box office revenue. While the top grossing film brings in about 9% less on a warm or dry weekend, films grossing in the 8th-10th spots bring in over 30% less on a warm weekend. Time of year also played a role in how temperature and precipitation affected revenue. Summer months turned out to be particularly susceptible to the impact of weather.

2007 was the wettest summer in the UK since records began in 1914, and August was the coldest in more than a decade. Film industry experts speculate that audiences were motivated to seek indoor entertainment because of the summer’s record-setting inclement weather resulting in record admissions of 50.8 million viewers, a 40-year high, according to box office figures. This study confirms that speculation, and although United Kingdom climate is infamous for cold and wet weather, dry and warm weekends occur with enough frequency to significantly impact revenue. The identifiable and measurable impact demonstrated in the study can be translated to US box office regions with relatively uniform weather.

“Clearly, warm and dry weather negatively impacts box office revenue, and with enough frequency and severity to warrant a new approach to managing that weather risk,” said Friedberg. “WeatherBill is designed to be easy and affordable for all kinds of businesses, including film studios, production houses, vendors, and theater owners. WeatherBill is readily available to help these businesses manage weather risk with a simple, customizable, and affordable solution.”

Bad weather can turn a missed construction deadline into a news headline. But bad weather isn’t news to construction business owners who go to work with the elements every day. (continue reading)

WeatherBill, an online service that allows clients to insure against weather risk, has launched its first European weather derivatives contract as part of its global expansion strategy. (continue reading)

San Francisco, CA– WeatherBill (www.weatherbill.com), the only online service that allows businesses to protect revenue and control costs from the impact of bad weather, today formally announced its expansion into The Netherlands. WeatherBill also unveiled the company’s newest form of protection, The Netherlands Frost Day Contract, providing an affordable solution for construction firms absorbing the cost of the worker Frost Leave benefit

Frost Leave is a defined benefit for construction workers in The Netherlands. The benefit states that workers are permitted to go home with pay during a Frost Day. A Frost Day is specifically defined as any day when the temperature falls below -3.5 degrees Celsius at 7am, -0.5 degrees Celsius or less between 7am and 10am, or -1.5 and below at 10am. A Netherlands Frost Day Contract pays a construction firm when the number of Frost Days reaches a predetermined amount set by the firm, during a specified time period. Unlike historical forms of Frost Leave protection, a WeatherBill Frost Day Contract can be customized and purchased online at any time.

“A Netherlands Frost Day Contract is an important way to guard against the financial loss experienced by construction firms due to Frost Leave benefit payments,” said WeatherBill CEO David Friedberg. “WeatherBill provides a simple, online service that allows construction firms to fully customize a Frost Day Contract.”

WeatherBill Frost Day Contracts can be customized based on weather measured in Amsterdam, De Bilt, Deelen, Eindhoven, Groningen, Twenthe, Maastricht and Rotterdam. WeatherBill also provides complete weather protection from rain, drought, heat, or cold in The Netherlands, North America, and four additional Western European countries. WeatherBill Contracts can be purchased and paid out in several currencies including Euros and United States Dollars.

Why are they doing this you ask? They know that if their snow dreams come true that thousands of Canadians will get their Mexico vacation for free! (continue reading)

The American company is helping businesses, though an online platform, measure the impact of climate change and then hedge against it. (continue reading in English or Spanish)

No one can control the weather, of course, but an innovative startup using Web-based technology offers a way for smaller business to “insure” themselves against the ravages of weather. (continue reading)

David Friedberg, who was a founding member of Google’s corporate development team and led several of the company’s largest acquisitions, said Google hires people looking for more than just money. “There are certain kinds of people where it’s not about the money. And Google hires those kinds of people,” Friedberg said. These people look for something they can build in their own way, something that they really care about. Friedberg is chief executive of the Internet company WeatherBill, which he founded. (continue reading)

At the Web 2.0 conference John Battelle interviewed several prominent former Google employees about their reasons for the leaving the company, the culture there and its challenges as the company continues to grow. (continue reading)

WeatherBill, a start-up that turns global warming from a threat into a business opportunity, on Wednesday captured a $12.5 million first round of funding. (continue reading)

The round comes less than a week after former Vice President Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize splashed global-warming headlines worldwide. Through his video, “An Inconvenient Truth,” and personal appearances, Mr. Gore has warned of the dire consequence of inaction on global warming. (continue reading)

Kittu Kolluri of NEA and Neil Rimer of Index will take seats on WeatherBill’s board of directors as part of the investment. Barney Schauble of Nephila Capital also took a seat on the board. (continue reading)

Climate change means we’ll be facing more unpredictable weather — and if you’re in a weather-sensitive business like farming or owning a ski resort, unexpected weather can mean a significant loss of sales. (continue reading)

San Francisco-based weather insurance site WeatherBill has taken $12.5 million in a round led by New Enterprise Associates and Index Ventures. (continue reading)

WeatherBill, a company that lets you make money by betting on the weather, has raised $12.5 million. (continue reading)

“Climate change isn’t just making the weather more unpredictable, it can have a significant impact on corporate profits,” said Kolluri. “There’s high demand for financial protection against unexpected weather. WeatherBill’s technology, backed by Nephila’s world leadership in catastrophe reinsurance, creates a unique and valuable financial solution for businesses of all sizes.”

WeatherBill is working with a diverse roster of clients in weather-sensitive industries that include agriculture, travel, leisure, and retail. Clients include ski resorts, farmers, restaurants, travel service providers, and outdoor sports and leisure event managers.

“It’s now estimated that nearly one-third of the US economy, that’s $3.8 trillion, is at risk because of climate change,” said Rimer. “With that much at stake, weather-sensitive businesses need to understand their risk and then be able to protect their profits quickly and affordably. The experienced team at WeatherBill is helping businesses of all sizes do just that.”

The funding will help fuel WeatherBill’s rapidly growing business in the United States and Canada, and expand the company’s service to five new European countries this week: the United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, and Norway.

“This funding allows us to offer our clients more customizable weather protection as we add additional locations to our service, offer newly supported weather conditions, and enhance the ease of purchase,” said David Friedberg, CEO and co-founder of WeatherBill. “Strong investment support and advice from these market leading investors is invaluable and will result in more accessible and affordable weather protection for businesses worldwide.”

New Enterprise Associates (www.nea.com) is helping fund more than 550 companies in the IT and healthcare sectors. NEA is the entrepreneur’s venture capital firm; built on the philosophy of team achievement and measures success by their entrepreneurs’ success. NEA helps entrepreneurs build strong businesses for the long term, not the quick turn.

Index Ventures (www.indexventues.com) is an European venture capital firm with offices in London, Geneva and Jersey and a portfolio of leading technology and biotech companies across Europe, Israel and the US. The Index team is committed to working with the best entrepreneurial teams and helping them to build their companies into market defining global leaders.

Three dozen vendors have booths at the trade show at this week’s Minor League Baseball Promotional Seminar. Some of the items on display are what you’d expect — caps, T-shirts, bobblehead dolls, banners, jerseys, lunch boxes, bumper stickers, magnets and playing cards. One of the more unique vendors, however, is weatherbill.

Based in San Francisco, the company offers teams a form of insurance in case inclement weather forces a postponement or simply keeps down the size of an anticipated big crowd. (continue reading)

Many businesses rely on good weather. Julie Martin reports that one company is offering a way to help businesses with interest in weather. (click here to watch… enter “Investing” in the top right search box to pull-up the video clip)

Buyers of local winter ski passes have to ask themselves one question: Do I feel lucky?

With unpredictable seasons of past years, including one that lasted only four days at Arizona Snowbowl, it’s difficult to forecast whether a pass will be worth the price. But cross-country skiers will face a much easier decision this year.

The Flagstaff Nordic Center will begin paying a California business founded by two former Google employees, WeatherBill, to ensure customers either get an opportunity to ski or get their money back.

“If we get that terrible winter, at least we can give them refunds,” Owner Wendell Johnson said. (continue reading)

WeatherBill published this original study to help urban consumers and businesses better understand local temperature trends for planning and risk management. Over 58 million people live in the larger cities studied, more than 187 million live and work in the metropolitan areas, representing 62% of the population. (continue reading)

Rain or shine, some businesses rely on Mother Nature for their profits, or take a gamble if the weather works against them.

There’s a new company that can protect those revenues — a type of weather insurance of sorts. (continue reading and watch the video)

SAN DIEGO: San Diego is the only major city in the United States to experience a drop in both winter and summer temperatures over the past 30 years, according to a study released yesterday by WeatherBill, a San Francisco company.

Between 1977 and 2006, the city’s average summer temperature dropped 2.4 degrees. San Diego and Hampton, Va., were the only cities, in the study of 130 cities with a population above 100,000, that showed drops in summer temperatures. The city’s average winter temperature declined 3.3 degrees; Los Angeles was the only other city that showed a drop for winter.

The study found that 57 percent of cities showed significant warming trends in the winter, while 15 percent showed significant summer warming.

The study used daily statistics gathered by the National Weather Service, said Regina Sinsky, WeatherBill’s public relations manager. The study did not try to explain the temperature changes.

Ivory Small, science and operations officer at the National Weather Service’s Rancho Bernardo office, said it would be difficult to determine the causes of the changes without data from neighboring weather stations.– R.K.

Flagstaff Nordic Center in Arizona is teaming up with WeatherBill, Inc. to ensure skiers get their money’s worth for the 2007-2008 winter season. After a couple of years of below-average snowfall, Flagstaff Nordic Center wants to make sure season pass holders have the perfect ski season with ideal conditions or they will get their money back. (continue reading)

itravel2000, Canada’s leading online travel retailer, today announced an extension of their LET IT SNOW offer due to overwhelming consumer response. (continue reading)

Users of WeatherBill range from the obvious: farmers protecting against drought to ski resorts, to the less obvious: hair salons to minor league baseball teams. (continue reading)

“While we haven’t seen anything as egregious as depicted in the eco-disaster flick ‘The Day After Tomorrow,’( yet) the weather is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Storms, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes—they’re everywhere and they’re increasing. You can’t stop the weather, but you can insure yourself against it. WeatherBill is a newly launched ecommerce site which sells weather insurance to businesses and individuals. The site employs a complex forecasting algorithm to provide predictions. Anyone can take out a policy for weather in a specified area, chosen via a Google Maps mashup. Users set the options, customizing price and coverage. To be eligible for contracts you need to be an ‘accredited investor’. WeatherBill also provides free weather correlation tools so businesses can assess the impact of weather on their finances.” (continue reading)

You can’t control the weather, but thanks to a company called WeatherBill, you may be able to control how it affects your business. WeatherBill provides businesses large and small with insurance to protect against weather conditions that may hurt revenue. Unlike most insurance plans, WeatherBill aims to provide flexible, affordable coverage based on a business’ individual needs, with no proof-of-loss requirements or claims to process. Spencer Malay, owner of Spencer Malay Hair in Atlanta, GA, is the first salon to use WeatherBill to protect its bottom line. (continue reading)

Guests: David Friedberg from Weatherbill, Michael Loik from the University of California, Mike McGinnis from Agriculture Online, and Ron Wegner from WTXS
Subject: Droughts here, floods there, global-warming everywhere! And so we pause to ask, “Is weather going wild?” And, if so, “How will we grow food?”
Topics include whether, or not, weather is going wild; what impact global warming would have on agriculture; and what food producers can do to protect against wild weather.
(click here to listen)

From ice-cream stands and landscapers to ski shops and hotels, many small businesses are seasonal — meaning they rake in cash just a few months of the year.

But with this seasonality comes great risk: What if the weather during the peak season turns adverse, or a sharp surge in gasoline prices keeps customers at home? There’s no opportunity to make up that business later in the year.

There are ways seasonal businesses can avert some of the risks of relying on one or two seasons for profitability. Here are some ways to make it work. (continue reading)

“It’s no surprise that Lafayette has been so rainy these past few days,” Barry said. “Lafayette ranks as the fifth rainiest city in the U.S.” (continue reading)

Weather is rapidly becoming the centre of the one of the most attractive sectors in the financial markets. Increasing volatility in the weather is helping to fuel the trading of related derivatives, or futures contracts that allow investors to bet on or hedge against fluctuations in the weather. (continue reading)

Once the realm of Fortune 500 companies, weather derivatives are being offered to smaller businesses, including itravel2000, which has a $100 million bet with weather risk management start-up WeatherBill. (continue reading)

Air Canada plane is deiced at Pearson airport.

WeatherBill will pay refunds to Itravel2000 customers if it snows five inches (12.7 centimetres) or more on Jan. 1 at Calgary, Halifax, Montreal or Toronto airports. (continue reading)

“I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see more firms offering promotions linked to weather conditions. Travel, sporting events, gardening, outdoor events, etc. are obvious candidates for this type of marketing initiative.” (continue reading)

WeatherBill, an online weather risk management provider, is betting heavily that snowfall will be light at major Canadian airports on New Year’s Day. (continue reading)

WeatherBill has entered into an agreement with itravel2000.com, Canada’s largest online travel retailer, to provide coverage for Canada’s biggest travel promotion, “Let it Snow”. (continue reading)

Watch David Friedberg talk about WeatherBill on CNBC’s On The Money - aired June 6, 2007

San Francisco Chronicle

A San Francisco startup is touting a new kind of financial hedge aimed at helping small businesses weather the weather. (continue reading)

Although Seattle and the Pacific Northwest typically have a reputation for rain, their first entry on the list doesn’t show up until #24; Olympia, Washington. Seattle was ranked #41. The study found that over the past 30-years, the southeast has gotten wetter while the Western United States has gotten drier. (continue reading)

Watch David Friedberg, WeatherBill CEO, on
Closing Bell with Melissa Francis

Watch David Friedberg, WeatherBill CEO, on
Bloomberg TV