Chile's Economic Toll
March 03, 2010
CNBC
Jayanta Guin, Ph.D, senior vice president research and modeling, AIR Worldwide, discusses insured losses from the major earthquake that hit Chile on Saturday, February 27th.
Cat Models Only As Good As Given Data
February 22, 2010
National Underwriter
By Uday Virkud, executive vice president and George Davis, vice president at AIR Worldwide
Insurance companies rely on catastrophe models to provide reliable estimates of loss, whether for managing risk over the long term or for understanding their loss potential in real time as an actual event unfolds. However, the reliability of model output is only as good as the quality of the exposure data used as input. Click here to read story.
An Earthquake Is Coming (In California) - Is Your House Insured?
February 18, 2010
Hartford Courant
The greater threat than a quake in Connecticut is the economic effect of one in California. For example, a 6.7 magnitude quake struck Northridge, Calif., on Jan. 17, 1994, causing $20 billion in damage. "California has grown immensely since then ... if the same earthquake were to occur today, there would be $130 billion in total damage to property," said Jayanta Guin, senior vice president for research and modeling at AIR Worldwide, which models earthquakes and potential loss for insurers. Click here to read story.
Property & Casualty Insurers Could Face Headwinds In 2010
February 16, 2010
Lloyds
Traditionally, the biggest insured catastrophe losses occur
in the third quarter from hurricane strikes on the U.S. coast. But in
2009, two bouts of severe weather that included tornadoes occurred
early in the year, each causing more than $1 billion in insured losses,
according to an estimate by risk modeler AIR Worldwide, a subsidiary of
Insurance Services Office Inc. Click here to read story.
AIR Worldwide Crop Yield Projections Confirmed by USDA End-of-Season Estimates
February 16, 2010
Insurance News Net
AIR Worldwide (AIR) today announced that its industry-leading Crop Yield Model accurately projected 2009 corn and soybean yields, as confirmed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) end-of-season estimates. Click here to read story.
FLAT ROOF SNOW LOADS ARE PRIMARY CONCERN IN EAST COAST STORM: AIR
February 10, 2010
RiskMarketNews
"Ten to 20 inches of snow can lead to loads of roughly 15 to 30 pounds per square foot on flat roofs, but that calculation does not account for snow drift, which can significantly increase loads," said Tim Doggett, Ph.D, principal scientist for AIR in a statement. Click here to read story.
Bonding Experience
February 01, 2010
Best's Review
Pascal Karsenti, senior risk consultant with cat modeler and consultant AIR Worldwide, said the Mexico bond is based on whether a hurricane of a certain size passes through a certain geographical area. "It's called a 'cat in a box' deal," he said, adding that it's also the first securitization risk of a hurricane in Mexico. Click here to read story.
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Primary Writers Are Changing the Face of the Cat Bond Market
January 22, 2010
Insurance News Net
Pascal Karsenti, senior risk consultant with cat modeler and consultant AIR Worldwide, said the Mexico bond is based on whether a hurricane of a certain size passes through a certain geographical area. "It's called a 'cat in a box' deal," he said. It's also the first securitization risk of a hurricane in Mexico, Karsenti said. Click here to read story.
Studies Predict Fewer But More Devastating Hurricanes
January 22, 2010
Time
The amount of destruction depends on the density of development, the mix of commercial and residential property, various construction characteristics and the location of a building's contents, says co-author Peter Dailey, of AIR Worldwide, which specializes in catastrophe modeling. Surge damage typically affects lower floors; in a single-story warehouse, for example, most of the contents are at risk, while in a hospital they would be distributed over many floors. Click here to read story.
California hit by more storms
January 21, 2010
Insurance Day
Tim Doggett, principal scientist at AIR Worldwide, told Insurance Day: "The wildfires last summer make landslides more of a concern for this year. "This week's storms are similar to events in past El Niño years, such as between December 1997 and 1998," he said. Click here to read story.
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