Insurers

While the scientific debate over the effects of a changing climate on the frequency and severity of natural catastrophes rages on, there is no doubt that the continued increase in the number and value of exposed properties in areas of high risk has and will continue to contribute to increasing losses for insurers.

That fact alone represents a significant challenge for companies trying to grow their business profitably while managing their accumulations and enterprise-wide risk. At the same time, regulators are focusing ever more sharply on how model results are being used to support rate requests, while fluctuations in the cost of capital lend unwelcome instability. Rating agencies, too, are examining the catastrophe risk management practices of insurers with a critical eye, necessitating the expenditure of scarce resources on answering lengthy and detailed questionnaires.

Finally, insurers continue to struggle with exposure data quality issues that impede them from being able to fully understand their catastrophe risk profile.

Proven Solutions for Insurers

AIR Worldwide (AIR) offers an array of solutions designed to tackle each of these complex issues head on, from desktop and web-based underwriting systems that take full advantage of detailed risk information, to the services of skilled consultants who work one-on-one with clients to support pricing, underwriting, risk transfer, and portfolio optimization decisions, to property replacement valuation tools that ensure our clients’ portfolios are insured to value.

U.S. insurers representing nearly 60% of personal lines premium and 45% of commercial property premium currently use AIR modeling technology, and our client base in UK, European and Asia-Pacific markets continues to grow.

Insurers depend on AIR for:

CLASIC/2™ AIR's desktop application for individual risk selection, pricing and portfolio management
CATRADER® AIR's application for guiding reinsurance purchases using aggregate data
CATStation® AIR's web-based solution for underwriting decision-making and portfolio management
360Value® AIR and Xactware's web-based property replacement-cost estimator
Exposure Data Services Comprehensive suite of solutions to assess and improve the accuracy of your exposure data
Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Management Quantify exposure to catastrophe risk in order to make optimal risk management, risk transfer and risk mitigation decisions that align with corporate goals
Risk Transfer (Reinsurance and Securitization) Consulting services to issuers of and investors in the increasingly diverse array of reinsurance and insurance-linked securities being structured and marketed today
AIR Integration Solutions Customizable solutions that enable AIR data and analytics to be embedded into your applications and workflows
ALERT™ Provides loss estimates in real time as catastrophes unfold
AIR Institute Comprehensive programs designed to meet the industry’s growing need for skilled catastrophe risk modelers and managers

Listed below are additional materials of interest to insurers:

Demand Surge in the Current Economic Environment

September 29, 2009

The current worldwide economic slowdown has produced an increased supply of labor and has stabilized or caused the price of several construction materials to decline. Property values in particular have exhibited a general decline. Will these new conditions affect “demand surge,” the phenomenon that is characterized by sharply increased rebuilding costs following a large catastrophic event? In this AIR Current, AIR Senior Risk Consultant Dr. Stuart Miller briefly reviews the demand surge phenomenon and then asks several questions about it, including what adjustments, if any, catastrophe model users should make when they take demand surge into account in the present economic environment.

How Would Your Claim Operation Fare in a Mega-Disaster?—Part II

April 16, 2009

In the previous issue of AIR Currents, Actuarial Consultant Dennis Fasking and Risk Consultant Chris Cocuzzo explained how using catastrophe models can help claim organizations plan in advance for a mega-disaster. Continuing the discussion, this month’s article explores the benefits of catastrophe modeling to the real-time execution of claim handling strategies, managing costs, and improving communications.

How Would Your Claim Operation Fare in a Mega-Disaster?—Part I

March 13, 2009

This article begins a two-part discussion on the potential impact of a major catastrophe on the claim operation of an insurance company. AIR Actuarial Consultant Dennis Fasking and Risk Analyst Chris Cocuzzo explore how advanced preparation using catastrophe models can optimize claims handling plans. In next month’s AIR Current, the authors will discuss options for improving real-time response in the aftermath of a catastrophe.

Best Practices for Applying Catastrophe Risk Modeling to Claims Administration

July 15, 2008

For most insurers, responsibility for catastrophe risk modeling resides with the actuarial or other risk management areas of the company. However, a case can be made that in-house catastrophe modeling brings equal value to the claims area of insurers. After all, it is the claims department that bears the ultimate responsibility of responding to the needs of claimants following a catastrophic event.

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