Agenda

May 14 Sessions

May 15 Sessions

May 16 Sessions

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Activities

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Breakfast
 

Adaptation and Mitigation in the Face of Climate Change
Dr. Celine Herweijer, Principal Scientist, Future Climate, RMS
 

Break
 

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

U.S. & Canada Severe Storm Modeling ̶ Changes in Loss**

The 2008 upgrade of the Severe Convective Storm Model, formerly named Tornado/Hail, introduces the new perils of straight-line wind and lightning. This new model introduces a 'hybrid' stochastic even generation methodology that builds upon the merger of statistical and meteorological methods. The vulnerability of structures to these elements has been developed through in-depth claims analysis, external expertise, as well as through in-house research efforts. This session will provide a detailed look at the impact of integrating new modeling technology and data on model results as well as an overview of the drivers of risk across the U.S. and Canada.  (Repeated Wednesday at 1:30 pm)

Optimizing RMS Tools and Data for Catastrophe Response

This session will address several enhancements to RMS’ Catastrophe Response services and products that are being implemented in the coming months to improve the service. We will take a look at the currently available tools, such as the STEP tool and RiskOnline and discuss the updates being made to these products this year. In addition, the presentation will also focus on some enhanced catastrophe response products and services being made available to clients. These new products and services are designed to help clients assess their losses and quantify their exposure at risk before, during, and after natural catastrophes with more accuracy and insight. With the 2008 hurricane season looming, this session will also take a glance at the forecasts for the season and discuss the status of the larger scale climatic influences that could impact hurricane activity this year.

Scope of the 2009 North America Earthquake Model Upgrades**

For 2009, RMS has embarked on an ambitious agenda to develop, update, and expand its earthquake modeling throughout North America. Stretching seamlessly from Canada through Mexico, and eventually throughout South America, the project will provide a consistent, comprehensive solution for analyzing seismic risk. This session will review the depth and breadth of the project scope, from USGS hazard map updates and RMS innovations in the North American vulnerability analysis that enhance underwriting applications to how these enhancements inform the regional portfolio modeling in areas of more aggregate exposure data. In addition to scope and key technical highlights, the session will also outline the change management plan for countries with existing RMS models. (Repeated Thursday at 11:20 am)

What's New in RiskLink^® 8.0**

This session provides an overview of the new features and capabilities being released in RiskLink 8.0. Software and data enhancements will be discussed in the context of optimizing portfolio management processes that inform pricing decisions in a soft market. The presentation will provide insight into upgrades that will impact integrated workflow efficiency within and outside the RiskLink user interface. Performance and operational improvements will be presented as key components of the increasing focus on detailed loss modeling for both existing and new peril models in Europe and North America. (Repeated 1:30 pm)

Using the RMS Suite to Optimize End-to-End Portfolio Management**

Using a hurricane exposed book of business as an example, this session will walk the audience through an end-to-end portfolio management workflow that provides insight into the integrated use of multiple RMS data products (e. g. geocoding and building level data), services (e.g. outsourced data quality and peril model analyses), and applications (e.g. RiskLink, Reinsurance Platform, RiskTools, customized data visualization tools). An often overlooked result of the portfolio management process is its unique ability to inform the underwriting process. This presentation will show how the assessment of data quality metrics, accumulation zone refinements, optimal pricing guidelines, and meaningful reporting enables an effective portfolio management strategy with a targeted workflow optimization and product use. The related session "Making More Effective Underwriting Decisions using Cat Modeling Products" focuses on the underwriting strategy and how the underwriting process feeds into portfolio management operations. (Repeated Thursday at 2:00 pm)

Intro to Coding Reinsurance Structures

This session will cover the basics of coding reinsurance structures in the RMS Reinsurance Platform. The primary focus of this course is to discuss how to use the Reinsurance Platform to code real reinsurance structures without having to make assumptions or using work-arounds. Case studies will be used to illustrate best practices for entering typical reinsurance structures. Specific attention will be given to how losses flow through portfolio-level treaties using the RMS simulation methodology.
 

Break
 

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

U.K. Inland Flood Model ̶ Changes in Loss**

The 2008 upgrade of the U.K. Inland Flood Model builds on the major modeling advancements made by RMS since the original model release in 2001, such as those implemented for the Germany River Flood Model in 2006. This session will provide a detailed look at the impact of integrating new modeling technology and data on model results and the landscape of inland flood risk across the British Isles. The session will discuss the drivers of change in industry-level results regionally as well as across lines of business and coverage types between the current and new model. (Repeated Thursday at 2:00 pm)

Modeling Event Clustering**

Event independence is a key premise of catastrophe loss models. There is however a growing body of evidence both anecdotal and from rigorous scientific studies that demonstrate an apparent relationship between loss events both in space and time. This presentation will discuss RMS research into event interdependence for European and U.S. windstorms, focusing both on the physical mechanisms for clustering and the implication for modeling the sources of dependency. We will demonstrate the impact of clustering via the RMS simulation methodology and show the impact on example reinsurance contracts. Future developments for a multi-peril perspective afforded by a flexible simulation approach to hazard modeling will also be discussed. (Repeated Thursday at 3:15 pm)

Implications for the 2009 U.S. Earthquake Model Upgrade**

Revisions to the RMS U.S. Earthquake Model represent the most significant component of the broader 2009 Americas Earthquake Model updates. While catalyzed by the 2007 USGS National Seismic Hazard Mapping Project, the update comprises a much broader range of advances to the science and art of earthquake risk modeling. The Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) project, more sophisticated approaches to site response, cutting-edge applications of structure modeling, and continuing RMS research into post-event loss amplification each contribute to a more comprehensive view of risk. This session will provide insights into this ongoing development work, exploring some of these key technical components that will contribute to changes in loss results when the final model is released. (Repeated Thursday at 2:00 pm)

Driving the Best Value from RMS Geocoding**

As geocoding technology becomes more broadly used across the enterprise, the importance of consistently accurate geocoding has never been more important. RMS geocoding products have been designed with global geographic accuracy as the highest priority. This session covers how RMS is pursuing this goal now and into the future, so that users can derive the most value from geocoding. Best practices for geocoding and driving results in risk differentiation will be the core of the session. Examples include account triage, underwriting, accumulations, and modeling. Additional topics will include comparisons to commercially available applications and well-known internet products and flexible access/workflow integration options. (Repeated Thursday at 2:00 pm)

Making More Effective Underwriting Decisions Using Cat Modeling Products**

Effective catastrophe underwriting is a key driver of profitability for P&C insurance companies. It is also, if done well, a tremendous source of competitive advantage. However, cat underwriting is also hard to do well particularly since there is an inherent tension created by the need to quote quickly against the need to properly assess the risks that are being presented, as well as quickly optimize the* new risk against the company’s portfolio strategy. In this session, we will present a model case study that demonstrates how data quality, real-time accumulation management, and account model analyses can be efficiently interwoven and fed into portfolio management to increase the effectiveness of catastrophe underwriting and drive its use as a source of competitive advantage. The related session "Using the RMS Suite for Optimizing End-to-End Portfolio Management" focuses on the portfolio management strategy and how that feeds into building efficient underwriting guidelines to inform underwriting decisions. (Repeated Thursday at 11:20 am)

Intro to Interpreting Results

This session will discuss the definition and application of RiskLink statistics for managing risk. Emphasis is placed on the calculation and interpretation of Pure Premium, Excess Average Annual Loss (XSAAL), and TCE. In addition, the session will examine the Event Loss Table and its relationship to various statistics. This session is recommended for new users and individuals preparing for the RMS CAT Program.