AIR Worldwide Enhances Performance of Catastrophe Risk Modeling Systems

January 1, 2011 / 3 min read

BOSTON, Nov. 1, 2007 – AIR Worldwide Corporation (AIR) announces the latest releases of its CLASIC/2™, CATRADER® and CATStation® catastrophe risk management systems. Version 9.5 features import, analysis and export enhancements that significantly improve performance and ease of use.

“As the demand for catastrophe modeling grows, there is a greater need to perform reliable analyses in a shorter period of time,” said Uday Virkud, P.E., senior vice president at AIR Worldwide. “Today, catastrophe model users need to run detailed analyses and view their results in multiple ways to better understand their underlying catastrophe risk. In this release, we have focused on performance improvements so that our clients can derive the maximum benefit from our models during the short reinsurance renewal period.”

Users often spend significant time preparing and importing exposure data into their catastrophe modeling systems. Enhancements to AIR ImportExpress™ decrease the time and system resources required to import data by up to 50%. AIR has also introduced a new utility that allows users to easily import non-AIR exposure data files in Version 9.5 of CLASIC/2.

A new geocoding engine is now available for CLASIC/2 and CATStation that offers significant improvements to processing speed while maintaining the accuracy of the geocoding results. The new technology is approximately two times faster than the previous version.

Version 9.5 of CLASIC/2 also includes performance improvements that will reduce U.S. Hurricane model analysis times by up to 40%.

AIR has also enhanced CATRADER, the industry standard for analyzing catastrophe reinsurance and alternative risk transfer options. In addition to traditional reinsurance contracts, CATRADER is used to manage alternative risk transfer options such as Industry Loss Warranties (ILWs), catastrophe bonds and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). In Version 9.5, several enhancements have been made to CATRADER for analyzing catastrophe bond portfolios, including those containing instruments based on the Carvill Hurricane IndexSM (CHISM). In addition, CATRADER enables the user to model CHI-based transactions by including the CHI value for each simulated event.

“Long the industry standard for reinsurers, CATRADER is now the tool of choice for investors and hedge fund managers to price and manage their investments in insurance-linked securities,” continued Virkud. “CATRADER’s reliable and transparent underlying technology and its ease of use have resulted in its quick adoption by these new types of users.”

AIR will continue to enhance the performance of its catastrophe modeling systems in future releases.

About AIR Worldwide Corporation
AIR Worldwide Corporation (AIR) is the scientific leader and most respected provider of risk modeling software and consulting services. AIR founded the catastrophe modeling industry in 1987 and today models the risk from natural catastrophes and terrorism in more than 50 countries. More than 400 insurance, reinsurance, financial, corporate and government clients rely on AIR software and services for catastrophe risk management, insurance-linked securities, site-specific seismic engineering analysis, and property replacement cost valuation. AIR is a member of the ISO family of companies and is headquartered in Boston with additional offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.air-worldwide.com.

Release: Immediate

Contact:
Kevin Long (AIR)
617-267-6645
klong@air-worldwide.com