BOSTON, May 16, 2006 — AIR Worldwide Corporation (AIR) today announced the certification of its 2006 U.S. Hurricane Model by the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology. This marks the tenth consecutive year that AIR has met the rigorous standards of the commission since the commission’s inception in 1996, when AIR was the only modeler to be certified.
Legislative changes in Florida have allowed commission members unprecedented access to model assumptions, including trade secrets, for their review and inspection. This has led to a much greater degree of model transparency than in previous years.
“The Florida Commission recertified the AIR standard U.S. hurricane model, which has been providing the insurance industry with reliable estimates of hurricane risk since 1987,” said David Lalonde, senior vice president at AIR. “AIR believes this model provides the most credible view of hurricane risk.”
In addition to the standard stochastic hurricane catalog approved by the commission, which is based on over 100 years of historical data and over 20 years of research and development, AIR will offer two alternative stochastic hurricane catalogs for the 2006 hurricane season: a near-term sensitivity catalog, which reflects recent research on the influence of SSTs on near-term (~5 year) hurricane activity, and a 2006 seasonal hurricane catalog that accounts for the influence of current climate signals on hurricane activity for the upcoming season.
“Due to the considerable uncertainty surrounding projections of near-term hurricane activity, AIR encourages the use of its alternative catalogs for sensitivity analyses rather than as replacements for AIR’s standard U.S. hurricane model,” concluded Lalonde.
AIR’s 2006 U.S. Hurricane Model is available in version 8.0 of CLASIC/2™, CATRADER® and CATStation® catastrophe risk management systems.
About AIR Worldwide Corporation
AIR Worldwide Corporation (AIR) is a leading risk modeling company helping clients manage the financial impact of catastrophes and weather. Utilizing the latest science and technology, AIR models natural catastrophes in more than 40 countries and the risk from terrorism in the United States. Other areas of expertise include site-specific seismic engineering analysis, catastrophe bonds and property replacement cost valuation. A member of the ISO family of companies, AIR was founded in 1987 to provide its insurance, reinsurance, corporate and government clients a complete line of risk modeling software and consulting services that produce consistent and reliable results. Headquartered in Boston, AIR has additional offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.air-worldwide.com.
Release: Immediate
Contacts:
Giuseppe Barone / Erica Helton
MWW Group (for ISO)
201-507-9500
gbarone@mww.com / ehelton@mww.com
Michael Gannon (AIR Worldwide)
617-267-6645