Fla. Okays AIR Hurricane Model

NU Online News Service, May 14, 11:52 a.m.EDT?AIR Worldwide Corp. said its 2004 U.S. Hurricane Modelhas been certified for use in setting home insurance rates inFlorida.[@@]

The approval for the model came from the Florida Commission onHurricane Loss Projection Methodology. Boston-based AIR said it isthe eighth consecutive year its model has been certified.

The AIR product is available in its CLASIC/2T, CATRADER andCATStation software.

Commission certification affirms AIR's approach to integratingnew science and data through its annual update process,? said DavidLalonde, senior vice president at AIR.

Mr. Lalonde added, "Achieving the modeling standards set forthby the Commission is a high priority for AIR. Our clients look tothe Commission process as an additional source of validation inusing AIR model results to price, underwrite and manage catastropherisk."

AIR said that in order to provide insurers with the most stableand reliable loss estimates possible, it updates its Atlanticbasinwide hurricane model every year.

In addition to this year's update of the historical stormcatalog, AIR said the 2004 model includes enhanced apartment andcondominium vulnerability functions that incorporate acomponent-based engineering approach to measuring windresistivity.?

Besides hurricanes, AIR models natural catastrophes in more than40 countries and the risk from terrorism in the United States. Thefirm is a unit of Insurance Services Office, Jersey City, N.J.