Fla. Okays AIR Hurricane Model

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 Model has been certified for use in setting home insurance rates in Florida.[@@]

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

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

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

Mr. Lalonde added, "Achieving the modeling standards set forth by the Commission is a high priority for AIR. Our clients look to the Commission process as an additional source of validation in using AIR model results to price, underwrite and manage catastrophe risk."

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

In addition to this year's update of the historical storm catalog, AIR said the 2004 model includes enhanced apartment and condominium vulnerability functions that incorporate a component-based engineering approach to measuring wind resistivity.?

Besides hurricanes, AIR models natural catastrophes in more than 40 countries and the risk from terrorism in the United States. The firm is a unit of Insurance Services Office, Jersey City, N.J.