Greenwich, CT (July 20, 2009)—TigerRisk Partners, the reinsurance broking and risk/capital management firm founded by industry leaders Jim Stanard and Rod Fox, today announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Karen Clark & Company, the consulting firm founded by cat modeling pioneer Karen Clark. Together, the companies will provide insurance company clients with an integrated approach to assessing, pricing and managing catastrophe risks to improve profitability.
“Today’s difficult marketplace requires a more sophisticated approach for addressing catastrophe risk. Just regurgitating probable losses is not enough. This innovative partnership will enable us to take catastrophe risk management to the next level and improve our clients’ return on capital,” said Rod Fox, CEO of TigerRisk. “Karen Clark, who literally wrote the book on cat modeling, has a unique ability to discern, quantify and understand model outputs. TigerRisk, in turn, has the skills to integrate these more sophisticated risk profiles to better manage cat risks across diverse portfolios and provide insurers a competitive advantage.”
According to Mr. Fox, the process starts with helping companies establish a consistent metric for evaluating cat risk. The partnership’s integrated approach includes a rigorous examination of how companies capture and collect data, dissect and validate cat model output, as well as develop and implement strategies to improve capital allocations and profitability.
“Before there were cat models, the industry relied entirely on underwriting. Today, there is an over reliance on models,” said Karen Clark. “Neither extreme is optimal. There are ways to assess risk independent of the catastrophe models and to apply that knowledge to more effective use of the models. We are excited to be partnering with a highly sophisticated intermediary like TigerRisk to help insurers enhance the profitability of their portfolios without model bias.”
TigerRisk founder Jim Stanard added: “The biggest cat risk management issue facing most companies is establishing management processes, scorecards, and a culture that allows both top management and front line underwriters to effectively use cat models in decision making.”
TigerRisk was formed by Jim Stanard and Rod Fox. Before founding TigerRisk, Mr. Stanard was CEO of Renaissance Re. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, holds a PhD in Finance from New York University, and is widely regarded as one of the reinsurance industry’s leading experts in risk underwriting. Rod Fox was previously CEO of specialty insurer Praetorian and CEO of reinsurance brokers Benfield Inc. and E.W. Blanch. For more information, please visit www.TigerRisk.com.
Karen Clark & Company provides software products and consulting services that help insurance companies evaluate and improve their exposure data processes, to better understand catastrophe risk, and to more effectively utilize models and model results. Karen Clark & Company professionals are independent experts in catastrophe risk, catastrophe models, and catastrophe risk management who work with insurance company executives to enhance business strategies, competitive advantage, and financial results. For more information, please visit www.karenclarkandco.com.
Posted on July 20, 2009 02:49
Ansi Vallens
Signals & Strategies
(518) 392 4238
