AIR Worldwide report shows the changing earthquake risks seen in Japan

AIR Worldwide, a prestigious catastrophe modeling firm serving the global insurance industry, has released a new report titled “Understanding Earthquake Risk in Japan Following the Tohoku-Oki Earthquake of March 11, 2011.” The quake that struck Japan last year was a magnitude -9.0 and caused a fair amount of damage in Northern provinces. The quake itself did not cause a severe level of damage but it did trigger a massive tsunami that cut a swath of destruction in the country and spurred a nuclear crisis. AIR’s scientists have been conducting detailed…

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Northwest Europe Battered by Windstorm Ulli

BOSTON, January 4, 2012 – According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Windstorm Ulli is passing through Scandanavia and is expected to dissipate as it moves over the Baltic Sea today. A class 2 weather warning from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) is still in force indicating the possibility of “danger to the public, causing major damage to property and major disruptions in essential services.” “Ulli was first recognized as a named low pressure system when it was located southwest of Newfoundland on December 31st making it the…

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AIR Worldwide Launches Multiple Peril Crop Insurance Model for China

Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide (AIR) released the industry’s first Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) Model for China. The new model provides a fully probabilistic approach for determining the likelihood of losses to the country’s major crops: corn, cotton, rapeseed, rice, soybeans, and wheat. The model captures the significant effects that weather-related perils have on each crop during the growth stage. This detailed information will help companies better prepare for and understand the exposure they carry based on China’s specific insurance programs, which tend to vary by province. “China…

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Turkey quake and the impact on the nation’s insurance market

Turkey was rattled by a powerful earthquake this past Sunday, which caused widespread damage in many populated areas. AIR Worldwide, a global risk modeling firm, has released initial estimates of the extent of the damage. According to the agency, the damage is modest when compared to previous quakes that have struck the region. Nonetheless, AIR notes that the quake has claimed more than 200 lives, but government officials say that the ultimate total could be as high as 1,000. AIR notes that most urban residencies and commercial buildings are reinforced…

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AIR Revises Its Industry Insured Loss Estimates for Hurricane Irene in the Bahamas Based on Updated Information Concerning Insurance Penetration

BOSTON, Sept. 15, 2011, — Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has revised its industry insured loss estimates for Hurricane Irene’s impact in the Bahamas to between USD 200 million and USD 400 million (previously USD 300 million to USD 700 million). AIR’s loss estimates for other countries in the Caribbean remain unchanged as do the estimates for losses from Irene in the United States. With the new estimates for the Bahamas, AIR now estimates industry insured losses for all impacted Caribbean countries at between USD 400 million and USD 800…

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