RMS unveils New UK Inland Flood Model, EU Earthquake Model

August 8, 2008

UK Flood Model
Risk Management Solutions has released a major new upgrade to its U.K. Inland Flood Model. “The upgraded model will enable all segments of the insurance industry to drill down to a finer level of detail than ever before, deepening their understanding of the impact of new and existing risks on their portfolios,” said the bulletin.

The RMS® U.K. Inland Flood Model, the first of its kind, introduced in 2001, “takes account of all causes of inland flood, including rivers and minor streams overflowing, as well as flash flooding resulting from excessive rainfall,” the bulletin continued.

Dr. Alice Stuart-Menteth, RMS U.K. flood model manager, observed: “Last summer’s U.K. floods were a dramatic and costly reminder of the need for a comprehensive view of flood risk. Areas that were not deemed to be at risk by the Environment Agency were washed out by extreme rainfall which overwhelmed the drainage systems, resulting in an unexpected barrage of claims for those insurers that had not accounted for flash flood risk.” Over 50 percent of the properties flooded were believed to be outside the major floodplain.

RMS said its updated model uses “advanced mapping technology,” and “allows users to zone in on the flood risk for properties at street level, rather than just within a specific postcode. As a result, it is possible to differentiate much more accurately between risks, so underwriters can select those that best meet their portfolio requirements.”

“With much richer data on street level flood risk, the new model can be used to a greater extent at the point of underwriting and to advance accumulation risk management practices,” added Dr. Stuart-Menteth.

Europe Earthquake Models
Together with the enhancements to its U.K. Inland Flood Model, RMS has also launched a suite of new earthquake models for Europe, including France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K., and is upgrading its model for Portugal.

RMS said these “new additions will complement the existing earthquake models for Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland and provide a consistent framework for risk assessment in Europe, so users can make direct comparisons between countries and review risk on a region-wide basis.”

Dr. Andrew Sorby, RMS’ Europe earthquake model manager, noted: “We’re bringing the latest earthquake modeling techniques to the countries of Western Europe, and enabling insurers and reinsurers to gain a complete picture of risk from all the major perils in the region. Earthquake risk across much of Western Europe is characterized by rare but potentially very damaging events. Many properties are vulnerable as they have not been made to withstand ground-shaking and the exposure is high.”

RMS added: “The new suite of models – believed to be the most comprehensive of its type – will help insurers and reinsurers to gain a portfolio-level view of risk, and measure the potential impact of an extensive range of scenarios.”

Sorby observed that “robust risk management always starts with awareness, and these new models help to complete the toolkit of information the insurance industry needs to confidently manage its exposures and make good risk management decisions.”

The U.K. Flood and European Earthquake models are being launched alongside a set of new and updated RMS catastrophe models and software with version 8.0 of the RiskLink® and RiskBrowser® modeling platforms that are used throughout the insurance and reinsurance industry.

Source: Risk Management Solutions – www.rms.com

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