RMS Expands Commitment to Lloyd’s Market

Newark, Calif.-based RMS, a provider of products and services for the management of catastrophe risk, has expanded its commitment to the Lloyd’s market with the addition of three Lloyd’s managing agents as new RMS clients in the last three months: AEGIS, Cathedral Underwriting, and Catlin Underwriting Agencies. RMS now has relationships with 17 of the 20 largest Lloyd’s managing agents. The RMS RiskLink® catastrophe modeling software is being used by 24 Lloyd’s managing agents representing 80 percent of the total Lloyd’s market capacity. The company also announced the development of a new data processing tool, in response to requests from its Lloyd’s clients who use risk models for commercial account underwriting.

“We are delighted to welcome AEGIS, Cathedral, and Catlin as clients,” said Matthew Grant, managing director of the RMS international region. “The Lloyd’s market has played an important role in our business ever since we opened the RMS London office in 1996. Our relationships with leading underwriting organizations allow us to provide solutions that address the unique needs of this market. Today we have a team of 37 people in London and will be continuing to grow our presence here and in Europe over the next two years.”

AEGIS, with a stamp capacity of 175 million pounds Sterling ($290 million) including an energy portfolio of approximately 55 million pounds ($91 million), is licensing the RMS RiskLink®-DLM (Detailed Loss Module) catastrophe modeling software for the U.S. and the RMS Offshore Platform Model for hurricane risk. “Analyzing our onshore and offshore energy portfolio using RMS technology will assist us in proactively managing our portfolio in advance of the upcoming renewal season,” commented Philip Thorpe-Apps, underwriting director at AEGIS. “The technology will also allow us to assess catastrophe risk as the portfolio develops, for both energy business and other property lines.”

Cathedral Underwriting, managing agent for syndicate 2010, has an underwriting capacity of 160 million pounds ($265 million) for the 2003 underwriting year. Cathedral is licensing the RMS RiskLink-ALM® (Aggregate Loss Module) and RiskLink-DLM software, for the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. The models will be used for its established treaty book and a start-up direct and facultative operation. Lawrence Holder, managing director, said, “We are pleased to be working with RMS as we develop our direct and facultative portfolio. Analyzing our treaty and D&F business using RiskLink will provide a strong foundation for overall portfolio risk management and technical underwriting of individual accounts.”

London based Catlin Underwriting Agencies is one of the largest Lloyd’s managing agencies, with an underwriting capacity of approximately 580 million pounds ($962 million). Catlin is licensing the RiskLink-ALM and RiskLink-DLM software for the U.S. and Japan. “RMS is clearly the leader in their field and we are confident that our relationship will bring significant long-term benefits to both companies,” said Paul Martin, chief actuary. “We are delighted to be applying RMS products and services to our underwriting and portfolio management processes. The integration of RiskLink output into our internal underwriting system is one of the first steps we are taking to gain benefit from RMS risk estimates and information.” Increased use of RMS products for individual account underwriting has emerged as a key theme for RMS clients at Lloyd’s. Their feedback is guiding the development of new capabilities, such as a data processing tool that was previewed at the RMS International Seminar in Paris on September 16 and is planned for market release in early 2004. The new tool promotes greater efficiency in the creation and transfer of exposure data for commercial property accounts. It contains utilities to assist in the preparation, cleaning, and formatting of location schedule data for modeling in RMS’ RiskBrowser® and RiskLink software, and for conversion to the new ACORD standard format agreed earlier this year.

“Requests for this tool originated with our clients at Lloyd’s, but their interest is consistent with a broader trend toward use of the models for account underwriting,” said Matthew Grant of RMS. “One of the biggest challenges is the great variety of formats in which account data is provided. This tool is designed to reduce the effort required to standardize such data and prepare it for modeling, allowing companies to focus on the risk analysis and its implications for underwriting decisions.”