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The Full Story on Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

Just 16 days separated U.S. landfall for Harvey and Irma, representing two very different events: Harvey was dominated by unprecedented rainfall, and after Irma initially ravaged the Leeward Islands as a Cat 5, the impact on the U.S. was thankfully not as dramatic as first feared.

The RMS Event Response Team provided regular updates throughout both events. Stochastic event selections can be found on RMS Owl, and Exposure Manager clients benefit from access to new selections as they become available. The reconnaissance process is well under way, with RMS teams reporting from key locations for both events and a vast array of data from satellites, drones, gauges, and anemometer readings. Read the RMS blog to discover the scale of the RMS reconnaissance effort. Initial insured loss estimate statements for Harvey and Irma are also available in the RMS Newsroom.

Bring Model Science Directly Into Your Underwriting Workflow With the RMS Location Intelligence API

RMS is launching a new cloud-based API offering easy integration into any in-house or commercial underwriting system, to deliver model science directly into the underwriting process. The RMS Location Intelligence API offers real-time location-level hazard, risk, and loss metrics that support a variety of applications and workflows, including automated quoting and pricing, along with point-of-underwriting assessments.

The new API, along with industry-leading RMS models for more than 100 countries, helps build a better book of business to unlock opportunities within your existing book, expand into new territories with confidence, and ensure a consistent view of risk from underwriting through reinsurance purchase. Contact your RMS account representative for more information.

Reports From Rendez-Vous

Monte Carlo again played host to one of the most important conferences for the (re)insurance industry at Rendez-Vous de Septembre (September 9-14) at the Hotel Fairmont. RMS held a session at the conference with Robert Muir-Wood, chief research officer at RMS, and Matthew Eagle, head of international analytics at Guy Carpenter. They discussed how (re)insurers can improve business profitability with comprehensive flood business strategies using inland flood high-definition models for Europe. Furthering the discussion from the special session, Robert has looked at the challenges of modeling flood in a new RMS blog.

Moving Forward With Flood Risk

Robert Muir-Wood, chief research officer at RMS, wrote a blog back in 2014 simply titled, Is Water the New Wind?; it questioned whether hurricane water losses were more significant and if they deserved more attention than hurricane wind losses. Following a recent RMS press release suggesting that wind losses from Hurricane Harvey might be around 10 percent or less of the total insured losses, Robert suggests that modeling developments must be embraced by the (re)insurance industry to get a grip on one of the most complex perils.

RMS is set to introduce new inland flood models for the U.S. at a pivotal time as the National Flood Insurance Program comes under greater financial pressure and scrutiny, as underlined after Harvey in an RMS blog from Pete Dailey, vice president of model development at RMS. With high-definition modeling available for the U.S. and Europe, Robert Muir-Wood, chief research officer at RMS, also looks at the key challenges that flood models have to address in an RMS blog, and he suggests how models can change the way the industry approaches flood risk.

RMS Drives the Insurance Industry's Digital Transformation With Microsoft Azure

RMS has selected Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud hosting partner to deliver a next-generation approach to exposure and risk management. RMS clients can now access an expansive suite of RMS(one)^® modeling and analytical tools in full confidence that they are hosted on the world's most-trusted cloud service, used by 90 percent of Fortune 500 firms.

In a recent press release, Jonathan Silverman, director – Worldwide Insurance Industry Solutions, Microsoft, said, "RMS knows insurance risk and its related data analytics, and Microsoft knows how to provide elastic compute power in the cloud. That combination now powers RMS(one), providing insurance companies with a greater ability to more accurately model and understand their risks." Read the full announcement in the RMS Newsroom.

Explore the Latest Edition of Exposure Magazine

From Hurricane Harvey to increasing efficiency in the industry, from building opportunities with U.S. flood and with agricultural risk and resilience through to the potential of quantum computing, the latest edition of Exposure magazine is essential reading for risk professionals.

Exposure is published twice a year as a print magazine, with all articles from the current and previous editions now available on a dedicated website at rms.com/exposure. Exposure covers a diverse range of topics, such as technology, digital disruption, innovations in modeling science, and exploring new regions and perils.

Contributors to Exposure include senior decision-makers from across the risk community, digital innovators, scientists, thought leaders, and pioneers. In this edition, we interview Albert Benchimol, CEO of AXIS Capital, who discusses how increasing efficiency, lowering costs, and delivering growing value to customers is central to his business. We also welcome the contributions of a wide range of voices from Aviva, Barbican, Ed, 100 Resilient Cities, PERILS AG, SCOR, Swiss Re, Tarian, Tokio Marine Kiln, XL Catlin, and more. Explore Exposure magazine now.

Exceedance 2018: Save the Date

RMS will be staging Exceedance 2018, our annual client conference, in Miami. We hope you will join us in the heart of downtown Miami at the Intercontinental Hotel on Monday, May 14, through Wednesday, May 16. Look out for announcements in the coming months, and visit the Exceedance site for the latest news.

Cyber: The Vulnerabilities of Open-Source Software

Equifax announced on September 8 that approximately 143 million U.S. consumers had potentially been affected by a data hack, with criminals accessing birth dates, addresses, and driver's license numbers, as well as 209,000 credit card numbers. In a new RMS blog, Tom Harvey, cyber product manager for RMS, shows how criminals may have exploited an open-source website application vulnerability and explores whether open-source software could be a potential systemic threat.

Building a More Competitive Florida Flood Insurance Market

In May this year, RMS gained certification by the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology (FCHLPM) for Version 17.0 RMS North Atlantic Hurricane Models to be used in residential rate filings with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Matthew Nielsen, senior director for regulatory affairs at RMS, looks at why model standards will potentially help private insurers to take advantage of opportunities in the Florida flood market in this RMS blog.

Join RMS at Global Industry Events

Join RMS thought leaders from across the business who are participating in industry events during the next couple of months:

PCI Annual Meeting 2017
October 15-17, Sheraton Grand Hotel, Chicago

Entitled "The Future of Insurance," this is a highly regarded annual event for property casualty executives to network, learn, and get ahead of trends affecting the industry. Please email [email protected] to schedule a meeting with us during the event.

14th Singapore International Reinsurance Conference (SIRC)
October 31-November 2, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

SIRC gives insurance professionals a forum to meet and discuss issues of the day while taking stock of developments in the reinsurance market, as well as starting preparations for the following year's treaty renewals. RMS will be participating as a silver sponsor. If you would like to meet with us during the conference, please email [email protected] or visit our onsite exhibition area.

FIDES 2017
November 12-15, Crown Plaza Hotel, San Salvador, El Salvador

Victor Roldan, regional director of Caribbean and Latin America at RMS, will participate in a panel discussing, The Future of Catastrophe Modeling in Latin America. If you would like to meet with us during the conference, please email us at [email protected] or visit our onsite booth in the FIDES Expo.

Go to rms.com for a full list of events, tradeshows and conferences, and speaking engagements.