In August 2020, AAIS introduced its new Risk Awareness Service (RAS), a digital resource center tracking catastrophic risk and providing risk information in real time. At the inaugural AAIS Pulse Newsmagazine, AAIS VP Data and Actuarial Services Phil LeGrone described the Risk Awareness Service, its goals, and the value it can provide insurance carriers and the customers they serve. He also welcomed Jeff Waters, a Senior Product Manager at Risk Management Solutions (RMS), the leading modeling firms, to add his perspective on emerging modeling approaches and tools.

AAIS began development of the Risk Awareness Service in July 2019, with the goal of creating a central resource hub for catastrophic and known risks like hurricanes and wildfires. RAS is designed to provide the following information services for Members:

• Background of risk information, including scientific, historical, socioeconomic and industry perspective;
• Modeling and risk management resources
• Real-time modeling of risks that change quickly, like developing storms and quickly changing perils

Education/Information

RAS’s educational center provides an in-depth exploration of risks, including an overview of a risk, the hazards of it, lessons from the past, deductibles, mitigation credit, residual market, reinsurance, and conclusion. With more than 40 pages of information and more than 70 external links, the Risk Awareness Service provides an end-to-end information source for insurers and regulators.

Live Event Tracker

RAS’s Live Event Tracker looks at five years of historic storm data, color-coded by category. By applying different layers, users can view industry exposure values, specific AAIS Rating Zones, variation in total insured value from lowest to highest in that area (powered by RMS using their industry exposure database), base loss costs, watches and warnings, and a measuring tool that shows the distance from a particular event to a notable area where exposures may occur. There are also numerous base maps to choose from.

AAIS’s RAS has become an extraordinary tool.

Mr. Waters shed light on the ways high quality CAT modeling firms like RMS can support organizations like AAIS in streamlining their services. As a CAT Modeling Firm, RMS provides services complementary to the objectives of the Risk Awareness Service. For example, RMS has 24/7 live event monitoring for natural catastrophes, can identify where a storm is tracked, identifies potential or incurred losses from a hazard or damage perspective, and has engineering experts on the ground following an event to survey damage, among many other services.

The AAIS Risk Awareness Service is a groundbreaking service that will provide extensive education to insurers. Whether learning about hurricanes, or the multitude of other risks soon to come, tracking risks is an essential tool in the insurance industry that wouldn’t be possible without CAT Modeling Firms like RMS.

To watch the entirety of this webinar and to view a live Q&A session with Mr. LeGrone and Mr. Waters, click here. To learn more about the AAIS Risk Awareness Service, Click here.