FL Approves Hurricane Model

The Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology, an organization established by the Florida Legislature to establish reliable methods of projection for hurricane losses, has approved the AIR 2003 Atlantic Tropical Cyclone model from AIR Worldwide Corp. (Boston).

"Florida is the most rigorous in its evaluation of computer methodologies and most other states rely on the fact that the model has passed in Florida," in order to accept the model in their states, says David Lalonde, senior vice president at AIR. "Virtually all companies that want to use a computer hurricane loss model in Florida to set rates for insurance need to have the model approved by the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology. The standards that the commission sets are a step forward for the industry."

The commission assures that premiums for residential insurance are neither excessive-in terms of cost-nor inadequate for carriers. New features in the 2003 AIR model include the incorporation of a higher-resolution data set for land use/land cover, which enables more accurate estimation of wind speeds, new Florida building codes and general terrain data.

Greg MacSweeney is editorial director of InformationWeek Financial Services, whose brands include Wall Street & Technology, Bank Systems & Technology, Advanced Trading, and Insurance & Technology. View Full Bio