WTCI Expands Catastrophe Risk Modeling and Consulting Services

SAN FRANCISCO, May 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance Services, LLC (WTCI) has enhanced its Catastrophe Risk Modeling and Consulting Services. WTCI has added Risk Management Solutions catastrophe modeling software to the foundation of its risk modeling services and solutions. In addition, risk modeling professional Bruce Norris, a WTCI director, recently enhanced his personal consulting capabilities by earning the Certified Catastrophe Modeler (CCM) designation from the AIR Institute.

The AIR Institute's Certified Catastrophe Modeler Program is a comprehensive course created to meet the risk management and insurance industry's growing need for skilled catastrophe risk modelers and managers. Those who successfully complete the course and the final exam earn recognition and certification as a Certified Catastrophe Modeler (CCM).

AIR Worldwide founded the catastrophe modeling industry in 1987 and today models the risk from natural catastrophes and terrorism in more than 90 countries. More than 400 insurance, reinsurance, financial, corporate, and government clients rely on AIR software and services for catastrophe risk management, insurance-linked securities, detailed site-specific wind and seismic engineering analyses, and agricultural risk management. WTCI initially licensed AIR's modeling software on a worldwide basis in 2011. 

The addition of Risk Management Solutions' software gives WTCI the enhanced ability to evaluate results from both predictive models and to blend probable outcomes for a broader and more accurate analysis of catastrophe risk.

Reinsurers, the Insurance Services Office (ISO) and Homeland Security, use AIR extensively. Retail insurance carriers in the standard insurance marketplace most frequently use RMS, although blended results from both models are now being utilized with increasing frequency.

According to John Jennings, WTCI's President and CEO, "We must always invest in advancing technologies. This helps our members and their insureds make highly educated decisions and obtain the very best results from the marketplace. This is another important step in maintaining that standard."

WTCI offers comprehensive analysis of the following catastrophe perils:

• Earth Movement
• Windstorm / Storm Surge
• Winter Storms
• Severe Convection Storms - including thunderstorm, tornado and hail
• Terrorism

"Once used as a tool in the underwriting and evaluation process, catastrophe modeling now drives a large portion of the underwriters' results," states Norris. "From a brokerage perspective, catastrophe modeling is a major topic on almost every renewal. As a broker and consultant, WTCI utilizes CAT modeling for marketing, premium negotiation, and determining CAT sublimit adequacy. It is also used for designing program structure, analyzing coverage options and helping clients to make informed purchasing decisions."

Bruce Norris and his team are based in WTCI's San Francisco office and can be reached at:

Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance Services, LLC
135 Main Street, Suite 1130
San Francisco, CA 94105
Direct: 415.442.8504
Fax: 415.284.9954
Email: bnorris [at] wtcis.com.

About Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance Services, LLC:

WTCI is an independently operated and managed wholesale brokerage firm that collaborates directly with its retail insurance broker members to develop comprehensive placement strategies to better serve clients. The WTCI model increases transparency between retail brokers and specialty insurance markets, reduces frictional costs, and develops exclusive programs and binding authority facilities for its retail owner members. WTCI offices are located in San Francisco, New York and Atlanta.

For more information visit: http://www.wholesaletradingins.com/

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SOURCE Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance Services, LLC