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EQECAT Wraps Up First In Series Of 2005 Regional Catastrophe Management Client-Meetings

Opening Meeting In Dublin Focused On Strategies, Solutions To Help Improve Business Results

Effects Of Annual Deductibles On Hurricane Model Explored

Additional Meetings Set For New York, Bermuda

Dublin, Ireland, May 11, 2005

EQECAT, Inc., the authority on extreme-risk modeling, has wrapped up the first in a series of regional 2005 Catastrophe Management client-meetings, here.

“We are extremely pleased with the participation of our clients in this conference,” said Rick Clinton, president of EQECAT. “This series of meetings provided answers and solutions for insurers and reinsurers, so that their customers will be able to effectively prepare themselves for any extreme catastrophic events.”

The theme at the European conference, in Dublin, was managing extreme risk in an uncertain world, and the innovative strategies, and solutions available to help insurers improve business results.

During the conference, EQECAT executives discussed the effect of annual deductibles on the hurricane model. With 2004 highlighting the impact of multiple deductibles on home insurer policies, EQECAT explained how the annual deductibles would help the insurers and reinsurers using the EQECAT U.S. Hurricane model.

Other presentations and discussions at the European client meeting were focused on:

• EQECAT’s new Germany and Austria flood model;

• a review of catastrophes in 2004, and EQECAT’s findings;

• effectively modeling multiple annual events with EQECAT’s suite of products and services;

• extreme events and the impact on the insurance industry;

• review of EQECAT’s new U.S. earthquake and hurricane models;

• advances in EQECAT’s integrated solution for catastrophe modeling (XML Implementation); and,

• improving business performance though portfolio optimization.

European Meeting Included Wide-Range Of Guest Speakers

The European client-meeting included a wide range of guest speakers including: David Lightfoot, of INSTRAT, the actuarial and catastrophe modeling division of Guy Carpenter; Patrick Kurks and Jeff Cole, of Metatomix, the leader in semantic web-based technology for enterprise resource interoperability (ERI) solutions; professor Andras Bardossy, of the University of Stuttgart; Dr. Annegret Thieken, of GEO Forschungszentrum Potsdam, the national research center for geosciences in Germany; Ian Branagan and Peter Montpellier, of Renaissance Re, Dublin, a leading global provider of reinsurance and insurance; professor Bill McGuire, of Benfield Hazard Research Center, University College London, Europe's leading multidisciplinary academic hazard research center; and, James Orr and James Boyce, of Lloyd’s Loss Modelling.

Additional Regional Client-Meetings Scheduled In New York and Bermuda

Additional regional client-meetings are scheduled for New York City, May 18 - May 19, and Bermuda, June 22 - June 23.  

“Last year proved to be a difficult year for the insurance industry,” Mr. Clinton said. “EQECAT has long been known for its leading, innovative modeling solutions, and with the 2005 hurricane and typhoon season quickly approaching, we want to ensure that insurers and reinsurers are well educated about the most innovative risk modeling technologies available, to ensure they are properly equipped for effectively analyzing single and multiple catastrophic events,” he said.

For additional information about agendas for each regional summit please visit www.eqecat.com.

EQECAT Serves Global Clients Through Extensive WorldCATenterprise™

Through its user-friendly, extreme-risk modeling software, WorldCATenterprise™, EQECAT enables clients to assess and manage potential damage and loss from wind, earthquakes, flood, wildfire, and terrorism, among other perils. WorldCATenterprise includes 167 natural hazard software models for 88 countries spanning six continents.

EQECAT, and its parent ABS Consulting, serve the global property and casualty insurance industry, major multinational corporations and financial institutions. EQECAT is known as the technical leader and innovator in the development of analysis tools and methodologies to quantify insurers and major corporations’ exposure to natural and man-made catastrophic risk.

EQECAT was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Oakland, California. For additional information, please log on to www.absconsulting.com, or www.EQECAT.com.

For more information, contact:

Thomas Larsen
EQECAT, Inc.
1-510-817-3100 | tlarsen@absconsulting.com

Eric R. Samansky
The Samansky Group
1-516-319-0858 | eric@samanskygroup.com