Cat modelling firm launches public sector consulting service

Catastrophe modelling firm AIR Worldwide has announced a new consulting service for the public sector.

Public Risk Services is a new consulting service for “public sector institutions and stakeholders charged with managing catastrophe risk,” the Boston-based firm announced Tuesday.

According to AIR, the new service segment will serve three roles:

• “Ambassadorial — a dedicated liaison to stakeholders in the public sector, keeping them abreast of AIR’s research, software, and consulting activities
• Educational — focus on educating public institutions on the role and value of catastrophe models, including AIR products and services
• Center of Excellence — a knowledge nexus regarding the role, structure, and risk-sharing frameworks of public risk pools”

John W. Rollins, a vice president at AIR, will lead the new group.

“Many public groups, including insurance commissioners, wind and earthquake pools, model evaluation commissions, federal insurance programs, prudential and solvency regulators, and quasi-governmental organizations, are increasingly concerned with the micro and macro impact of disasters,” Rollins noted in the announcement.

“Some are increasingly bearing the risk on behalf of taxpayers,” he added. “By offering a dedicated service to these important organizations, we’re fully committed to better serving the public sector as it manages catastrophe risk.”

Rollins has more than 20 years of experience as a property and casualty actuary in personal and commercial lines companies and consulting firms. In a previous role, he developed and led wind loss analysis and mitigation projects for the Mississippi Insurance Commissiong and the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

“Rollins has also provided leadership during the process for the acceptance of AIR’s new models by the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology and testified before several state legislatures regarding catastrophe modeling issues of interest to the public,” the firm noted, adding that Rollins also serves on the Board of Governors of the world’s largest public insurance pool, Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott.