New RMS Initiative to Transform Data Preparation Processes in the London Market

London, U.K. – October 31, 2007 – Risk Management Solutions, the world’s leading provider of products and services for catastrophe risk management, has launched a new initiative among six of Lloyd’s largest managing agents that will transform the way exposure data is used in the London Market. The RMS® London Market Data Community gives members access to top-quality data that has been standardized for use among the members. Data is prepared once by the highly successful RMS Data Cleansing team, and then made available to the community, saving subscribers the time and money involved in preparing the information individually.

Management, investors, Lloyd’s, and rating agencies are placing increasing importance on data quality when assessing insurers and reinsurers. Gaining the commitment of Amlin, Beazley, Brit, Catlin, Hiscox, and Kiln for the London Market Data Community reflects the surge in demand for high-quality data for accumulation management and for use in catastrophe risk models, and the need for efficient access to this information.

“Exposure data can be highly complex as it varies by source and format, and it needs to be standardized and cleansed before being used for underwriting purposes,” commented Jason Futers, vice president of the RMS London market practice. “But processes can be extremely inefficient, particularly in subscription markets like London and Bermuda because the same submission is often cleansed by numerous insurers during placement. Poor data increases internal costs and the volatility of catastrophe model output.”

He added: “Research suggests that up to 75% of an analyst’s time could be saved by using the pre-formatted data. The London Market Data Community has been launched to ensure members have efficient access to the best quality data.”

Data for the London Market Data Community is prepared by a multi-disciplinary team at RMSI, RMS’ fully-owned subsidiary in India where over 90 staff are dedicated to cleansing, geocoding, reviewing and automating the information. The Data Cleansing Service has been operating for two years and is recognized as an industry leader for exposure data preparation.  The service currently has 17 subscribing clients, of which five visited the RMSI offices in India to see the service in operation and to discuss next steps for the RMS data quality initiatives, further highlighting their commitment to the community.

Members will soon have access to an innovative self-service portal, allowing them to submit exposure data for cleansing, track progress in real time, communicate with RMSI and receive an audit trail for each account processed.

“The London Market Data Community represents a huge step forward in the way all members access and use exposure data. Across the market, there were considerable inefficiencies in the way we each formatted data to our own standards, so by grouping together we can all reap the benefits,” commented Dane Douetil, CEO of Brit Insurance.

The London Market Data Community will soon be open to all subscribers of the Data Cleansing Service to take advantage of the benefits of pooled data and a common processing standard. “The idea of data sharing has been discussed within the industry for years,” said Mr. Futers. “With the depth of knowledge and expertise at RMSI, and the success of the service so far, the London Market Data Community could well become the new market standard for exposure data preparation.”