Analytics Insights Conferenceaonbenfieldevents.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/120710... · 2017-09-15 · Demystifying Solvency II and the Impact of the Eurozone Debt Crisis This session

Analytics InsightsConferenceReflections on Risk Management

Atlanta, Georgia | July 10 – 12, 2012

Agenda

1Aon Benfield

Analytics Insights Conference | July 10 - 12, 2012

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

5:30 PM Registration and Cocktail Reception M4 Level / Lobby Area

6:30 PM Dinner with Guest Speaker Grand Ballroom E Hurricane Andrew 20 Years Later: What Have We Learned? Tim Marshall, Haag Engineering

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

7:30 – 8:30 AM Continental Breakfast M2 Level / International Ballroom D Registration Lobby Area

General Session M2 Level / International Ballroom E & F

8:30 – 9:30 AM Industry Perspectives: Opportunities and Challenges Stephen Mildenhall, Aon Benfield

9:30 – 10:30 AM A.M. Best’s View on Risk Profile vs. Risk Management Capabilities Tom Mount, A.M. Best

10:30 – 10:45 AM Break

10:45 – 11:30 AM Model Blending Paul Budde, Aon Benfield

11:30 – 12:30 PM Lunch M2 Level / International Ballroom D

Breakout Sessions Breakouts: M2 Level ReMetrica Training: M3 Level

12:30 – 1:20 PM Breakout Session #1 or ReMetrica Workshop

1:20 – 1:30 PM Break


2:20 – 2:30 PM Break


3:20 PM Adjourn

3:30 – 4:20 PM Optional Professionalism Topics for Actuaries M2 Level / International Ballroom E & F

CNN Tour and Dinner

4:00 – 5:30 PM CNN Tour (45-minute tour in pre-assigned groups)* CNN Tower Lobby

4:45 – 6:00 PM Cocktail Reception South Tower / Atrium Terrace “AT” Level

6:00 PM Transportation Departs South Tower / Motor Lobby “M” Level

6:30 PM Dinner at Kevin Rathbun Steak

* Please refer to the back packet folder for tour assignments and departure times.

Agenda

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Thursday, July 12, 2012

7:30 – 8:30 AM Continental Breakfast M2 Level / International Ballroom D

General Session or ReMetrica Workshop M2 Level / International Ballroom E & F ReMetrica Training: M3 Level

8:30 – 9:15 AM Disastrous Weather Events: 2011-2012 Dr. Greg Forbes, The Weather Channel

9:15 – 10:30 AM AIR and RMS Discussion of Severe Weather Modeling Dan Dick, Aon Benfield Tim Doggett, AIR Matthew Nielsen, RMS

10:30 – 10:45 AM Break

10:45 – 11:30 AM 2011 Lessons Learned Moderator: Mike McClane, Aon Benfield Cat Risk Management: Dan Dick, Aon Benfield Rating Agency: Kelly Superczynski, Aon Benfield Reinsurance Pricing: Gary Landers, Aon Benfield

11:30 – 12:40 PM Lunch M2 Level / International Ballroom D

Breakout Sessions Breakouts: M2 Level ReMetrica Training: M3 Level


1:30 – 1:40 PM Break


2:30 – 2:40 PM Break


3:30 PM Adjourn

Breakouts

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Wednesday Breakout Session Descriptions

Actuarial

Insurance Risk Study Accurate and realistic underwriting risk parameterization is one of the most important steps in developing useful economic capital model results. Unfortunately, most companies do not have sufficient data to develop reliable estimates of volatility and correlations by line of business. This session will review the results from Aon Benfield’s Insurance Risk Study. The focus will be upon the influence of the underwriting cycle upon underwriting risk, the correlation relationships between lines of business, and how those correlations may change as volume grows.

Session Leader: Brian Alvers, Aon Benfield Analytics

Predictive Modeling With the introduction of credit data in the 1990’s, predictive modeling has become an area of growing interest to the P&C insurance industry. Applications of predictive modeling and statistical methods continue to grow within our industry. In this session we will present some of the applications we have seen and discuss services available at Aon Benfield.

Session Leader: Steve Fiete, Aon Benfield Analytics

Where is the Profit? Past, Present, and Future Sources of P&C Insurer Profitability Investment yields are plummeting, reserves releases are slowing, and natural catastrophe losses are as high as ever, so where is an insurance company to go for profitability? This presentation will look back at past sources of P&C insurer profitability before looking forward at what the future could bring. Has the attractiveness of long tailed casualty lines changed? What about the increase in catastrophe losses in property lines? How much does underwriting profit need to improve to make up for lost investment income? What impact has loss reserve uncertainty had on insurer valuations in the past and present? Was there a systematic adjustment in investor risk appetite for insurers following the 2008 financial crisis?

Session Leader: Adam Troyer and Ben Walker, Aon Benfield Analytics

Catastrophe Risk Management

AIR Model Calibration and Validation — the Role of Claims Data in Cat Models This session will cover both the value and the challenges of analyzing and using claims data for catastrophe model development and validation. Claims data can vary considerably, ranging from detailed claims folders to aggregated loss information. Expertise in the data cleansing and normalization process is essential to transform raw claims data into usable and defendable information for use in calibrating and validating catastrophe models.

Session Leader: Cagdas Kafali, AIR

Breakouts

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Impact Forecasting: Flood and Other Development Activities This session will review the new development efforts for the ELEMENTS model by Impact Forecasting. Various ELEMENTS research includes—planned updates to the Flood model, development work on the Impact Forecasting Industry Exposure data, and new software updates for allowing changes for model miss factors. One interesting development effort underway within the ELEMENTS platform is the ability to allow users to directly adjust frequency and severity values. For example, should actual historical data show that specific construction types (like masonry or wood frame) or age-of-construction classes (such as pre-1995) are either too high or too low; then these model miss factors can entered into a user available screen for adjustment to the ground up losses. Updates to the flood model include better handing of construction types including basements or structures on piles. Updates to the Industry Exposure data for Impact Forecasting will also be discussed (including data source assumptions and limitations).

Session Leader: Steve Jakubowski, Impact Forecasting LLC

Modeling Severe Convective Storm Severe Convective Storm (SCS) presents a unique challenge for most insurers as they struggle to control aggregations. The models are useful but leave many clients wanting more. How do you know when you have an aggregation problem? Are the models correctly determining AAL based on loss history? Is there a better way to manage exposure outside of a model? This session will present some alternative ways to evaluate and control SCS exposure.

Session Leaders: Liz Henderson and Paul Eaton, Aon Benfield Analytics

ERM & Capital Modeling

Model Risk and Practical Lessons for ERM In a complex and volatile world, the insurance industry is pressing to advance its capabilities in quantifying and managing risk. Furthermore, the Solvency II virus is spreading, as rating agencies are asking more in depth questions regarding risk quantification through their annual questionnaires, the NAIC is developing ORSA guidelines and third parties are expecting further disclosures regarding risk. In the face of this pressure, can an over-reliance upon models become its own risk? What are the limits to risk models and their usefulness? Are there practical lessons in past ERM failures regarding the appropriate balance between the qualitative and quantitative aspects of risk management? These questions and more will be explored in this session.

Session Leader: Parr Schoolman, Aon Benfield Analytics

Optimizing Business Strategies through Capital Modeling There has been an ongoing debate on the value of capital modeling. Supporters strongly defend the value that it brings to their organizations, while detractors say the benefits have not been measurable or demonstrated. This session will provide examples of how business strategies can be optimized via an economic capital model.

Session Leader: Gareth Haslip, Aon Benfield Analytics

Overview of ReMetrica This 50 minute session will introduce how P&C companies employ Dynamic Financial Analysis (DFA) models to make strategic decisions. It will include a live demonstration of Aon Benfield’s software for building DFA models, ReMetrica®. The session will show how tools like ReMetrica can be used to model all types of risks of a P&C company (investments, operations, underwriting, credit, etc.). Attendees who plan to participate in the ReMetrica workshops do not need to attend this overview.

Session Leader: Mike McClane, Aon Benfield Analytics

Breakouts

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Other Topics

Credit Risk of Property Catastrophe Reinsurers 2011 was one of the most active years on record for catastrophe losses, but reinsurance capital remained relatively flat for the year. While a few reinsurers experienced a significant loss of capital, most were able to absorb losses within earnings or a slight loss of capital. This session will highlight industry changes that have occurred over the past several years which have lead to a discernable decrease in the credit risk of property catastrophe reinsurers.

Session Leader: Pat Matthews, Aon Benfield Analytics

Demystifying Solvency II and the Impact of the Eurozone Debt Crisis This session will explore how the common-risk-based capital measurement processes of the rating agencies and regulators diverge and converge, with a focus on S&P, A.M. Best’s capital models and the standard formula under Pillar 1 of Solvency II. In addition, we’ll discuss how concerned insurers and reinsurers in the Americas should be with the sovereign debt issues plaguing the Eurozone and potential implications for insurance markets.

Session Leader: Kelly Superczynski and Gareth Haslip, Aon Benfield Analytics

P&C Industry Review and OutlookIn this session, we will present Ward Group’s highly anticipated annual review of the insurance industry. Highlights of the presentation will include an overview of operating performance within the insurance industry, key observations about industry trends, and a summary of notable changes. Particular emphasis will be placed evaluating staffing, strategy and operating practices of the most efficient insurance companies and their performance in the key operational areas of sales & marketing, underwriting, claims and information technology.

Session Leader: Jeffrey Rieder, Ward Group (an Aon business)

ReMetrica Workshop Training

ReMetrica 101: Introduction to ReMetrica (No Prerequisite)

Modeling premiums, losses, expenses and reinsurance, introduction to model design, and running simulations and modeled output.

Lead Instructor: Ariel Cohen, Aon Benfield Analytics Assistant Instructor: Xin Zhang, Aon Benfield Analytics

ReMetrica 301 Multi-year Modeling (Prerequisites: Minimum 3 – 6 months experience with ReMetrica software)

Accident, UW, calendar year modeling, prior years runoff, exposure growth, UW cycle and working with results, post simulation processing, and an introduction to CRAFT (Aon Benfield’s Curve Fitting Tool)

Lead Instructor: Tessa Moulton, Aon Benfield Analytics

Breakouts

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(New) ReMetrica 404: Advanced Catastrophe Loss Simulations (Prerequisites: Minimum 6 – 12 months experience with ReMetrica software)

This is a new workshop designed for users that need a more sophisticated approach to incorporating third party catastrophe modeling results (from RMS, AIR and EQE) into their capital model. The workshop will include the automation of importing catastrophe curves into ReMetrica, the blending of multiple catastrophe modeling results and scaling catastrophe curves by size of loss and frequency.

Lead Instructor: Ben Escoto, Aon Benfield Analytics

Thursday Morning ReMetrica Workshop Descriptions

ReMetrica 102: Model Design, Next Steps (Prerequisites: ReMetrica 101)

Introduction to multi-year modeling, payment patterns and run-off, importing catastrophe loss results, and catastrophe reinsurance.

Lead Instructor: Ariel Cohen, Aon Benfield AnalyticsAssistant Instructor: Xin Zhang, Aon Benfield Analytics

ReMetrica 302: Advanced Reinsurance & Credit Risk Modeling (Prerequisites: Minimum 3-6 months experience with ReMetrica software)

Demonstration of modeling complex reinsurance contracts and structures, including inuring reinsurance. Participants will model reinsurance structures and analyze results to determine the most suitable structures and features. Introduction to modeling reinsurer credit risk within ReMetrica.

Lead Instructor: Ben Escoto, Aon Benfield AnalyticsAssistant Instructor: Tessa Moulton, Aon Benfield Analytics

ReMetrica 403: Correlation Modeling & Dependencies (Prerequisites: Minimum 6-12 months experience with ReMetrica software)

Demonstration of modeling complex reinsurance contracts and structures, including inuring reinsurance. Participants will model reinsurance structures and analyze results to determine the most suitable structures and features. Introduction to modeling reinsurer credit risk within ReMetrica.

Lead Instructor: Adam Troyer, Aon Benfield Analytics

Breakouts

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Thursday Afternoon Breakout Session Descriptions

Actuarial

The Reinsurer Actuary: Recognizing Opportunities and Risks Reinsurer actuaries shape their employers’ view of the risks and opportunities of each program they analyze. How do they approach this task? What leads them to support an opportunity with enthusiasm, or to press for declination or prohibitive terms? In this session, a panel of reinsurer actuaries will share their approaches to this assessment: what has worked in the past, and where they see the process going in the future.

Session Leaders: Dan Greer, Aon Benfield Analytics; Glen Leibowitz, ACE; Chris Swan, Allied World Reinsurance Company

Catastrophe Risk Management

Atlantic Hurricane Forecast and Climatological Impacts: A Statistical Analysis This breakout will discuss research performed by Impact Forecasting to attempt to predict the number of Atlantic hurricanes for a given year based on two different approaches with different skill levels:

1. An Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) — a three step forecasting model 2. Multivariate regression applied to the results of Principal Component Analysis — PCA-based Multiple Linear

Regression model

Session Leader: Siamak Daneshvaran, Impact Forecasting LLC

Cat Score Cat Score is Aon Benfield’s individual risk underwriting tool. We will demonstrate the basic functionality of Cat Score, how to get the most value out of it within a broader underwriting system, and show different methods for accessing Cat Score. We will also present new tools being released in 2012 related to Cat Score.

Session Leader: Steve Fiete, Aon Benfield Analytics

Concentration Consternation Exposure concentrations can be a serious problem in areas exposed to hurricanes, earthquakes and convective storms. Insurers are often quick to non-renew policies when the risk of concentrations is exposed, but are non-renewals always the best solution? We will show how ratemaking can be an efficient and powerful tool in the management of catastrophe exposure.

Session Leader: Bob Fox, Aon Benfield Analytics

Custom View of Risk — in collaboration with Impact Forecasting Insurance companies have a unique view of their portfolios and are looking for new ways to differentiate their characteristics from the industry standards. Please join a discussion on selecting the right parameters to modify as well as how to support these adjustments.

Session Leader: Steve Jakubowski, Impact Forecasting LLC

Breakouts

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Property Catastrophe Technical Pricing As a large broker of catastrophe reinsurance, Aon Benfield has taken advantage of a unique opportunity to analytically study the drivers of reinsurance pricing. As a result our “technical pricing” based on analytics is grounded in the market realities of treaty pricing from the market. During this session, we will discuss the findings from our study and how they are applied to reinsurance cost allocation.

Session Leader: Adam Troyer, Aon Benfield Analytics

ERM & Capital Modeling

Risk Modeling Trends and ReMetrica Roadmap This 50 minute session examines recent trends in risk and capital modeling in the U.S. and worldwide. While the world is becoming more complex, risk and capital models need to remain sophisticated but relatively easy to use. Too often, organizations attempt to achieve multiple objectives with a single model, when they can be accomplished more accurately and efficiently with multiple models using a common set of assumptions and parameters. The session will also discuss the critical need for transparency in modeling and the importance of model validation. The session will conclude with an update on the latest enhancements to ReMetrica Professional and Enterprise Editions.

Session Leaders: Mike McClane and Gareth Haslip, Aon Benfield Analytics

Other Topics

Rating Agency Hot Topics This session will highlight current rating trends and “hot topics”, including a review of the latest criteria development, rating actions and capital adequacy trends. In addition, the session will cover how rating agency ERM expectations continue to grow and will examine trends in rating agency evaluation of a company’s ERM capabilities.

Session Leader: Pat Matthews and John Fugit, Aon Benfield Analytics

Death by Chartjunk? Graphical Excellence in Insurance Data visualization expert Edward Tufte defines graphical excellence as “consisting of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision and efficiency.” This presentation will seek to promote graphical excellence in the insurance world by describing the basic principles of data visualization as laid out by Tufte and other experts, and then providing examples, both good and bad, of displaying common insurance data. Lively discussion and strong opinions by the audience will be encouraged throughout the presentation!

Session Leader: Adam Troyer, Aon Benfield Analytics

Lloyd’s: Under the Microscope Lloyd’s has been underwriting insurance and reinsurance for hundreds of years but the Lloyd’s market has changed significantly in the past 15 years. This session is designed to provide insight into the Lloyd’s market and how it operates today.

Session Leader: Mike McClane, Aon Benfield Analytics

Breakouts

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Annual Statement Insights Come to this session for an introduction to the property and casualty NAIC annual statement, “the yellow book.” You should leave this session more comfortable in using, discussing, interpreting data from these regulatory financial statements. We will also highlight key analytics that provide insights into the nature and results of an insurer’s business.

Session Leader: Taylor Shipley, Booke Seminars (an Aon Benfield business)

ReMetrica Workshop Training

ReMetrica 201: Under the Hood (Prerequisites: Minimum 6 – 12 months experience with ReMetrica software)

Reviews methods used to drill into results (identifying the drivers and examining sensitivities) and trouble shooting modeling problems (e.g. simulation failure), running diagnostics. Also covers system topics such as distributed processing and version control.

Lead Instructor: Xin Zhang, Aon Benfield Analytics Assistant Instructor: Ben Walker, Aon Benfield Analytics

ReMetrica 303: Economic Capital Modeling (Prerequisites: Minimum 6 – 12 months experience with ReMetrica software)

Modeling capital allocations and calculating economic capital, case studies of capital allocation using different methods.

Lead Instructor: Ben Escoto, Aon Benfield Analytics Assistant Instructor: Ariel Cohen, Aon Benfield Analytics

ReMetrica 502: Automating and Customizing ReMetrica (Prerequisites: Minimum 12 months experience with ReMetrica software. Basic knowledge of Excel VBA is helpful.)

Interactive modeling session with advanced users of ReMetrica. Participants will be working with macros to enhance model design and scalability of models. Participants will also work with custom components to demonstrate how they can be used to further customize a model or enhance model reporting.

Lead Instructor: Tessa Moulton, Aon Benfield Analytics

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General Session Biographies

Tim MarshallPrincipal Engineer and Meteorologist, Haag Engineering

Tim Marshall is an American civil engineer and meteorologist concentrating on damage analysis, particularly that from wind and other weather phenomena. He is also a pioneering storm chaser and was editor of Storm Track magazine.

Tim has a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from Northern Illinois University. As a student, he surveyed tornado damage paths of the 1974 Super Outbreak. In 1980, he earned masters’ degrees in atmospheric science and civil engineering from Texas Tech University. Tim worked at the Institute for Disaster Research with his first official tornado survey in Grand Island, Nebraska in 1980; later that year, Hurricane Allen was his first hurricane survey.

In 1983, he was hired by the leading Texas firm Haag Engineering. At Haag, Marshall travels a great deal surveying storm damage across the United States. Since 1983, he has conducted more than 100 damage surveys of hailstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes. Some of the famous tornadoes he has surveyed included the F5’s at Jarrell, TX (1997), Bridge Creek, OK (1999), and Greensburg, KS (2007). Some of the famous hurricanes he has surveyed include Alicia in Texas (1983), Hugo in South Carolina (1989), Andrew in Florida (1992), Opal in Florida (1995), Katrina in Mississippi (2005), and Ike in Texas (2008). Tim became a Professional Engineer in 1989.

During the past 30 years, Tim has filmed more than 200 tornadoes and experienced 17 hurricanes including Ivan, Katrina and Ike. He has appeared on dozens of television programs including those on The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, National Geographic, and The History Channel. He was a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show twice.

Tim was selected by NOAA to serve on their Quick Response Team where he has surveyed tornado damage in Alabama and Georgia in 1994; Nashville, Tennessee in 1998; La Plata, Maryland in 2002; the April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak; and the 2011 Joplin tornado. He was also on the development team of the Fujita Scale Enhancement Project of tornado intensity. Tim has been a principal trainer in damage surveys for the National Weather Service. In 2006, he was elected to serve on the Severe Local Storms committee for the American Meteorological Society. In 2009, Tim was part of the government sponsored VORTEX2 experiment. His job was to deploy pods in the paths of tornadoes. He is also a member of numerous industry associations.

Stephen MildenhallChief Executive Officer, Aon Benfield Analytics

Stephen Mildenhall is CEO of Aon Benfield Analytics globally. Aon Benfield Analytics is the catastrophe modeling, actuarial, rating agency, risk and capital strategy, and value added services division of Aon Benfield. The analytics group comprises more than 450 professionals globally.

At Aon Benfield Analytics, Steve works with clients to help them understand and model their risk aggregations, and to design and implement optimal risk transfer and risk control mechanisms. He developed the Aon Benfield Insurance Risk Study, an annual analysis of global underwriting risk and correlations spanning multiple lines in 47 countries.

Steve joined Aon in 2003. Prior to Aon, Steve was Vice President of Actuarial Pricing for Kemper Insurance. Before that he was with CNA Re Facultative and CNA Personal Lines in Chicago.

Steve is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and the Risk Theory Society. He is a frequent speaker at professional meetings. He is the author of a number of published papers on actuarial science in the areas of risk theory, the intersection of insurance and finance, and applications of probability and statistics to reserving and ratemaking problems. Steve received his Masters and PhD degrees in Mathematics from the University of Chicago, and a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Warwick in England.



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Tom MountPrincipal Actuary, A.M. Best

Tom Mount is an Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Tom has been with the A.M. Best Company since 2001. As the property/casualty actuary at A.M. Best, Tom’s responsibilities include updating and maintaining the U.S. and Canadian P/C capital models, maintaining the universal (composite) capital model, analyzing reserve deficiencies, and assisting analysts with rating issues that impact BCAR. Tom was also responsible for constructing some of the newer questions in the A.M. Best supplemental rating questionnaire (SRQ) including the sections on enterprise risk management, terrorism, collateralized assets, natural catastrophes, non-traditional catastrophe mitigation, price monitoring, and rating triggers. Tom has also written or contributed to several special studies and rating methodologies, and has presented A.M. Best’s views and methodologies at numerous industry conferences.

Prior to joining A.M. Best in 2001, Tom worked for 12 years at the Atlantic Mutual Companies, and was responsible for a variety of assignments which eventually led to his position as reserving manager in the actuarial department. These responsibilities included producing reserve reviews for commercial and personal lines, rate indications for commercial group accounts, cash flow projections, dividend accruals, unbooked premium accruals, IRS discounting of reserves, and responding to rating agency questionnaires. Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Rutgers College.

Paul BuddeHead of Product Development, Aon Benfield Analytics

Paul Budde is a Senior Managing Director with Aon Benfield Analytics. He has worked in the reinsurance industry since 1994 – eight years with the Actuarial team, four years leading the Catastrophe Modeling unit, and most recently heading up the Product Development team. The last group is charged with developing software applications to support clients with risk management and to assist Analytics team members to provide superior analytical services to our customers.

Since 1995, Paul has also been a key member of the Paragon actuarial team that produces the rates and provides consulting to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.

Prior to joining the reinsurance industry, Paul taught in and served as chair of the mathematics department of Siena Heights College in Adrian, Michigan. Paul graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science degree and earned his doctorate in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley. He is an Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

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Dr. Greg ForbesSevere Weather Expert, The Weather Channel

Dr. Greg Forbes is The Weather Channel’s current severe weather expert and has a significant research background in the areas of severe storms and tornadoes.

Dr. Forbes earned a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology at Pennsylvania State University and studied tornadoes and severe thunderstorms at the University of Chicago, where he obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. He studied under famous tornado scientist Ted Fujita and his thesis was regarding the 1974 Super Outbreak where he and Fujita researched in areas hardest hit to help determine which thunderstorms can spawn the most intense tornadoes. Later, he was on the development team of the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which in 2007 replaced the original Fujita Scale from 1971 and still continues today with limited research.

Dr. Forbes served as field manager for the Project NIMROD, the first measurement program to study damaging thunderstorm winds from downbursts and microbursts. He then joined the faculty in the department of meteorology at Penn State in 1978, where he taught courses in weather analysis and forecasting, natural disasters, and other topics until joining The Weather Channel in June 1999. Dr. Forbes has had a variety of experiences outside of the classroom, including surveying the damage paths left by about 300 tornadoes and windstorms, including Hurricane Andrew and Typhoon Paka. As part of his research at Penn State, he was lead weather forecaster for numerous field research programs around the country.

In the 1999-2000 winter severe weather ‘off-season’ Dr. Forbes was the forecaster in Sweden for a NASA project to measure the North Polar ozone hole. He did collaborative research and consulting with the National Weather Service in the United States and with the national weather services in South Africa, Spain, and the Netherlands. He also spent three summers performing studies to improve lightning forecasting at the Kennedy Space Center.

Dr. Forbes co-authored and co-edited Natural and Technological Disasters and Images in Weather Forecasting.

Dan DickGlobal Head of Catastrophe Management, Aon Benfield Analytics

As Executive Managing Director, Dan Dick leads Aon Benfield’s Global Property Catastrophe Management practice group. He is responsible for the team’s strategy and assuring best-in-industry services. The group provides catastrophe modeling analysis, actuarial services, and reinsurance placement support to Aon Benfield clients.

Dan joined Aon Benfield in February 1998 after more than seven years with RLI, a nationwide insurer. Prior to joining RLI, Dan worked for the Country Companies Insurance Group. He holds undergraduate degrees in both computer science and mathematics from Monmouth College in Illinois. Dan has an Associate in Surplus Lines Insurance (ASLI) designation from the Insurance Institute of America. He is also on the Board of Directors for International Society of Catastrophe Managers.



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Tim Doggett, Ph.D.Principal Scientist, AIR

Dr. Tim Doggett is a Principal Scientist in AIR’s Research and Modeling Group. His specialty is in local scale meteorological analyses of extreme weather events such as hurricanes and tornadoes. He is responsible for managing the U.S. Hurricane, Mexico and Central America Tropical Cyclone, and the North America Winter Storm models, as well as providing meteorological expertise on the U.S. and Canada Severe Thunderstorm models.

Before joining AIR, Dr. Doggett was a professor of Atmospheric Science at Texas Tech University where he specialized in mesoscale dynamics, tropical meteorology and meteorological instrumentation. As a member of the Texas Tech Wind Science and Engineering Program, he supervised research examining the relationship between tornado outbreaks and El Niño, examining the boundary layer structure of landfalling hurricanes, forecasting severe straight-line thunderstorm winds, and identifying storm scale wind patterns from state-of-the-art enhanced Doppler radar analysis.

Prior to that, Dr. Doggett worked at the University Center of Atmospheric Research (UCAR) where he developed numerical weather prediction applications and forecasting techniques for high-resolution weather analysis. Dr. Doggett received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Atmospheric Science at Texas Tech University.

Matthew NielsenModel Product Management, RMS

Matthew Nielsen is a lead for the product management and business development activities for RMS’ U.S. and Canada climate hazard peril models and derivative products, which include severe convective storm, hurricane, winter storm, flood and wildfire. He has also served as lead contact for RMS in the submission to the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodologies, as well as several state departments of insurance.

Matt holds an M.S. degree in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State University and a B.A. degree in Physics from Ripon College in Wisconsin. He is a member of the American Meteorological Society (A.M.S.) and has authored and presented technical papers at several A.M.S. conferences. He has been with RMS since September of 2005.

Kelly SuperczynskiGlobal Head of Rating Agency Advisory, Aon Benfield Analytics

Kelly Superczynski is the Global Head of Aon Benfield’s Rating Agency Advisory practice group, which is responsible for delivering rating agency and accounting modeling, and consultative services for clients of Aon Benfield. Based in Paris from 2006 to 2008, Kelly assisted in building this group into a global practice by introducing the service to clients in the UK, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. During this time she developed an expertise in international accounting, regulatory and rating agency constraints and delivered critical consultative advice to clients, achieving tangible results.

Kelly joined the company in 2003 after six years with PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she specialized in the audits of domestic and international insurance companies. She is a Certified Public Accountant and graduate of Marquette University. Kelly is based in Aon Benfield’s Chicago office.

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Gary LandersExecutive Managing Director, Aon Benfield

Gary Landers is an Executive Managing Director and leads Aon Benfield’s Atlanta office. He joined Aon Benfield in 1993 after nine years with Sedgwick Payne (formerly Sullivan Payne). Gary began his career in 1977 with Travelers Commercial Lines in their underwriting unit handling commercial multi-line business. He later specialized in large property risks. In 1979, Gary joined Scor Re in the facultative property department and led the Dallas branch until 1984. He then joined Sullivan Payne.

Gary has experience in all property and casualty lines and is best known in the industry for his knowledge and expertise in the areas of major account property, technical risk property and E&S property and casualty. In 1998, Gary assumed the position of Branch Manager of Aon Benfield’s Atlanta Office and is now responsible for Aon Benfield in the Southeast region.

Michael G. McClaneHead of Market Analysis, Americas and ReMetrica, Americas, Aon Benfield Analytics

Michael McClane is Head of the Aon Benfield Market Analysis team in North America and Bermuda. He leads a team of financial and credit analysts responsible for analyzing the financial strength of reinsurers as well as identifying and monitoring trends in the reinsurance industry. Mike is also responsible for the client deployment of Aon Benfield’s proprietary DFA modeling tool, ReMetrica in North America. Since 2007, Mike has led technical demonstrations of the software and advised clients on implementation practices.

Mike has more than 25 years of experience in the property/casualty insurance industry. Since joining Aon Benfield in 1994, some of Mike’s focus areas included strategic and financial analysis for U.S. and international insurance and reinsurance companies, financial modeling, regulatory impact analysis as well as consulting on ERM and rating agency issues. From 2003 to 2009, Mike was also a dual employee of Aon Benfield‘s capital markets subsidiary. The capital market’s subsidiary offers customers advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital raising and general corporate strategy.

Mike earned a Masters in Business Administration degree with a concentration in finance from Widener University. He also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Delaware. Mike was awarded the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation in 1992 and his Associates in Reinsurance designation in 1996. In 2003, he obtained the FINRA Series 7 & 63 securities licenses. In 2011, Mike obtained the FINRA Series 79 license. Mike is based in Aon Benfield’s Philadelphia office.

Steve DrewsAssociate Director and Lead Meteorologist, Impact Forecasting LLC

Steve Drews is Associate Director and Lead Meteorologist for Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development center of excellence, Impact Forecasting. He plays a key role in natural catastrophe preparedness and planning for Aon’s clients and helps to produce natural catastrophe models that Aon Benfield utilizes in conjunction with RMS, AIR and EQE models. Steve has provided expert analysis and damage surveying for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005; the Utica, Illinois F3 tornado in April 2004; and the January tornado outbreak in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin in January 2008.

Steve worked for five years at WeatherData Services, Inc., starting as a meteorological assistant and was promoted to Manager of Forecast Operations in 2001. He forecasted and warned WeatherData’s clients during the May 3, 1999 tornado outbreak that flattened Moore, Oklahoma; 1998’s Hurricanes Georges and Mitch; and 2001’s Hurricane Michelle in addition to various winter storms and flood situations. Steve graduated with a bachelor’s degree in meteorology and minors in physics and mathematics from Northland College. He is based in Aon Benfield’s Chicago office.

Breakout Session Biographies

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Brian Alvers Head of Actuarial, Americas, Aon Benfield Analytics

As Senior Managing Director and Chief Actuary, Brian Alvers leads Aon Benfield’s Americas Actuarial team, consisting of actuaries in Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. He has been with Aon Benfield for 12 years and is responsible for providing clients with consultation on reinsurance placements including financial modeling and structure analysis. Brian advises clients on value-added products and services outside the scope of the reinsurance placement including actuarial services and research and development. During his career, he has worked across all major property and casualty lines of business, while specializing in professional liability.

Brian is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He is on the Academy‘s Medical Malpractice Subcommittee and a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society. He holds a Master’s degree in statistics and a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Florida. Brian is based in Aon Benfield’s Chicago office.

Ariel CohenActuarial, Aon Benfield Analytics

Ariel Cohen is currently a member of the Aon Benfield Analytics team, having started his reinsurance career in 2004 working for the team. As a member of the Aon Benfield Analytics team, he has analyzed client data to recommend optimal reinsurance structures. He has experience in the evaluation of D&O, General Liability, Commercial Auto, Marine, Offshore Energy, Commercial Property, Homeowners and other reinsurance programs. Prior to joining Aon, Ariel was an Adjunct Professor at Queens College of CUNY. Ariel also has a strong background in computer programming, and in algorithm analysis.

Ariel graduated from Queens College of CUNY in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. He is based in Aon Benfield’s New York office.

Siamak DaneshvaranHead of R&D, Impact Forecasting LLC

Siamak Daneshvaran is a Senior Managing Director and the Head of R&D at Impact Forecasting, the firm’s catastrophe model development center of excellence. His areas of expertise include catastrophe modeling and engineering risk and reliability analysis. Siamak has expertise in reinsurance and insurance modeling for specialized risks such as offshore oil platforms, as well as perils such as wind, flood and earthquake. He has been the architect behind many of the models currently in use at Impact Forecasting, including ELEMENTS. Siamak’s special interest is in modeling hazard and loss uncertainty and their effects on pricing insurance and reinsurance.

He completed his doctoral studies in wind engineering at the University of Western Ontario in Canada and received his master’s degree in structural and earthquake engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. Siamak is an adjunct professor of engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago; he is a Professional Engineer; and he holds A.Re. and A.R.M. designations from the Insurance Institute of America.


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Paul EatonCatastrophe Management, Aon Benfield Analytics

Paul Eaton is an Associate Director of Aon Benfield Analytics based in the Chicago office. The majority of his five years with Aon Benfield have focused on primary pricing of catastrophe risk. Paul leads the technical side of the Catastrophe Actuarial group in developing client customized approaches to risk-adjusted pricing, expected profitability analysis, and mitigation of concentration risk. This includes maintenance and further development of the Technical Pricing model for reinsurance allocation and extensive onsite consultation with clients on incorporating Aon Benfield’s tools. Paul dabbled in telephony consulting, home improvement sales, and even driving an ambulance prior to joining Aon Benfield.

Paul has a B.A. in Mathematics from Northwestern University and is an Associate with the Casualty Actuarial Society.

Benedict EscotoActuarial, Aon Benfield Analytics

Ben Escoto has worked for Aon Benfield for five years and is based in the Chicago office. At Aon Benfield he has worked on statistical modeling, catastrophe cost allocation, stochastic modeling using the ReMetrica software, and actuarial reinsurance analysis with a focus on medmal liability. Prior to joining Aon Benfield, Ben taught logic and philosophy at the Univerity of California, Irvine.

Ben has a B.A. in Mathematics and Philosophy from Rice University, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Stanford University.

Stephen FieteCatastrophe Management, Aon Benfield Analytics

Stephen Fiete leads Aon Benfield’s Predictive Modeling practice group within Catastrophe Actuarial. Predictive Modeling includes Aon Benfield’s catastrophe scoring service, rating plan analyses and loss distribution analysis.

Steve’s actuarial work has focused on predictive modeling since 1996 with the advent of credit and automated underwriting in personal lines. In 2005, he was a winner of the COTOR Round 3 Challenge — a predictive modeling contest sponsored by the Casualty Actuarial Society. He has worked in personal and commercial lines pricing for insurance companies beginning in 1992, and has been with Aon Benfield since February of 2006. Steve has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from West Virginia University, and a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is an Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society and is based in Aon Benfield’s Chicago office.


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Robert FoxCatastrophe Management, Aon Benfield Analytics

Bob Fox is a Director of Aon Benfield Analytics, with responsibility for conducting actuarial analyses to assist Aon Benfield’s clients with the management and pricing of their property catastrophe exposure. The majority of Bob’s work at Aon Benfield involves advising clients on appropriate allocation and recovery of catastrophe costs including expected loss, cost of reinsurance and net equity capital. Prior to joining Aon Benfield in 2005, he had more than 15 years of primary insurance company ratemaking experience.

Bob holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Wheaton College. He is an associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Bob is based in Aon Benfield’s Chicago office.

John Fugit Jr.Rating Agency Advisory, Aon Benfield Analytics

John Fugit is an Associate Director primarily responsible for credit and financial analysis of insurance organizations (both GAAP and statutory basis), consulting on rating agency issues, financial modeling, enterprise risk management, and cost/benefit analyses of client’s capital solutions. He also provides analytical support for Aon Benfield Securities. John has more than seven years of experience in the property & casualty reinsurance industry.

John graduated from Temple University’s School of Business and Management with a B.A. degree (summa cum laude) in both Finance and Risk Management. He was awarded the Associates in Reinsurance (ARe) designation in 2005, the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation in 2006 and the Associates in Risk Management (ARM) designation in 2007. John is currently a candidate for the CFA Institute’s Level III examination. He is based in Aon Benfield’s Philadelphia office.

Daniel GreerActuarial, Aon Benfield Analytics

Daniel Greer is a Managing Director at Aon Benfield Analytics. He joined Aon in June of 2000 from Swiss Re Investors. Working with Swiss Re’s “Falcon” group in Baltimore, Dan contributed to the development of their Dynamic Financial Analysis model, and used it to assist primary insurers in making reinsurance and investment decisions.

Prior to Swiss Re, Dan spent over three years as the Senior Actuary in the Specialty Insurance Group at USF&G, performing or coordinating all actuarial and systems needs for this department. These included ratemaking, reserving, financial projections & analysis, MGA oversight, reinsurance strategy and negotiation, and catastrophe management.

Dan graduated from The Cooper Union in 1987 with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering. Prior to his insurance career he designed and integrated automated test equipment for the radar warning receiver commonly installed on F-16 aircraft. His first actuarial position was in 1992 with The Fidelity & Deposit Company of Maryland, where his responsibilities included Commercial Property, GL, and Surety ratemaking. During his tenure at F&D, Dan automated the rate level indication process.

Dan became a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries in March of 1998, and a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society in July of 1998.


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Gareth HaslipHead of Risk & Capital Strategy, UK and EMEA, Aon Benfield Analytics

Gareth Haslip is head of Aon Benfield’s Risk & Capital Strategy team for UK & EMEA. He specializes in advising clients on capital and reinsurance optimization strategies analyzing the links between risk, volatility, capital, and value. In addition, he leads technical innovations in capital modeling and supports the development of ReMetrica, Aon Benfield’s dynamic financial analysis tool. His areas of expertise include stochastic modeling of insurance risk, optimal investment strategies and regulatory capital, with a particular focus on Solvency II. Gareth is a qualified actuary with more than 10 years industry experience and previously was an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs.

Liz HendersonCatastrophe Management, Aon Benfield Analytics

Liz Henderson is an Associate Director within the Catastrophe Risk Analysis group in Chicago. Her responsibilities include risk management, consulting and catastrophe modeling services for U.S. P&C clients specializing in personal lines property, small commercial property and workers’ compensation. Liz’s experiences with Aon Benfield have given her extensive knowledge of the insurance industry as well as the use and understanding of the various models licensed by Aon Benfield Analytics. She joined Aon Benfield in 2003 after graduating from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and philosophy.

Steven JakubowskiPresident, Impact Forecasting LLC

Steve Jakubowski is the global head of Impact Forecasting with offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia. He joined Impact Forecasting in January 2002. In this position, he has led the team to produce state of the art catastrophe modeling tools for hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, tornadoes, floods, and other natural perils.

Following Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita in 2005, Impact Forecasting greatly improved the Hurricane Storm Surge model by incorporating the use of the SLOSH model for more accurate flood modeling. In 2008, Impact Forecasting established the first national river flood model for the United States. These expert system tools help insurers and reinsurers understand their potential loss exposures and better manage risk portfolios. In 2009, Impact Forecasting saw significant growth in international models for European Flood and Earthquake. In 2010, the catastrophe modeling software platform has been upgraded for better performance and speed.

Steve began his career in catastrophe modeling in 1988 with the J. H. Wiggins Company, the firm that pioneered the field of catastrophe modeling in the mid-seventies. He gained experience working on a variety of scientific research projects, including the National Science Foundation. This experience was put into practice by building and maintaining scientific simulation software used for clients such as Lloyd’s of London, and General Star Management (Gen Re) to manage and improve catastrophe exposures. Steve is based in Aon Benfield’s Chicago office.


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Cagdas Kafali, Ph.D. Senior Engineer, AIR

Dr. Kafali is a Senior Engineer in AIR’s Research and Modeling group, working primarily on wind vulnerability of civil engineering systems. He has been involved in the development of many of AIR’s wind models, particularly the Asia-Pacific typhoon models and the European Extratropical Cyclone model.

Dr. Kafali participated in damage surveys and site visits after the 2002 Molise earthquake in Italy, the 2008 tornado in Atlanta, and hurricane Gustav in 2009. Recently, he has been working on assessing wind vulnerability of forestry risks as part of the European extratropical cyclone model, and of marine risks for the Japan typhoon model.

Dr. Kafali holds an M.S. in Structural Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Cornell University. In his dissertation he developed a probabilistic methodology for assessing performance of structural/nonstructural systems in a multi-hazard environment.

Glen Leibowitz ACE

Glen Leibowitz currently manages the Corporate Actuarial Pricing department at ACE. He is responsible for the Pricing and Ceded Re function from a theoretical and risk management perspective. Glen works with business units and the risk management group to help them understand and improve the way ACE models their business. He has developed pricing and monitoring processes for credit risk, risk free interest rates, and developed a methodology for tracking financial indices linked to frequency and severity trend indicators.

Prior to his current role, Glen priced reinsurance business for ACE Tempest Re and other companies for over 15 years. In that function he did stints as a Chief Pricing Actuary, and for a while specialized in Structured Pricing.

Glen has participated on several actuarial committees and is currently a member of the Committee on Health Care Issues.

Glen is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He received his BSc in Mathematics from Tufts University.


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Patrick B. MatthewsHead of Rating Agency Advisory, Americas, Aon Benfield Analytics

Patrick Matthews serves as Head of the Rating Agency Advisory for the Americas within Aon Benfield Analytics. His areas of focus include credit and financial analysis of insurance organizations (both GAAP and statutory basis), consulting on rating agency issues, financial modeling, and designing operational and capital based solutions. He also provides analytical support for the valuation of insurance companies.

Pat began his career in 1994, working for four years with a national property/casualty insurance company where his responsibilities included financial planning and analysis and serving as an investment analyst in the fixed income department. In 1998, Pat joined A.M. Best Company, where his responsibilities included rating a portfolio of property and casualty insurance companies, publishing industry research and participating in the rating committee process. In 2000, Pat assumed the position of Chief Financial Officer for a national options specialist firm where his duties included performing due diligence on potential mergers and acquisitions.

Pat earned a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in finance from Temple University. He also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in finance and economics from Drexel University. Pat is a CFA charterholder and a member of the Financial Analysts of Philadelphia as well as the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute.

Tessa MoultonRisk & Capital Strategy, UK and EMEA, Aon Benfield Analytics

Tessa Moulton is a member of Aon Benfield’s Risk & Capital Strategy team. Tessa joined Aon Benfield in 2002 and ran the training and support team for ReMetrica for several years, working closely with clients to develop capital models to satisfy numerous requirements. Tessa is currently the ReMetrica product manager and leads the design of new developments for ReMetrica’s modeling logic. Tessa has a Masters degree in Financial Mathematics from Kings College London.

Douglas OlsonCatastrophe Management, Aon Benfield Analytics

Doug Olson leads the Application Development team for Aon Benfield Analytics. With more than 20 years of experience in software development, Doug and his team develop analytical tools and applications that enhance standard cat modeling results and allow clients to better understand and manage their risks. Most notably, Doug conceptualized the design and led the team that developed the software code for ImpactOnDemand, Aon Benfield’s highly acclaimed risk mapping tool.

Prior to joining the company in 2005, Doug was the co-founder and product architect for Pocket Technologies, a software company that provides development solutions for embedded and hand-held devices.

Doug graduated from Riverland College, where he received an accounting degree with an emphasis on computers. A former Advisor Board Member of the Riverland College Computer Technology Professionals organization, Doug also holds licensure with the Minnesota State Board of Technical Colleges. He is based in Aon Benfield’s Minneapolis office.


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Jeffrey RiederWard Financial Group

Jeff Rieder is Partner at Ward Group, a management consulting and research firm specializing in the insurance industry, with overall leadership and responsibility for the firm. He has significant experience in the insurance industry with expertise in the property-casualty and life, health and annuity segments. Throughout his 18 year career, he has been involved with over 400 projects for numerous regional, national and international insurance companies, covering a diverse range of technology, performance and operational evaluations. Prior to joining Ward Group in 1998, Jeff spent five years at Great American Insurance Company working in the corporate finance departments.

Annually, Ward Group analyzes the financial performance of every property-casualty and life-health insurance company in the industry and identifies the top performers in each segment. This group of 50 companies is referred to as the Ward’s 50 Benchmark Group for the year. The underlying criteria include financial safety, consistency and performance. The Ward’s 50 Benchmark Group has achieved international recognition and is widely regarded as one of the insurance industry’s distinct achievements.

Jeff is a frequent speaker at insurance industry conferences on a diverse range of subjects including claims operations, organizational structure, human resources, information technology, distribution system analysis and expense benchmarking. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and International Business Certification from the University of Cincinnati. Jeff is a Certified Public Accountant and earned the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation.

Parr SchoolmanGlobal Head of Risk and Capital Strategy, Aon Benfield Analytics

Parr Schoolman is the global leader of Aon Benfield Analytics’ Global Risk and Capital Strategy team. He specializes in assisting clients in the cost/benefit analyses of their reinsurance placement, as well as with enterprise risk management issues surrounding economic capital and capital allocation modeling. He has more than 18 years of experience in the property & casualty insurance industry, with past positions in personal lines underwriting, commercial lines pricing, reinsurance treaty pricing, and consulting.

Parr holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and economics from Augustana College. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, with past participation on the Committee on the Theory of Risk, the Research Working Group on Elicitation of Risk Preferences, and the planning committee for the Enterprise Risk Management Symposium. Additionally, he is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst. Parr is based in Aon Benfield’s Chicago office.

Chris SwanPricing Actuary, Allied World Reinsurance Company

Chris Swan is a pricing actuary at Allied World Reinsurance Company, based in New York City. He participates in a wide variety of property and casualty business, and his primary focus is on Specialty accounts, including crop, marine, and offshore energy.

Prior to Allied World Re, he worked in Aon Benfield Analytics for seven years, starting in the Chicago office, and then moving to New York in 2007.

He earned his BA from the University of Chicago in 2004, and his FCAS designation in 2010.


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Adam TroyerActuarial, Aon Benfield Analytics

Adam Troyer is a Director of Aon Benfield Analytics, based in the Minneapolis office. At Aon Benfield, Adam provides clients with analytical support including the design and implementation of both traditional and non-traditional reinsurance solutions. Adam also supports clients through other value added services including the development of economic capital models, risk model parameterization, portfolio management, catastrophe aggregation, and capital allocation.

He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and received his bachelor’s degree in actuarial science from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN. Adam was also awarded the Associate in Reinsurance designation.

Ben WalkerActuarial, Aon Benfield Analytics

Ben Walker is a Director in Aon Benfield Analytics’ Actuarial team. His main focus is providing clients analytic guidance on reinsurance decisions including financial modeling and structure analysis. Ben also advises clients on value-added services such as economic capital modeling, competitor analysis, and research and development. He has prior experience as a consultant where he specialized in reserving, litigation support and enterprise risk management.

Ben is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in applied statistics from DePaul University and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in actuarial science and economics from the University of Wisconsin. Ben is based in Aon Benfield’s Chicago office.

Xin ZhangActuarial, Aon Benfield Analytics

An Associate Director on the actuarial team in New York, Xin Zhang specializes in Dynamic Financial Analysis (DFA) of insurance operations. Using data-driven models integrating multiple risk sources, he assists clients with their decision-making in reinsurance structuring, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), portfolio optimization, and many other strategic business initiatives. In addition, Xin is actively involved in the development of a number of Aon Benfield’s proprietary modeling tools, including ReMetrica.

Xin is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Applied & Engineering Physics from Cornell University.