Karen Clark & Company and TigerRisk Form Strategic Partnership

Boston, MA – July 20, 2009

Karen Clark & Company, independent experts in catastrophe risk, catastrophe models, and catastrophe risk management, today announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with TigerRisk Partners, the reinsurance broking and risk/capital management firm founded by industry leaders Jim Stanard and Rod Fox. Together, the companies will provide insurance company clients with an integrated approach to assessing, pricing and managing catastrophe risks to improve profitability.

"Before there were cat models, the industry relied entirely on underwriting. Today, there is an over reliance on models," said Karen Clark. "Neither extreme is optimal. There are ways to assess risk independent of the catastrophe models and to apply that knowledge to more effective use of the catastrophe models. We are excited to be partnering with a highly sophisticated intermediary like TigerRisk to help insurers improve the profitability of their portfolios without model bias."

According to Rod Fox, CEO of TigerRisk, the process starts with helping companies establish a consistent metric for evaluating cat risk. The partnership’s integrated approach includes a rigorous examination of how companies capture and collect data, dissect and validate cat model output, as well as the development and implementation of strategies to improve capital allocations and profitability.

"Today’s difficult marketplace requires a more sophisticated approach for addressing catastrophe risk. Just regurgitating probable losses is not enough. This innovative partnership will enable us to take catastrophe risk management to the next level and improve our clients’ return on capital," said Mr. Fox. "Karen Clark, who literally wrote the book on cat modeling, has a unique ability to discern, quantify and understand model outputs. TigerRisk, in turn, has the skills to integrate these more sophisticated risk profiles to better manage cat risks across diverse portfolios and provide insurers a competitive advantage."

TigerRisk founder Jim Stanard added: "The biggest cat risk management issue facing most companies is establishing management processes, scorecards, and a culture that allows both top management and front line underwriters to effectively use cat models in decision making."