'Critical' cat models at your fingertips.Holborn Corp.'s Eye in the Sky, a Web-based management information application, gives clients immediate access to graphic, multilayered maps that show possible exposures and instant analysis of related data.About the Project: Holborn, an independent reinsurance The contract made between an insurance company and a third party to protect the insurance company from losses. The contract provides for the third party to pay for the loss sustained by the insurance company when the company makes a payment on the original contract. brokerage firm formed in 1920, started developing Eye in the Sky as it researched what would happen if information from the search engine Google Earth A 3D mapping program from Google that covers the entire globe from satellite images. Requiring a download for Windows, Mac and Linux desktops, a street address can be searched, and the views can be zoomed down to the individual building all the way up to a satellite's view of the globe. was tied in with clients' data. A team of 20 Holborn technology professionals began work on the product in March 2006, and the company launched the current version between January and February, putting most of its clients on the program. Business Purpose: Map information appears in a series of layers that lets the client input information on what it deems important. A zoom feature lets them review an agent's territory down to the ZIP code zip code System of postal-zone codes (zip stands for “zone improvement plan”) introduced in the U.S. in 1963 to improve mail delivery and exploit electronic reading and sorting capabilities. , and identify natural hazards or secure locations. Colored dots on the maps represent different lines of business, and screen tools help the client pull up statistics of policy records contained in a given geographic area and the dollar value of the risk involved. The data can then be bookmarked for future reference. The system takes on average less than 30 seconds to run a given scenario, though most data sets will take somewhere between five to 10 seconds. Clients can subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day" subscribe, take buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; e-mail notification and know immediately if its policies have been affected by an event. "A picture is worth a thousand words A picture is worth a thousand words is a proverb that refers to the idea that complex stories can be told with just a single still image, or that an image may be more influential than a substantial amount of text. ," said Frank D. Pierson, senior vice president and chief technical officer, during the webinar presentation on the product said. "By looking at this a client can say, 'there's my risk, I can analyze it.'" Strategy: Holborn views the product as "critical" technology: "Without it we would have a hard time retaining clients and attracting new ones, and this would give us a competitive edge. It's a 'must have' rather than a 'nice to have,'" Pierson said. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The company's goal was to create something "simple and realistic" not to recreate commercial cat models, he said. Technological Innovation: Holborn upgraded Eye in the Sky with navigational tools that allow the client to assess new risks, look at a subset of data and pull up satellite images as it receives client suggestions. Input for Eye in the Sky was taken from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Noun 1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - an agency in the Department of Commerce that maps the oceans and conserves their living resources; predicts changes to the earth's environment; provides weather reports and forecasts floods and hurricanes and , the Center for Severe Weather Research, the U.S. Geological Survey The term geological survey can be used to describe both the conduct of a survey for geological purposes and an institution holding geological information. A geological survey , and the Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating emergency planning, preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery. The agency works closely with state and local governments by funding emergency programs and providing technical . Results: Holborn has seen improved client retention, new clients and cost reduction since launching Eye in the Sky. While cost reduction hasn't yet been measured in dollars, the company is not getting as many client requests for exposure information, Pierson said. |
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