U.S. patent application number 14/170226 was filed with the patent office on 2014-05-29 for systems and methods for determining concentrations of exposure.
This patent application is currently assigned to RISK MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is RISK MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.. Invention is credited to Han Chen, Andrew Coburn, Weimin Dong.
Application Number | 20140149151 14/170226 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34919982 |
Filed Date | 2014-05-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140149151 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chen; Han ; et al. |
May 29, 2014 |
Systems and Methods for Determining Concentrations of Exposure
Abstract
A system and method are provided for identifying exposure
concentrations. The process of determining exposure concentrations
may include organizing exposure data, defining parameters,
determining elevated exposure concentrations, and providing output
results. The exposure data may relate to at least geographical
locations, policies, accounts, portfolios, treaties, and other
exposure data. The parameters may be defined to include at least an
area of analysis, a region of interest, a threshold amount, results
parameters, and other parameters. The exposure concentration may
include at least defining and locating exposure locations using
various techniques. The results may be presented using textual,
graphical, or other display schemes. The output may be configured
to convey information such as positional accuracy of an identified
area, exposure accumulation in a defined area, and other
information.
Inventors: |
Chen; Han; (San Jose,
CA) ; Dong; Weimin; (Palo Alto, CA) ; Coburn;
Andrew; (Oakland, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
RISK MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, INC. |
NEWARK |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
RISK MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS,
INC.
NEWARK
CA
|
Family ID: |
34919982 |
Appl. No.: |
14/170226 |
Filed: |
January 31, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13769312 |
Feb 16, 2013 |
8650053 |
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14170226 |
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12764045 |
Apr 20, 2010 |
8380545 |
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13769312 |
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|
10797143 |
Mar 11, 2004 |
7707050 |
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12764045 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/4 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 40/08 20130101;
G06Q 20/10 20130101; G16H 50/30 20180101; G06Q 10/0635
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/4 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 40/08 20120101
G06Q040/08 |
Claims
1. An exposure analyzing system, comprising: one or more
processors; and a memory operatively coupled to the one or more
processors, the memory for storing instructions which, when
executed by the one or more processors, causes the one or more
processors to define a region of interest into a grid having a
plurality of grid cells, wherein at least one of the plurality of
grid cells includes at least one exposure location, to position an
area of analysis throughout the region of interest, to determine
which of the plurality of grid cells are located entirely in the
area of analysis, located entirely out of the area of analysis, or
located partially in the area of analysis, to determine if one or
more exposure locations are located in the area of analysis, and a
net exposure for the one or more exposure locations, and to
determine a total exposure for the region of interest using the
determined net exposure for the one or more exposure locations.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a database.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the database comprises a mapping
table.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the mapping table is at least one
of a location mapping table, a policy mapping table, or an account
mapping table.
5. The system of claim 2, wherein the database includes financial
perspective data.
6. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one of a
specific area analyzer module, a damage footprint analyzer module,
or a building level analyzer.
7. The system of claim 1, further comprising an input/output device
for generating output in a map format.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory for storing
instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors,
further causes the one or more processors to link the determined
total exposure to at least one of one or more portfolios, one or
more accounts, one or more policies or one or more locations.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory for storing
instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors,
further causes the one or more processors to determine which of the
positions of the area of analysis exceed a threshold level of
financial exposure.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory for storing
instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors,
further causes the one or more processors to define a boundary of
the area of analysis.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the boundary of the area of
analysis is one of a circle, a square, or a rectangle.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one exposure
location includes potential levels of liability.
13. A non-transitory computer storage medium encoding computer
executable instructions that when executed by a processor perform a
method for determining financial exposure, the method comprising:
defining a region of interest into a grid having a plurality of
grid cells, wherein at least one of the plurality of grid cells
includes at least one exposure location; positioning an area of
analysis throughout the region of interest; determining which of
the plurality of grid cells are located entirely in the area of
analysis, located entirely out of the area of analysis, or located
partially in the area of analysis; determining if one or more
exposure locations are located in the area of analysis, and a net
exposure for the one or more exposure locations; and determining a
total exposure for the region of interest using the determined net
exposure for the one or more exposure locations.
14. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 13, wherein
the method further comprises that each position of the area of
analysis in the region of interest includes a respective plurality
of grid cells.
15. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 13, wherein
the method further comprises linking the determined total exposure
to at least one of one or more portfolios, one or more accounts,
one or more policies, or one or more locations.
16. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 13, wherein
the method further comprises storing the determined total exposure
for the region of interest in a database.
17. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 13, wherein
the method further comprises determining which of the positions of
the area of analysis exceed a threshold level of financial
exposure.
18. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 17, wherein
the method further comprises outputting only areas of analysis that
exceed the threshold level of financial exposure.
19. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 13, wherein
the method further comprises defining a boundary of the area of
analysis.
20. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 19, wherein
the method further comprises that the boundary of the area of
analysis is one of a circle, a square, or a rectangle.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/769,312 filed Feb. 16, 2013, now U.S. Pat.
No. 8,650,053, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 12/764,045 filed Apr. 20, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No.
8,380,545, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 10/797,143 filed Mar. 11, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,707,050,
entitled "Systems And Methods For Determining Concentrations Of
Exposure," the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein
by reference for all purposes.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates generally to systems and methods for
identifying concentrations of high liability exposures.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] It is known that models may be used in order to assess the
potential liabilities of catastrophic events. These events may be
either man-made or natural occurring disasters such as earthquakes,
tornados, hurricanes, terrorist attacks and other disasters.
[0004] Certain industries, such as insurance companies, may find
information provided by these models useful. These models may
generate large amounts of data that may facilitate the
determination of potential liabilities (i.e., exposure) when
catastrophic events occur. In order to fully appreciate the
information provided by these models, the data may be further
processed and analyzed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention relates to systems and methods for
identifying concentrations of exposure. Exposure may be defined as
the potential financial liability that may be incurred by a party
or parties.
[0006] According to one aspect of the invention, systems for
determining concentrations of exposure is provided. These systems,
sometimes referred to as "exposure concentration analyzer systems,"
may include a database, an input/output device, and various
modules. These modules may include, for example, a database manager
module, an accumulation analysis module, a parameter builder module
or other modules.
[0007] According to another aspect of the invention, the database
may be used to store exposure data. The stored exposure data may
include, for example, exposure data relating to geographical
locations, policies, accounts, portfolios, treaties, and other
information that may be used in analyzing and/or processing
exposure data.
[0008] According to another aspect of the invention, the database
may include exposure data relating to property loss, workmen's
compensation and/or both. The property loss data may be related to
specific perils such as earthquakes, windstorms, tornado/hail,
fire, terrorism, and other natural or manmade perils.
[0009] According to another aspect of the invention, mapping tables
may be stored in the database. The mapping tables may be an account
mapping table, a location mapping table, a policy mapping table,
and/or other tables that may be used for analyzing and/or
processing exposure data.
[0010] According to another aspect of the invention, the database
may store one or more financial perspectives. Financial
perspectives may define the structure of financial liabilities.
That is, it may define, for example, which parties are financially
responsible for what portion of a loss or for what type of
loss.
[0011] According to another aspect of the invention, exposure data
stored in the database may be linked to data for one or more
portfolios, one or more accounts, one or more policies, and/or one
or more locations.
[0012] According to another aspect of the invention, the database
manager module is used to retrieve, organize and/or store exposure
data in the database. The exposure data may include, for example,
exposure data relating to geographic locations, mapping tables,
financial perspectives, accounts, locational data, policies, and
other data.
[0013] According to another aspect of the invention, the parameter
builder module may be used to define a region of interest. The
region of interest is a geographical area that may be analyzed in
order to determine a concentration of exposure location or
area.
[0014] According to another aspect of the invention, the parameter
builder module may be used to define whether the exposure
concentrations are related to property loss, workmen's compensation
loss or both.
[0015] According to another aspect of the invention, the parameter
builder module may be used to define areas of analysis and grid
width. The areas of analysis are the geographical areas or
locations within the region of interest that are individually
analyzed to determine whether one or more of the areas have high
(or the highest) exposure concentrations. A mapping grid may be
used in order to facilitate determination of concentrations of
exposure.
[0016] According to another aspect of the invention, the
accumulation analysis module may use an exhaustive search approach
in determining concentrations of exposure. The exhaustive search
approach is a reiterative process that determines the exposure
amounts for each area of analysis in the region of interest and
compares the exposure amounts to determine the area of analysis
having high (or the highest) exposure amounts.
[0017] According to another aspect of the invention, the exhaustive
search approach may use grids in order to determine exposure of an
area of analysis. The grids may be useful in determining which
exposure locations belong to an area of analysis. The exposure
locations may be geographical locations with some level of
exposure.
[0018] According to another aspect of the invention, the
accumulation analysis module may use an analytical approach in
determining concentrations of exposure. The analytical approach may
be a mathematical approach using density functions in order to
determine peaks and valleys in the concentrations of exposure.
[0019] According to another aspect of the invention, the
input/output device may generate results in a text format, in a
graphical format and/or in a mapping format.
[0020] According to another aspect of the invention, the exposure
concentration analyzer system may be located locally at the system
user's computer device or on the user's network. Alternatively, the
exposure concentration analyzer system may be remotely located from
a system user. The user may communicate with the system via a
client application and via a communication link comprising of
networks such as the Internet, an intranet, a LAN, a WAN, a PSTN,
or other networks used for communication.
[0021] According to another aspect of the invention, the exposure
concentration analyzer system may further include a module for
specific area analysis, damaged footprint analysis and/or building
level analysis. In specific area analysis, a location may be
selected and accumulation for a specified area around the location
may be determined. In damaged footprint analysis, a system user may
select a location, define an area around the location and determine
the levels of damage for different sections of the area surrounding
the location. An accumulation may then be determined for the entire
area based on different damage levels.
[0022] According to another aspect of the invention, the exposure
concentration analyzer system may be a standalone system.
[0023] According to another aspect of the invention, methods for
determining concentrations of exposure may be provided. The methods
may include an operation for storing and organizing exposure data,
an operation for defining parameters, an operation for determining
high (or the highest) exposure concentrations, and an operation for
generating an output.
[0024] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for storing and organizing exposure data may include linking the
exposure data being stored to one or more portfolios, one or more
accounts, one or more policies, and/or one or more locations.
[0025] According to another aspect of the invention, the exposure
data stored may be linked to one or more financial
perspectives.
[0026] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for storing and organizing data may further include an operation
for storing portfolio, account, policy, location, treaty, and/or
financial perspective data.
[0027] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for determining concentrations of exposure may further include an
operation for retrieving and parsing exposure data. The exposure
data may be associated with a location, an account, a policy,
and/or a portfolio. The exposure data may be linked to one or more
types of perils such as earthquake, windstorm, tornado/hail, fire,
tidal wave, terrorism, and other natural or manmade perils. The
exposure data may further include exposure data relating to
property loss, workmen's compensation and/or both.
[0028] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for defining parameters may include an operation for defining areas
of analysis. This may be accomplished, for example, by defining
boundaries for areas of analysis, which may be circles, rectangles,
squares or other geometric shapes. If circles or other curved
shapes are used, then one or more radii may be provided.
[0029] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for defining parameters may further include an operation for
defining a region of interest. The region of interest may be a
geographical area that the methods for determining concentrations
of exposure analyzes in determining areas of high exposure
concentration.
[0030] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for determining parameters may further include an operation for
determining results parameters. The results parameters may define
the types of results to be displayed. For example, the results of
the analysis may only show the geographical area having the highest
exposure concentration or may show the top ten areas.
[0031] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for defining parameters may include an operation for defining a
threshold amount. The threshold amount may be defined so that only
those areas having accumulation amounts over the threshold level
will be identified. The threshold amount may be the accumulation
amount that determines whether an area of analysis is considered to
be an area having a high concentration of accumulation. Only those
areas of analysis determined as having a high concentration of
accumulation may then be displayed or highlighted when the results
of the analysis are generated.
[0032] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for defining parameters may include the operation for defining a
parameter which results in only the areas of analysis having the
highest accumulation amounts be identified. For example, a user
and/or an administrator may designate that only the top ten areas
of analysis having the highest accumulation amounts will be
identified.
[0033] According to another aspect of the invention, the exposure
concentration that is determined may be for property loss,
workmen's compensation or both. The property loss exposure may be
due to various perils such as earthquakes, tornados, terrorist
attacks, windstorms, or other manmade or natural perils.
Alternatively, the property loss exposure may also be the result of
two or more of the perils or from all perils.
[0034] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for determining concentration of exposure may include an operation
for determining a financial perspective. The exposure of each
exposure location may be linked to one or more policies, one or
more accounts and/or one or more portfolios. These items, in turn,
may determine a financial perspective which may define the specific
liabilities (or portions thereof) of various parties for an insured
property and/or workmen's compensation. Thus, a financial
perspective may be used to determine the financial exposure of a
party, such as an insurance company, as it relates to property loss
and/or workmen's compensation loss for a particular location.
[0035] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for storing and organizing exposure data may further include an
operation for creating mapping tables. The mapping tables may be
account mapping tables, policy mapping tables, location mapping
table, and/or other mapping tables used in analyzing and processing
exposure data.
[0036] According to another aspect of the invention, the methods
for determining concentrations of exposure may further include the
operation of defining and locating exposure locations. An exposure
location may be any location that may be a potential financial
liability. The exposure locations may identify the precise
locations of exposure locations via, for example,
longitude/latitude coordinates, street address, building name, zip
code, and other techniques for identifying locations. The exposure
locations may also be assigned to location identifications.
[0037] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for determining concentration of exposure may further include an
operation for determining a financial perspective.
[0038] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for determining a financial perspective may use mapping tables.
[0039] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for determining concentration of exposure may further include an
operation for determining exposure amounts for one or more exposure
locations. The exposure amounts may then be used to determine total
exposures for one or more areas of analysis and to determine which
areas of analysis have high (or the highest) exposure
concentrations.
[0040] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for determining concentration of exposure may include an exhaustive
search approach. The exhaustive search approach may include an
approach where the region of interest is divided into grid cells.
Each grid cell may include zero, one or more exposure
locations.
[0041] According to another aspect of the invention, a region of
interest may be analyzed for concentrations of accumulation by
arbitrarily or systematically moving a boundary for areas of
analysis to different locations within the region of interest until
the entire region of interest has been analyzed.
[0042] According to another aspect of the invention, the boundary
area of analysis may be moved by moving the centroid of the
boundary from the center of a grid cell to another grid cell
center.
[0043] According to another aspect of the invention, the boundary
of area of analysis may be moved by moving the boundary arbitrarily
until the entire region of analysis is analyzed.
[0044] According to another aspect of the invention, the area of
analysis may be a specific area or damage footprint. Within a
specific area, all of the locations located within the area of
analysis are assumed to receive a complete level (i.e., 100
percent) of loss. Within a damage footprint, different sections of
the area of analysis may be assumed to have different levels of
loss.
[0045] According to another aspect of the invention, each exposure
location may be associated with a net exposure. The net exposure
for an exposure location may be the actual exposure incurred by a
particular party after all of the deductibles, co-insurer's share
and other deductions have been subtracted from the total insured
property value. The net exposure for an exposure location may be
determined using a ground up approach. In a ground up approach, the
exposure location first identified and based on the location,
policies, accounts and portfolios associated with the location may
be determined. The policies, accounts, and portfolios that are
associated with the location are then reviewed to determine the net
exposure (i.e., potential liability) associated with the
location.
[0046] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for determining concentration of exposure may include defining a
grid width ratio. If the area of analysis is a circle, then the
grid width ratio may be selected, for example, to optimize accuracy
and/or speed. The grid width ratio may be pre-selected in that a
user may not be able to determine the grid width ratio.
Alternatively, a user may be allowed to change the grid width
ratio.
[0047] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for determining the concentration of exposure may utilize an
analytical approach. The analytical approach may integrate a
density function for areas of analysis to determine the level of
exposure accumulation for each area being analyzed.
[0048] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for generating output may include an operation for generating
results in different formats. The results may be in text form
listing the areas of analysis having the highest concentration of
exposures for a region of interest. Alternatively, or in
combination therewith, the results may show or highlight the area
with the highest concentration of exposure. The results may also be
shown graphically such as in a chart. The results may further be
displayed on a map. For instance, the areas with the highest
concentration of exposures may be highlighted on a map.
[0049] According to another aspect of the invention, the methods
for determining concentrations of exposure may further comprise an
operation for performing a specific area analysis, a damaged
footprint analysis and/or a building level analysis. The specific
area analysis may determine the total exposure of an area assuming
100 percent loss for the entire area. The damage footprint analysis
determines total loss of an area with different levels of loss for
different sections of the analyzed area. The building level
analysis determines exposure for one or more buildings. In order to
perform these analyses, profiles for each of these analyses may be
created. An analysis profile may include information, such as
parameters, used in performing the analysis.
[0050] Additional features and advantages of the invention are set
forth in the description that follows, and in part are apparent
from the description, or may be learned by practice of the
invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention are
realized and gained by the structure particularly pointed out in
the written description and claims thereof as well as the appended
drawings.
[0051] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general
description and the following detailed description are exemplary
and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of
the invention as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0052] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide
further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of
the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain
the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
[0053] FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a financial exposure analyzing
system according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0054] FIG. 1B is a block diagram of an exposure concentration
analyzer system according to another embodiment of the
invention.
[0055] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating exemplary relationships
between insured properties, policies, accounts and a portfolio.
[0056] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary
financial perspective.
[0057] FIG. 4 is a process for determining concentrations of
exposure according to one embodiment of the invention.
[0058] FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary relationship between
exposure location, grid, area of analysis, region of interest and
area of analysis boundary.
[0059] FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary movement of an area of
analysis boundary according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0060] FIG. 6 illustrates operations for determining concentrations
of exposure using the exhaustive search approach according to an
embodiment of the invention.
[0061] FIG. 7 illustrates operations for determining the net
exposure amount for an area of analysis according to an embodiment
of the invention.
[0062] FIG. 8 illustrates operations that may be performed in order
to create an analysis profile according to an embodiment of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0063] The invention relates to systems and methods for identifying
concentrations of exposure. Exposure may refer to the potential
liability that may be incurred by one or more parties. The systems
and methods may take exposure data as they relate to, for example,
a geographic region and process the data to determine specific
areas or locations within the region having high (or the highest)
concentrations of exposure.
[0064] FIG. 1A is a block diagram that illustrates a financial
exposure analyzing system 10 according to one embodiment of the
invention. The exposure analyzing system 10 may include a database
20, an input/output device 30 for communicating with a user 40, and
a plurality of modules (or sub-systems) including an exposure
concentration analyzer 50, a specific area analyzer 60, a damaged
footprint analyzer 70, a building level analyzer 80, or other
modules. The database 20 may store various data including exposure
data, policy data, account data, portfolio data, mapping tables,
financial perspectives, locational data, and other data that may be
used in analyzing exposure data. The database may also store
various types of mapping tables such as a policy mapping table, an
account mapping table, a location mapping table, and other types of
mapping tables. These tables may be useful in linking various types
of data to specific geographical locations. The input/output device
30 may be used to generate results of analyses in different
formats. The results may be displayed as text, as graphical
displays and/or as maps, or some combination thereof.
[0065] Each of the analyzer modules 50, 60, 70, and 80, may be used
to provide different analyzing functions. The exposure
concentration analyzer 50 may be used to identify geographical
areas or locations having high (or the highest) concentrations of
exposure. The specific area analyzer 60 may determine the total
financial exposure for a specified geographical area. This analysis
may assume complete (i.e., 100 percent) ground up property loss for
the area being analyzed.
[0066] The damaged footprint analyzer 70 is similar to the specific
area analyzer 60 in that both may also determine the total
financial exposure for a specified area. However, the damaged
footprint analyzer 70 assumes different levels of loss for
different portions of the area being analyzed. For example, if the
area being analyzed is a circle, the levels of loss may be
structured as concentric circles (such as a bull's-eye), with each
concentric circle reflecting a different level of property and
casualty loss.
[0067] The building level analyzer 80 may determine exposure
accumulation by building, either for all buildings within a
portfolio or for a building selected by a user. In some embodiments
of the invention, a user or system administrator may provide
certain parameters. For instance, for the exposure concentration
analyzer 50, specific area analyzer 60, and the damaged footprint
analyzer 70, the areas to be analyzed must be identified. For the
building level analyzer, the buildings to be analyzed must be
identified. In some embodiments of the invention, each of the
modules 50, 60, 70, and 80, may operate as a standalone system
(independent of the other modules).
[0068] FIG. 1B is a block diagram that illustrates an exposure
concentration analyzer system 100, according to an embodiment of
the invention. As illustrated, system 100 generally represents the
exposure concentration analyzer module 50 as a standalone system.
The system 100 may include a database 20, an input/output device 30
for communicating with a user 40, various modules, a database
manager module 110, a parameter builder module 120, and an
accumulation analyzer module 130. The database manager module 110
may facilitate the retrieval, storing and parsing of data stored in
the database 20. Such data may include, for example, exposure data,
policy data, treaties, locational information, mapping data,
financial perspectives data and other data that may be used in
order to analyze and process exposure data.
[0069] The parameter builder 120 may facilitate the creation of
parameters used in implementing the accumulation analyzer module
130. The accumulation analyzer 130 determines exposure amounts for
one or more geographical areas or locations and determines the
areas having high (or the highest) exposure concentrations. The
exposure concentration analyzer system 100 may be located locally
in a client system or on the user's local network. Alternatively,
the exposure concentration analyzer system 100 may be remotely
located from the system user 40. The user may communicate with the
system 100 using a client application and via a communication link
comprising of networks such as the Internet, an intranet, LAN, WAN,
PSTN, or other networks used for communication.
[0070] According to one embodiment of the invention, the database
20 may be a relational database. The database may store various
types of data such as data relating to exposure locations,
policies, portfolios, accounts, exposures, treaties, financial
perspectives, and other types of data. An exposure location may be
a specific geographical location that may be associated with an
exposure. In other words, exposure locations are locations whereby
potential liabilities may exist. Exposure location data may include
precise locational information for an exposure location. This
locational information may include, for example, latitude/longitude
coordinates, street address, zip code, and/or other techniques for
identifying locations. The exposure location may also be assigned
attributes. For example, an exposure location may be assigned
attributes such as property loss exposure, workmen's compensation
exposure, accounts, policies, portfolios, financial perspectives,
treaties, and/or other attributes.
[0071] The data stored in the relational structure may facilitate a
ground up approach in determining the net exposure of a specific
location. That is, so long as the location is known, the amount of
exposure for that location may be determined because the location
may be linked to specific policies, portfolios, treaties, financial
perspectives, and other items that may be used in determining
exposure.
[0072] Actual exposure data for specific exposure locations may be
stored in the database 20 or may be determined by other data stored
in the database 20. For example, a policy may typically define a
maximum loss amount for an insured property. However, the policy
may typically also define deductibles, which will reduce the amount
of liability for the insurer. The actual liability or net exposure
of the insurer may be further reduced by reinsurers or other
insurers who may have purchased a portion of the policy. The
exposure data for a location may be related to various types of
exposure including property loss and/or to workmen's compensation.
The exposure relating to property loss may further include exposure
relating to specific perils. Perils may be, for example,
earthquakes, windstorms, tornado/hail, fire, terrorism, and other
natural or manmade perils. A policy may cover only damages as a
result of a particular peril but not for another. The database 20
may also store exposure data that is the sum of exposures from one
or more perils or for all perils or some portion thereof.
[0073] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary relationship
between insured properties 202, policies 204, accounts 206 and a
portfolio 208. A portfolio 208 may include one or more accounts
206. One or more of the accounts 206 may be associated with one or
more clients. The accounts 206 may be associated with a portfolio
208 based on common factors such as common client (since a client
may have more than one account), common location, common policy
types, common peril types, and/or other commonalities. An account
206 may be associated with one or more policies 204. Each policy
may be associated with one or more insured properties 202, which
may include buildings, their contents and the loss of use of the
building. Each of the insured properties 202 may be associated with
a locational address (e.g., longitude/latitude coordinates). The
policies 204 associated with an insured property 202 may typically
define the liability of the property between the insured and the
insurer. Treaties may further define who else (e.g., re-insurer)
may be liable for the loss of the insured property. Sometimes, a
building, its contents and the loss of use of the building may be
covered by more than one policy.
[0074] The liability of various parties, such as the insured, the
insurer, reinsurer, and other liable parties, may be defined by a
financial perspective. A financial perspective may divide the
liability of a total loss (of a, for example, insured property)
into segments. For instance, the total loss may include a ground up
loss, a client loss, a gross loss, a net loss, a reinsurance net
loss, and other types of loss. The ground up loss may be the total
financial loss (exposure), regardless of the insurance structure,
when the insured property is a total loss. The client loss may be
the insured's loss below the deductible. The gross loss may be the
insurer's loss after policy deductibles and other limits but before
any reinsurance. The net loss may be the insurer's loss after
subtracting deductibles and other limits and the re-insurer's (if
there are any) share is deducted. The re-insurer's net loss is the
re-insurer's share of the total loss.
[0075] A financial perspective may set out the financial structure
of an insured property (as it relates to either property loss
and/or workmen's compensation). That is, it may specify, for
example, which parties (e.g., the insured, the insurer, re-insurer,
and other parties who may be liable for the loss of an insured
property) are financially responsible for what portion of a loss of
an insured property.
[0076] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary financial perspective 300.
Financial perspective 300 identifies how various parties are liable
for various portions of a total liability (i.e., ground up loss) of
an insured property. In this example, the entire height 302 of the
financial perspective 300 represents the total liability of an
insured property. The very bottom section is a client loss portion
304. This is typically incurred by an insured as a result of
deductibles. The underlying coverage 306 is the loss below the
insurer's attachment point. Each insured property may be covered by
more than one policy. In this example, two policies, policy 1 and
policy 2, cover the same insured property. The gross loss 308 is
the insurer's loss after policy deductibles, attachment point, and
limits are applied but before any reinsurance. Often an insurer
will reduce risk by selling all or part of policies to other
insurers. In this example, the primary insurer reduces liability
for both policies by using other insurers. The other insurer's loss
310 is the portion not included in the primary insurer's share that
may be borne by other insurers. The overlimit portion 312 is the
loss in excess of policy amounts. This loss is typically borne by
the insured. Other parties such as reinsurers (not depicted) may
also assume certain loss which may further reduce the actual
liability of the primary insurer. As shown, the actual liability of
a primary insurer may be substantially less than the full value of
the policy or policies underwritten for a property.
[0077] FIG. 4 illustrates a process 400 for determining
concentrations of exposure according to one embodiment of the
invention. The process 400 may begin when exposure data or other
data used to determine exposure data (e.g., policy, account,
portfolio, financial perspective, treaties, and other items) is
stored and organized at 402. This operation may be disregarded,
particularly if, for example, the exposure data is already stored
and organized. In order to find areas of high exposure
concentrations, certain parameters may be provided at an operation
404. Once the parameters are established, geographical areas or
locations having high concentration of exposure may be determined
by implementing a concentration of exposure operation which
analyzes one or more areas of analysis at an operation 406. During
the implementation of the concentration of exposure operation 406,
exposure data may be retrieved and/or parsed at an operation 408.
Once the areas or locations of high concentration of exposure have
been determined, an output may be generated at 410.
[0078] The operation for storing and organizing exposure data 402
may include an operation for linking exposure data to one or more
portfolios, one or more accounts, one or more policies, and/or one
or more locations. This operation 402 may further include
operations for storing and linking treaties, policy information,
portfolio information, account information, financial perspectives,
and other information that may be used in determining exposure
amounts for exposure locations.
[0079] Exposure data for each location may be for property loss or
workmen's compensation or for both property loss and workmen's
compensation. The operation for defining parameters 404 may include
defining a region of interest, a boundary of areas of analysis, a
grid size, a threshold amount, a number of areas of analysis to be
indicated as being areas of high exposure concentration, and other
parameters useful in determining areas of high exposure
concentration. A region of interest may be the geographical area in
which the process 400 determines areas of high concentration of
exposure. Areas of analysis may be the geographical areas that are
separately analyzed to determine each area's net exposure. The
boundaries of the areas of analysis may typically be a set shape,
such as a circle, square, rectangle or other shape. If the
boundaries are a circle, then a radius may be provided. If the
boundaries of areas include a rectangle or a square, the width and
length may be provided. The threshold amount may be a result
parameter and may be set forth in an exposure threshold amount that
must be exceeded in order for an area of analysis to be considered
a high exposure concentration area. The number of areas of analysis
to be indicated as being areas of high exposure concentration may
also be another results parameter and may be used to show, for
example, the "top ten" areas having the highest exposure
concentrations.
[0080] According to another embodiment of the invention, the
process for determining concentrations of exposure 400 may further
include the operation of defining and locating exposure locations.
An exposure location may be any location with a potential financial
liability. The exposure locations may be identified by using
precise locations of exposure via, for example, longitude/latitude
coordinates, street address, building name, zip code, and other
techniques for identifying locations. The exposure locations may
also be assigned to location identifications.
[0081] According to another embodiment of the invention, the
operation for determining concentrations of exposure 406 may use an
exhaustive search approach. The exhaustive search approach
determines the exposure amounts for each area (i.e., area of
analysis) within the region of interest. The region of interest may
be the geographical area that is of interest in determining the
exposure concentrations. For example, an insurer may be interested
in finding concentrations of exposures for a city. In this case,
the region of interest would be the city.
[0082] FIG. 5A illustrates the relationship between exposure
location 502, grid 504, area of analysis 506, region of interest
508 and area of analysis boundary 510 and grid cells 514. When the
exhaustive search approach is implemented, the area of analysis
boundary 510 (in this case, the boundary 510 is a circle that is
centered at a centroid 512 as the center of one of the grid cells
514) is moved around the region of interest 508. Each time the
boundary 510 moves to a new location, a new area of analysis 506 is
formed. The area of analysis 506 is the area that is bounded by the
boundary 510. In some embodiments, an exposure amount is determined
for each area of analysis 506. Although, in this embodiment, the
boundary 510 (and the resulting area of analysis 506) is a circle,
the boundary 510 may be other shape types such as a rectangle,
oval, square, or other geometric shape.
[0083] The movement of the boundary 510 to form new areas of
analysis 506 may be arbitrary or may be systematic. For example,
according to one embodiment of the invention, the boundary 510 is
moved by moving the centroid 512 of the circle boundary 510 from
the center of one grid cell 514 to the center of the next grid cell
514 as illustrated in FIG. 5B. This results in a new area of
analysis 524. In some embodiments of the invention, the new area of
analysis 524 overlaps the old area of analysis 506. Once the
boundary has moved to the new location, a net exposure amount for
the new area of analysis 524 may be determined. According to
another embodiment of the invention, the total exposure for an area
of analysis 506 may be determined by totaling the net exposures for
each exposure locations 502 located within the area of analysis
506.
[0084] According to an embodiment of the invention, the net
exposure for each exposure location 502 may be exposures for
property loss only, for workmen's compensation loss only, or for
both property and workmen's compensation loss. As a result, the
total exposure for an area of analysis may likewise be exposures
for property loss only, for workmen's compensation loss only, or
for both property and workmen's compensation loss. The property
loss exposure may be associated with a specific peril such as
earthquakes, tornados, terrorist attacks, windstorms, or other
manmade or natural perils. Alternatively, the property loss
exposure may be associated with two or more of the perils or from
all perils or portions thereof.
[0085] FIG. 6 illustrates a process 600 for determining
concentrations of exposure using the exhaustive search approach
according to an embodiment of the invention. The process 600 may
begin when the region of interest 508 is selected or otherwise
provided at an operation 602. This may be accomplished, for
example, by identifying the longitude/latitude coordinates (or
other techniques for locating a geographical area) for the region.
The boundary 510 for the area of analysis 506 may be provided at an
operation 604. The boundary 510 may determine the shape of the area
of analysis 506. If the boundary is a circle, as illustrated in
FIGS. 5A and 5B, a radius or diameter may be provided. A grid may
be created at operation 606. In order to create a grid, the
dimensions of the grid cell 514 may be provided. For example, if
the grid cell is a rectangle, the height and width of the grid cell
may be provided.
[0086] Mapping tables may be created at an operation 608. Examples
of mapping tables may include account mapping tables, policy
mapping tables and location mapping tables. According to one
embodiment of the invention, the process 600 uses a bottom-up
rather than a top-down approach. The bottom-up approach identifies
the exposure location first, then identifies the accounts
associated with the location, and finally identifies the policies
associated with the accounts. The tables created may facilitate the
implementation of the bottom-up approach. The account mapping table
may be used to find the immediate policy position for a given
account. The policy mapping table may be used to find the immediate
exposure location position, policy coverage file position and layer
input file. The location mapping table may be used to find the
account and the policy that a given exposure location belongs to,
and also to find the location coverage file position and the layer
input position for the given location. These tables may facilitate
the determination of net exposure for an exposure location. By
creating these tables, an exposure location may be linked to
specific policies, accounts, portfolios, treaties and other items
useful in determining a net exposure amount for the exposure
location. Further, by creating these tables, the financial
perspectives associated with an exposure location may be
determined. Additional tables may also be created. These may
include, for example, an account trigger-flag table and a location
trigger-flag table. An area of analysis 506 may be selected for
determining an exposure level at an operation 610. Once an area of
analysis 506 is selected, the exposure for that area 506 may be
determined at an operation 612. A determination may then be made as
to whether there are any more areas of analysis 506 to be checked
at an operation 614. If there are more to be checked, then the
process 600 returns to operation 610. If not, then the exposure
levels for each of the areas of analysis 506 that were determined
may be analyzed and/or compared at an operation 616. For example,
this may include determining whether any of the exposure
concentrations exceed a threshold level or which areas of analysis
506 have the highest exposure concentrations.
[0087] Once the analysis and/or comparisons are complete, an output
may be generated at an operation 618. The output may be in text
form listing the area or areas of analysis 506 with the highest or
high exposure concentrations. The output may also be in a graphical
form such as charts or may be displayed on a map showing the
location or locations having the highest or high exposure
concentration. If the output is a map, then areas of high exposure
concentration may be indicated by highlighting the areas using
different colors or other mapping techniques for indicating or
highlighting a location. The specific colors used in output map may
have specific meaning such as using red for the highest
concentration areas.
[0088] Grid 504 may be used to determine which exposure locations
are to be included when determining the exposures for areas of
analysis 506. Each grid cell 514 may contain zero, one or more
exposure locations 502. Each grid cell 514 may be associated with a
list of exposure locations 502 that are inside the grid cell 514.
According to one embodiment of the invention, only those exposure
locations 502 that are within the area of analysis 506 are
considered when determining exposure level for that area of
analysis 506. In order to speed up the process for determining
which exposure locations 502 are within an area of analysis 506,
each exposure location 502 that belongs to a grid cell 514 that is
completely within the area of analysis 506 are automatically
assumed to be in the area of analysis 506. If an exposure location
502 is located in a grid cell 514 that is completely outside the
area of analysis 506 then that exposure location 502 is disregarded
during the process for determining the total exposure for the area
of analysis 506. Only those exposure locations 502 that are
partially in grid cells 514 are individually checked to determine
whether they are in the area of analysis 506. These steps may
reduce the processing time to determine which exposure locations
502 are within an area of analysis 506. According to another
embodiment of the invention, if the area of analysis 506 is a
circle, as illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, then a table with the
size of (Radius/GridWidth+1)*2, which is the maximum number of grid
cell 514 within a circle, may be created. Any grid cell 514 which
is completely in the circle may be saved starting from bottom up,
and any grid cell 514, which will only be partially in the circle,
may be saved from the top-to-bottom. This table may provide a clear
picture of which grid cells 514 are in the circle and which grid
cells 514 are not.
[0089] According to another embodiment of the invention, if the
areas of analysis 506 are circles then the size of a grid cell 514
may be determined per analysis and may depend on the radius of the
circles. Generally, the ratio of grid width to radius (radius of
the circular area of analysis 506) may have an impact on the
accuracy and performance of the analysis. The grid width ratio
(grid width/radius) may be pre-set or may be defined for each
analysis performed. To determine the accuracy of the analysis using
different grid width ratios, two elements may be measured: the
positional accuracy of the areas that are identified by the
analysis, and the resulting effect on the amount of exposure
accumulation in each area. As to the first element, the first
element refers to the ability to determine the actual area of high
exposure concentration. Referring again to FIG. 5B illustrating two
areas of analysis 506 and 524, if the area of analysis boundary 510
is being moved in a systematic manner to define areas of analysis
506, positional inaccuracy may occur. For example, suppose the
movement of the boundary 510 is dictated by moving the centroid of
the boundary 510 from the center of one grid cell 514 to the center
of the next grid cell 514 as illustrated in FIG. 5B. An error may
occur because the actual area having the highest or high exposure
concentrations may be a circle between the two circles 510 and 520.
That is, the area of highest or high exposure concentration may be
an area defined by a circle with a centroid between the two other
centroids 512 and 522. This would result in a positional
inaccuracy.
[0090] Although positional accuracy may be important, another
consideration may be the amount of exposure accumulation within the
circle and the potential error introduced because the area may not
be centered accurately. There appears to be some trade-off between
improving positional accuracy as opposed to improving the accuracy
of exposure accumulation. The grid width ratio may be selected to
fully maximize performance. In one embodiment, a default grid width
ratio may be set at 0.25. In tests conducted using different radii,
a grid width ratio of 0.25 resulted in the potential error in
positional accuracy of approximately .+-.9% for a given circle. The
tests also revealed that the amount of exposure accumulation was
generally within .+-.3% for all radii, and typically an exact match
for small radius (500 meter) tests. However, the analysis run time
typically increased as the grid width ratio became smaller.
[0091] In order to minimize the magnitude of error in positional
accuracy, in one embodiment of the invention, a maximum grid size
of 1000 meters (for square grid cells) may be set as the default
grid size. The maximum grid width may then be triggered at a radius
greater than 4,000 meters. For radii less than 4,000 meters, the
amount or potential inaccuracy may be dependant on the grid width
ratio. For radii greater than 4,000 meters, the potential
inaccuracy was found to be capped at approximately 700 meters.
Generally, performance was found to degrade as the radius is
increased relative to running the analysis without a maximum in
place.
[0092] FIG. 7 illustrates a process 700 for determining the net
exposure amount for an area of analysis 506 according to an
embodiment of the invention. An operation 702 determines which grid
cells 514 are in the area of analysis 506, which grid cells 514 are
out of the area of analysis 506, and which grid cells 514 are
partly in the area of analysis 506. Next, a determination may be
made as to which exposure locations 502 are in the area of analysis
at an operation 704. As described above, only those exposure
locations 502 that are located in grid cells 514 that are
completely in the area of analysis 506 are automatically determined
to be in the area of analysis 506. After determining which exposure
locations 502 are in the area of analysis 506, the net exposure for
each of the exposure locations 502 located within the area of
analysis 506 is determined in an operation 706. This may be
accomplished, for example, by using mapping tables as described
earlier. Once the net exposure amounts for each exposure location
502 is determined, the net exposures may then be added together to
produce the total exposure amount for the area of analysis 506 at
an operation 708.
[0093] According to another embodiment of the invention, the loss
structure for an area of analysis 506 may be a specific area model
or damage footprint model. Using a specific area model, all of the
locations located within the area of analysis 506 may experience a
complete (i.e., 100 percent) loss. Within a damage footprint,
different sections of the area of analysis 506 may experience
different levels of loss. Therefore, in order to determine the
exposure amount for each of the exposure locations 502 that fall
into the area of analysis 506, a determination is made as to which
levels of loss (e.g., percent loss) is to be attached to each of
the exposure locations 502. Once the level of loss for an exposure
location 502 has been determined (along with the mapping tables),
the net exposure amount for the exposure location may be
determined.
[0094] According to another aspect of the invention, the operation
for determining concentrations of exposure 406 may utilize an
analytical approach. The analytical approach may use density
functions in order to locate peaks which may indicate locations of
high exposure concentrations.
[0095] According to an embodiment of the invention, the analytical
approach is implemented by using a square (or rectangle) to
approximate an area of analysis that is a circle. For example,
suppose we know the distribution of our interested values which is
defined as f(x,y). Then for a given area, we want to maximize the
following equations:
max(.intg.f(x,y)dxdy)
[0096] Suppose the area is rectangle, the area being defined as
Dx,Dy. Suppose further that the centroid location is X0,Y0,
then:
G(X0,Y0)=max(.intg..sub.X0-Dx.sup.X0+Dxdx.intg..sub.Y0-Dy.sup.Y0+Dyf(x,y-
)dy)
[0097] For any peak or valley for the above equation,
.differential. G ( X 0 , Y 0 ) .differential. X 0 = 0 1.1
.differential. G ( X 0 , Y 0 ) .differential. Y 0 = 0 1.2
##EQU00001##
[0098] Based on 1.1,
.intg..sub.Y0-Dy.sup.Y0+Dy[f(X0+Dx,y)-f(X0-Dx,y)]dy=0 2.1
And from 1.2,
.intg..sub.X0-Dx.sup.X0+Dx[f(x,Y0+Dy)-f(x,Y0-Dx,y)]dx=0 2.2
[0099] From equations 2.1 and 2.2, the following equations will
follow:
(Fy(X0+Dx,Y0+Dy)-Fy(X0+Dx,Y0-Dy))-(Fy(X0-Dx,Y0+Dy)-Fy(X0-Dx,Y0-Dy))=0
(Fx(X0+Dx,Y0+Dy)-Fx(X0-Dx,Y0+Dy))-(Fx(X0+Dx,Y0-Dy)-Fx(X0-Dx,Y0-Dy))=0
[0100] Suppose further that the region is divided into grids. The
above two equations must be true for any given grid (i,j) which
contains a peak.
[0101] If we assume that the value we are interested in at grid
(i,j) is Value(Xi,Yj), then we have the following recursive
equations for Fx(Xi,Yj), Fy(Xi,Yj):
Fy(Xi,Yj)=Fy(Xi,Yj-1)+Value(Xi,Yj)-Value(Xi,Yj-1-Dy)
Fx(Xi,Yj)=Fx(Xi-1,Yj)+Value(Xi,Yj)-Value(Xi-1-Dx,Yj)
So for any peaks in (Xi,Yj):
(Fy(Xi+Dx,Yj+Dy)-Fy(Xi+Dx,Yj-Dy))-(Fy(Xi-Dx,Yj+Dy)-Fy(Xi-Dx,Yj-Dy))=0
(Fx(Xi+Dx,Yj+Dy)-Fx(Xi-Dx,Yj+Dy))-(Fx(Xi+Dx,Yj-Dy)-Fx(Xi-Dx,Yj-Dy))=0
[0102] For the density function f(x,y), assume that the whole
region is divided into Nx*Ny grids, and the value at grid (i,j) is
Value(Xi,Yj), then
f(Xi,Yj)=Value(Xi,Yj)/Sum(Value(Xi,Yj)).
[0103] In this approach, rectangles are used to approximate circles
and to find all of the peaks existing in the region and localize
the circle peak values. The advantages of this approach is that it
will likely find the real peaks. However, the goal is not necessary
to find peaks. That is, some concentration of exposures may not
actually be peaks. Thus, this approach may not be robust. This
recursion property may only apply to exposure/ground up loss (e.g.,
assuming 100% total loss). Thus, when a financial structure needs
to be applied, this approach may not be the optimal solution.
[0104] According to another embodiment of the invention, the
process for determining concentrations of exposure 400 may further
comprise an operation for performing a specific area analysis, a
damaged footprint analysis and/or a building level analysis. The
specific area analysis determines the exposure amount for a
specified area or an area surrounding a specified target. According
to one embodiment, the area is a circle with the centroid located
at the target location if there is one. The analysis assumes
complete (i.e., 100 percent) ground up property loss and a user
specified casualty distribution to all locations within the circle.
In the damaged footprint analysis, an area of interest (such as a
circle) is defined. Rather than specifying the radius of the
circle, a method of attack may be selected. The method of attack
determines the levels of loss within the circle. That is, instead
of assuming a uniform loss within the circle, such as specific area
analysis, the method of attack plots several concentric rings
within the circle (like a bull's eye), each ring represents a
different ground up loss percentage and casualty distribution. The
building level analysis may be used to monitor a specific building
or multiple buildings. This analysis returns the exposure
accumulations by building, either for all buildings in a portfolio
or for specific buildings.
[0105] In order to perform these analyses, profiles for each of
these analyses may be created. An analysis profile may include
information, such as parameters, used in performing the analysis.
Certain generic operations may be performed in order to create a
profile for the analysis. FIG. 8 illustrates a process 800 for
generic operations that may be performed in order to create an
analysis profile according to an embodiment of the invention.
Process 800 includes an operation 802 for selecting a coverage to
accumulate such as property coverages and/or workmen's
compensation. If workmen's compensation is selected, different
levels of losses may be defined. These levels may include, for
example, minor injuries, serious injuries, permanent disabilities,
and fatalities. Each of these levels may represent different
percentage losses. For instance, fatalities would be a 100 percent,
while minor injuries may be, for example, 5 percent. An operation
804 identifies one or more financial perspectives that set forth
the structure of the coverage (e.g., who is responsible for what
amount of insured loss) and may be used in order to determine net
loss or exposure. An operation 806 for defining output preferences
may also be performed. Output preferences determine the type and
format of the output. For example, it may be desirable to see the
distance between exposure locations and the centroid of the area
being evaluated. If the analysis includes workmen's compensation
exposure, the output may include a loss for each type of injury per
area, per location. These operations may be independent from each
other and may be performed in any order as would be apparent.
[0106] In addition to the generic operations listed above, other
operations may be performed for creating each of the analysis'
profiles. For instance, for the specific area analysis profile, an
operation for identifying the area of analysis may be performed.
Such an operation may include defining the centroid location of the
area being analyzed by latitude/longitude coordinate, radius, and
units (feet or meters). Alternatively, a stored centroid may be
used and only the radius has to be identified. In yet another
alternative, a stored area may be used. Note that in each of the
analysis described here, multiple areas may be analyzed (i.e.,
accumulated) at the same time. For each area to be analyzed, the
above operations for identifying the location of the area may be
performed.
[0107] For the damage footprint profile, the method of attack may
provide the radii to be used. Thus, only the target location (e.g.,
centroid) may need to be provided or otherwise identified. In an
alternative embodiment, however, both the target location and the
radii (if the area being analyzed is a circle) may be provided or
otherwise identified. An operation may be performed for the damage
footprint profile to determine the damage footprint. That is, an
operation to determine the levels of loss for each, for example,
concentric circle. Alternatively, predetermined levels of loss may
be used instead.
[0108] For the building level profile, an operation may be
performed that determines whether to analyze every building in a
portfolio, an account or selecting specific buildings for
analysis.
[0109] Additional features and advantages of the invention are set
forth in the description that follows, and in part are apparent
from the description, or may be learned by practice of the
invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention are
realized and gained by the structure particularly pointed out in
the written description and claims thereof as well as the appended
drawings.
[0110] Although particular embodiments of the present invention
have been shown and described, it will be understood that it is not
intended to limit the invention to the embodiments described above
and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various
changes and modifications may be made without departing from the
spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the invention is
intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents,
which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention
as defined by the claims.
* * * * *