New Report Cites Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina

The devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina and the Great New Orleans Flood will lead to increased focus on controlling exposure to other potential ‘Super Catastrophes’ that can ultimately lead to mega-losses, according to a new report released by Risk Management Solutions.

The report, “Hurricane Katrina: Profile of a Super Cat,” summarizes the development of damage from Hurricane Katrina and the Great New Orleans Flood, as well as the issues that will determine the final outcome of losses suffered by the insurance industry and other stakeholders in the catastrophe. The report provides an initial assessment of some of the main lessons and implications for disaster management and catastrophe modeling, and says that leading companies will work with catastrophe modeling firms and internal and industry consultants to develop an agenda of important actions and priorities.

Some of those actions and priorities include:
- Multi-line accumulation management;
- Improved accuracy of exposure data;
- More differentiated analysis of individual risks;
- A strategic view of hurricane activity; and
- More holistic view of extreme events.

The full report is available at: http://www.rms.com/Publications/KatrinaReport_LessonsandImplications.pdf.