Karen Clark Rolls Out Severe Convective Storm Model 5.0

October 7, 2026

Karen Clark & Co., long considered one of the more accurate catastrophe risk modeling firms, has announced its latest severe convective storm model—Version 5.0—now with a new option on roof values.

“While previously, roof replacement cost was assumed to be a fixed percentage of the total building value, roof replacement value can now be entered by the user, enabling further customization” of the actual cash value endorsement, KCC said in a news release Oct. 6.

The convective storm modeling is separate from hurricane modeling. KCC released its U.S. latest hurricane model, Version 5.0, last year.

The severe convective storm Version 5.0 incorporates roof age credits and debits and looks at severe tornado outbreaks, as well as tornado and wind intensities on the Southeast U.S. coast.

The system is “ideally suited to estimate the potential impacts of tornado outbreaks on large commercial and industrial facilities, including hyperscale data centers,” the firm said.

Some storm models, Clark said, rely heavily on historical data, which can be outdated. The KCC software uses high-resolution, artificial intelligence atmospheric modeling to see the physical processes that drive hail, tornado and straight-line wind losses.

The updated model also includes fine-tuning of the vulnerability functions for manufactured homes, as well as updated hail vulnerability functions for site-built homes with respect to age of structure.

Topics Windstorm

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