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  • Introduction
  • Companies
  • Company data (exposures)
  • Programs
  • Portfolios
  • Import
  • Export
  • Loss results
  • Analysis
  • Tools
  • Administration console
  • Reference
  1. Home
  2. Reference

    Supporting information on various topics associated with Touchstone Re.

  3. ULF

    A user-generated Loss File (ULF) is an ASCII file.

  • Introduction

    Introduction to the Touchstone Re application.

  • Companies

    A company is unique entity in Touchstone Re.

  • Company data (exposures)

    Companies are associated with exposure data.

  • Programs

    A program is integral to a company and it's exposure data in Touchstone Re.

  • Portfolios

    A portfolio is a group of treaties selected from across companies.

  • Import

    Import exposure data from external sources into Verisk databases.

  • Export

    Export exposure data, results, reports, and companies out of Touchstone Re.

  • Loss results

    The Loss Results pane for a company lists all loss analyses that have been executed for the company.

  • Analysis

    An analysis in Touchstone Re is a probabilistic analysis of your aggregated loss or exposure data.

  • Tools

    Tools to manage Touchstone Re and its data.

  • Administration console

    The Administration Console enables authorized users to manage a suite of administrative tasks.

  • Reference

    Supporting information on various topics associated with Touchstone Re.

    • Abbreviations

      Some abbreviations used in Touchstone Re.

    • Activity status

      Status of the loss analysis which displays in the Activity Monitor:

    • Adjustment factors

      An adjustment factor allows you to customize the data in your analysis by compensating for variations in company, program, and exposure data.

    • Advanced Loss Modification (ALM)

      This feature allows clients to customize and adjust various parameters in catastrophe risk analysis.

    • Aggregate excess of loss

      A reinsurance program (AOL) where the reinsurer indemnifies the ceding company for that portion of the loss that exceeds the limit of its own retention for a given year.

    • Aggregate exposure

      Aggregate exposure is the sum of exposures by group.

    • Aggregate limit

      The maximum loss that can be incurred by the layer across all occurrences within each year.

    • Aggregate loss

      Aggregate loss is the loss resulting from all events that occurred during a specified period.

    • Aggregate Model Builder

      Aggregate Model Builder gives licensed users the flexibility to create their own custom models, and seamlessly integrate non-Verisk models into Touchstone Re.

    • Aggregate retention

      The value below which the year's total occurrence losses (otherwise recoverable) are not assumed by the layer.

    • ALERT data

      ALERT data is supplied by Verisk's ALERT™ (Verisk Loss Estimates in Real Time) online service which provides up-to-date information and loss estimates for major natural catastrophes worldwide.

    • ALF

      The Aggregated Loss File (ALF) is a binary file that contains event-level loss data consolidated by country.

    • A.M. Best premium database

      The A.M. Best premium database contains information that you can use to derive and calculate market shares.

    • Analyze Re

      Analyze Re is part of the Verisk family.

    • Annual aggregate limit

      The annual aggregate limit specifies the maximum loss that a layer can incur for all occurrences within a 12-month period.

    • Annual aggregate loss

      The annual aggregate loss is the loss resulting from all events that occurred during a 12-month period.

    • Annual aggregate loss distribution

      Aggregate loss distributed over a 12-month period.

    • Annual aggregate retention

      The annual aggregate retention is a value below which the total losses for a 12-month period are not assumed by the layer.

    • Annual occurrence loss

      The annual occurrence loss is the largest loss resulting from all events that occurred during a 12-month period.

    • Annual occurrence loss distribution

      Occurrence loss distributed over a 12-month period.

    • Applies to areas

      Applies to areas is a parameter used by the application to filter by geography.

    • Applies to events

      Applies to events is a parameter used by the application to filter events.

    • Area

      An area is a geographic location. Areas are at a higher geographic resolution than subareas.

    • Assessment

      An assessment is a fee imposed on members of an insurance association for certain qualifying events.

    • Average annual loss

      Average Annual Loss (AAL) is the average loss across all simulated years in a loss analysis.

    • Base maps

      Base maps are used in the application to provide a geographic setting for your exposure data.

    • Binary

      A binary file contains information that is only readable to a computer.

    • Bulk copy paste operations

      Use Select All, Copy, and Paste functions to copy many items in a grid and then paste them in an application, such as in another pane in the application or in a spreadsheet.

    • Catalog type

      At Verisk, catalogs include events based on one or more models over a period of time.

    • Catastrophe bond

      A program type which involves catastrophe-linked securities contracts.

    • Catastrophe excess of loss
    • CATRADER

      Verisk proprietary software application for the reinsurance market.

    • CEDE

      A Verisk database format that defines and stores detailed (location level) exposure data.

    • Clusters

      Clusters are a group of districts within a state in India.

    • Coinsurance

      Coinsurance represents the proportion of the losses to the layer that are paid by the reinsurance program.

    • Column chooser

      The Column Chooser is available from a variety of panes and used to filter which columns to display.

    • Common buttons

      The application display many buttons (icons) that are common to many windows, panes, and dialog boxes.

    • Company loss

      Company losses are calculated once losses are summarized for all events associated with the company.

    • Company loss maximum

      Company loss maximum is a trigger which excludes occurrences from consideration in a loss calculation.

    • Company loss minimum

      Company loss minimum is a trigger which excludes occurrences from consideration in a loss calculation.

    • Contract gain

      Adjustment associated with portfolio analyses only.

    • Contract loss

      Losses based on contract terms entered for the program being analyzed,

    • Cores

      A core is an individual processor; the part of a computer that executes programs.

    • Country codes and abbreviations

      Information concerning countries commonly used in Touchstone Re.

    • Coverage rate

      Coverage rate indicates the percentage of company loss of that particular LOB to consider when applying financial terms.

    • CREPS

      Original name for current Relationships feature.

    • CRESTA

      Country-specific zones for the uniform and detailed reporting of exposure data usually relating to natural hazards.

    • CSV

      A CSV (comma separated file) is a simple text file that stores data.

    • Currency rate settings

      Currency rates are established for each reinsurance program.

    • Damage factors

      Damage factors are applied to catastrophe models to customize losses based on the experiences of a company.

    • Demand surge

      Demand Surge is the increase in prices for labor and materials following a catastrophe, as contractors take advantage of the increase in demand for repairs and replacement construction.

    • Demand surge factors

      A demand surge adjustment factor represents the increase in building costs caused by an excess demand for resources such as materials and labor following a major catastrophic event.

    • Deterministic event

      A deterministic event is an event described by user-selected values for event characteristics.

    • DLF

      A Detailed Loss File contains area and subarea information as well as line of business information.

    • ELT

      The Event Loss Tables (ELT) are the format used to transfer loss files from Touchstone Re to Analyze Re.

    • EMF

      Event Mapping Files (EMF) are used to map events between versions of select U.S. models.

    • Exposure management module

      module.

    • EP adjustment

      A adjustment made to an exceedance probability (EP) curve at the program level based on user knowledge of loss experience for a particular model.

    • EP values

      Exceedance Probability (EP) values are those values assigned to a distribution of points (e.g., year, return period, event ID).

    • Event characteristics

      An event characteristic is a variable that describes an aspect of an event.

    • Event set

      An event set specifies the loss files to use for an analysis.

    • EVI

      A simple text file generated by Verisk software, which includes information to communicate loss information between the application and the associated loss file.

    • EVT

      A file of indexed events.

    • Exceedance probability

      A set of probabilities and return periods that appear in loss analysis results.

    • Expected loss

      Expected loss is the percentage of loss each bond/layer is expected to incur in any given year.

    • Expiration date

      Expiration date is the last day on which coverage for this treaty is effective.

    • Exposure adjustment factor

      Adjustment factor used to modify company exposures by LOB.

    • Exposure data

      Exposures are collections of data which measure of vulnerability to loss, usually expressed in dollars or units.

    • Extreme disaster scenario

      An Extreme Disaster Scenarios (EDS) represent unlikely, but scientifically plausible, scenarios that cannot be captured by standard stochastic modeling techniques.

    • Factors and adjustments

      A variety of factors and adjustments can be applied in Touchstone Re.

    • Facultative reinsurance

      A common insurance arrangement in the reinsurance business where contracts are negotiated separately for each insurance policy.

    • Filter

      Some areas of the user interface include tools that enable you to filter by a set of criteria.

    • Filter operators

      Operators help you filter information.

    • Final net loss

      Final Net Loss is total event losses net of reinstatement premiums but not the initial program premium.

    • FIPS

      FIPS are used to name states and counties in numerical format.

    • GeoJSON vector file

      Vector file which can be imported into and displayed by Touchstone Re.

    • GeoTiff raster file

      Raster file which can be imported into and displayed by Touchstone Re.

    • GML vector file

      Vector file which can be imported into and displayed by Touchstone Re.

    • Gross loss

      Gross loss includes the total event losses net the percentage established for gross participation.

    • Gross participation

      Gross participation is the percentage of the losses to be assumed by the reinsurer.

    • Ground up loss

      Ground up loss (a.k.a. Company loss, GU) is the total loss generated before the application of any financial terms.

    • HIST

      Verisk's Historical Catalog (HIST) includes historical events for one or more models.

    • Historical events

      Historical event sets contain simulations of historical events.

    • Inception date

      Inception date is the first day on which coverage for this treaty is effective.

    • Include LOBs

      LOBs to include in your program.

    • Industry Exposure Database

      An Industry Exposure Database contains industry-wide data on aggregate exposures for sums insured, number of risks, and premium data by line of business and payroll.

    • Industrial facility module

      Industrial Facility Module (IFM) identify occupancy class codes for the 400 series.

    • Industry loss file

      An ILF contains gross industry insurable losses for each peril type organized by event, geographic area and line of business.

    • Industry loss maximum

      An industry loss maximum is a trigger which specifies the value above which occurrences are excluded from consideration.

    • Industry loss minimum

      An industry loss minimum is a trigger which specifies the value below which occurrences are excluded from consideration.

    • Industry loss warranty

      A reinsurance program (ILW) where the reinsurer or investor purchases protection based on the total loss arising from an event to the entire insurance industry.

    • Insurers coinsurance

      The portion of the losses to the layer that are retained by the cedant.

    • Inuring loss

      Inuring loss is the loss reduction applied to company loss after inuring programs and terms are invoked.

    • Inuring program

      Inuring reinsurance programs affect the amount of risks being transferred to or from the reinsured and which contract is affected.

    • Investment

      An investment is a resource (e.g. money, time) set aside in the expectation of some benefit in the future.

    • Investment amount

      The investment amount (monetary) associated with the bond/layer.

    • LIBOR

      London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is a benchmark rate that some of the world's leading banks charge each other for short-term loans.

    • Lines of business

      Exposures are organized into LOBs which are specific to country and peril type.

    • Loss file format

      Guidelines for loss file format.

    • Loss market shares

      Loss market shares are calculated by dividing a company's stochastic losses across all events by the industry insurable losses across all events (by peril, area or subarea, and LOB).

    • Loss modification factor

      A user-specified adjustment factor that applies to the ground-up losses for a single program.

    • Loss perspectives

      A manner in which losses are viewed.

    • Market share

      Market share is the percentage of insurable exposure in a given region and line of business covered by an insurance or reinsurance company in terms of industry totals as defined in the ts-tsre_all/help_tsre_ref_indust-exposure-db.html.

    • Market trend factor

      A market trend factor is a user-specified adjustment factor that applies to the losses for a single program.

    • Match loss

      A program term associated with occurrence limit.

    • MPCI

      Insurance focussed primarily on crop-related perils and losses.

    • MPCI analysis - China

      Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) analysis for China is based on premiums for all crops.

    • MPCI analysis - India

      Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) analysis for mainland India.

    • MPCI analysis - United States

      The Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) model for the U.S. is based on premiums for all crops.

    • Multi-year reset date

      Parameter to override program inception date.

    • Net of pre-CAT

      Net of Pre-CAT loss is the total loss generated after the application of all reinsurance treaties, except for Catastrophe Excess of Loss (CAT XOL) treaties.

    • Net participation

      Net participation is the actual amount that the original reinsurer is liable for.

    • Net retained loss

      Net retained losses are losses retained by a ceding company (primary insurer) after netting out reinsurance contract losses and any associated inuring contract losses.

    • Occurrence limit

      An occurrence limit is the maximum loss that this treaty can incur from each occurrence.

    • Occurrence loss

      The highest possible loss for the specified period from a single event.

    • Occurrence retention

      Occurrence retention is he value below which occurrence losses are not assumed by the layer.

    • Pandemic

      A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that has spread across a large region, countries, multiple continents, or even worldwide.

    • Participation

      Participation indicates the reinsurers' share of the portfolio.

    • Per risk

      A reinsurance program (PR) which applies retention and amount of reinsurance "per risk" rather than on an aggregate or per event basis.

    • Percent ceded

      Percent ceded is the ceded amount as a percentage.

    • Percent placed

      Percent Placed is the percentage of the treaty that has been placed with reinsurers.

    • Perils

      Verisk identifies certain hazards that can be measured against potential or actual insured losses.

    • Perspective

      A perspective specifies the terms that should apply to the loss results.

    • PMFBY

      Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is the government sponsored crop insurance scheme for India that integrates multiple stakeholders on a single platform.

    • Premiums

      A premium type is used to view the loss results net of the reinsurance premium received for the contract.

    • Principal amount

      The principal amount associated with the bond/layer.

    • Probability of attachment

      The probability (%) of a program/layer experiencing some loss.

    • Probability of exhaustion

      The probability (%) of a program/layer experiencing a complete loss.

    • Probabilistic event

      A probabilistic event is an event described by probable values for event characteristics.

    • Probable maximum loss

      The probable maximum loss (PML) is an estimate of the likelihood that a catastrophic loss will be met or exceeded within a specified time.

    • Program loss adjustments

      Program Loss Adjustments (PLA) is one feature of Verisk's ts-tsre_all/help_tsre_ref_advanced-loss-mod.html (ALM) offering.

    • Program structures

      A drag-and-drop visualization of complex reinsurance structures managed under the Relationships tab.

    • Program types

      A reinsurance program is insurance for an insurance company.

    • Projections

      Map projections certified for use.

    • Quota share

      A reinsurance program (QS) where the reinsurer accepts a stated percentage of each exposure written by the ceding company on a defined class of business.

    • RDS

      Lloyd's of London maintains Realistic Disaster Scenarios (RDS) to stress test both individual syndicates and the market as a whole.

    • Reinstatement

      A reinstatement is the number of times a layer may be reinstated during the contract year.

    • Reinsurance terms

      Common reinsurance terms.

    • Risk limit

      Risk limit is the treaty limit for a single risk or layer.

    • Risk retention

      Risk retention is the value below which the total losses are not assumed by the layer.

    • Selection controls

      Selection controls are used to quickly select or deselect items in a list.

    • Shapefiles

      A shapefile is a simple, non-topological vector format for storing the geometric location and attribute information of geographic features.

    • SID

      Sequential Identifier (SID) used in database implementation for unique identification of a record.

    • Source program

      A source program (child) is associated with a subject program (parent).

    • Spread

      The coupon spread for the bond/layer over LIBOR.

    • SQLite vector file

      Vector file which can be imported into and displayed by Touchstone Re.

    • SRA

      A Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) for federal crop insurance is a set of contracts between the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) and private companies.

    • Starting event #

      An integer value that indicates at which event during the year the layer terms are to become effective.

    • Status

      Status of the program or layer.

    • STC

      A Stochastic Catalog (STC) includes events based on one or more stochastic models over a period of time.

    • Stochastic model

      A stochastic model is a tool for estimating probability distributions of potential outcomes by allowing for random variation in one or more inputs over time.

    • Sums insured

      Sums Insured (SI) is the maximum amount that an insurance company insurance company is obligated to cover in the event of a covered loss.

    • Surplus share

      Surplus share is proportional reinsurance program(SS) in which the reinsurer assumes pro rata responsibility for uniquely defined portions of the risk.

    • Tail value at risk

      The tail value at risk (TVAR) measures the average of all simulated losses from a percentile or return period on the loss distribution through the full "tail" of the loss distribution.

    • Take-up rates

      Take-up rates are the percentage of insurable properties that are actually insured.

    • Target

      In Touchstone Re, a target is a company loss set or an exposure set.

    • Treaty ID

      Treaty ID is a unique identifier provided by the user when creating a program.

    • Touchstone

      Touchstone® is Verisk's risk management solution for detailed loss.

    • Touchstone online help

      For more information on topics specific to Touchstone Re sister application, Touchstone go to the Client Portal to review the Release Documentation.

    • Treaty information

      Treaty information are program details.

    • Treaty reinsurance

      A common insurance arrangement in the reinsurance business.

    • Treaty terms

      Treaty terms are characteristics used to define a reinsurance program.

    • Treaty type

      Touchstone Re reinsurance programs support a number of reinsurance treaty types.

    • Triggers

      Triggers define company and industry loss parameters and take into consideration the geographic region defined in Applies to Areas.

    • User-defined categories (UDC)

      UDCs enable you to classify companies and programs using criteria that are meaningful and useful to you.

    • ULF

      A user-generated Loss File (ULF) is an ASCII file.

    • UNC

      UNC) is a standard for identifying servers, printers, and other resources in a network.

    • Underwriting judgement factor (UJF)

      A UJF is a user-defined adjustment factor that applies to ceding company program losses.

    • UNICEDE

      UNICEDE files contain exposure information that is easily imported into Touchstone Re.

    • Unit

      A control that enables you to specify the order of magnitude at which you want to view monetary figures.

    • Vector files - guidelines and restrictions

      Vector file which can be imported into and displayed by Touchstone Re.

    • World Scenarios events

      Contain a suite of event types used by Verisk applications.

    • WSST

      Warm Sea Surface Temperature (WSST) refers to long-term warming and cooling trends in the Atlantic Ocean that have been shown to affect hurricane activity, with increased activity occurring during warming trends.

ULF

A user-generated Loss File (ULF) is an ASCII file.

ULF file content must adhere to loss file format guidelines.

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Touchstone Re. Updated June 14, 2023.