Home
Reference
Supporting information on various topics associated with Touchstone Re.
ULF
In Touchstone Re, a user-generated Loss File (ULF) is an ASCII file.

Welcome to Touchstone Re
Introduction to Verisk's Touchstone Re application.
Companies
A company is unique entity in Touchstone Re.
Company data (exposures)
Companies in Touchstone Re are always 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 in Touchstone Re.
Import
Import exposure data from external sources intoTouchstone Re 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 in Touchstone Re 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
  In Touchstone Re, adjustment factors allows you to customize the data in your analysis by compensating for variations in company, program, and exposure data.
- Advanced Loss Modification (ALM)
  This Touchstone Re feature allows clients to customize and adjust various parameters in catastrophe risk analysis.
- Aggregate excess of loss
  Aggregate excess of loss (AOL) is a reinsurance program 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
  Aggregate limit is 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
  Aggregate retention is 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 in Touchstone Re 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 Touchstone Re loss analysis.
- Base maps
  Base maps are used in Touchstone and Touchstone Re 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
  In Touchstone and Touchstone Re , 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 catastrophe bond is a program type which involves catastrophe-linked securities contracts.
- Catastrophe excess of loss
  A catastrophe excess of loss (XOL) is a type of reinsurance program which indemnifies the ceding company for that portion of the loss that exceeds the limit of its own retention per event.
- 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 in Touchstone and Touchstone Re and used to filter which columns to display.
- Common buttons
  Touchstone and Touchstone Re display many buttons (icons) that are common to many windows, panes, and dialog boxes.
- Company loss
  In Touchstone Re, company losses are calculated once losses are summarized for all events associated with the company.
- Company loss maximum
  In Touchstone Re, company loss maximum is a trigger which excludes occurrences from consideration in a loss calculation.
- Company loss minimum
  In Touchstone Re, company loss minimum is a trigger which excludes occurrences from consideration in a loss calculation.
- Contract gain
  In Touchstone Re, contract gain is an adjustment associated with portfolio analyses.
- Contract loss
  In Touchstone Re, contract loss are 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.
- Coverage rate
  In Touchstone Re, coverage rate indicates the percentage of company loss of that particular LOB to consider when applying financial terms.
- 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
  In Touchstone Re, 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
  In Touchstone Re, 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
  In Touchstone Re, an EP adjustment is an 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
  In Touchstone Re, 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
  A Verisk event set specifies the loss files to use for a loss analysis.
- EVI
  An EVI file is a simple text file generated by Verisk software, which includes information to communicate loss information between the application and the associated loss file.
- EVT
  At Verisk, an EVT file is a file of indexed events.
- Exceedance probability and programs
  Exceedance probability is 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
  In Touchstone Re, expiration date is the last day on which coverage for this treaty is effective.
- Exposure adjustment factor
  In Touchstone Re, an exposure adjustment factor is one type of adjustment factor used to modify company exposures by line of business (LOB).
- Exposure data
  In Verisk, 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 Touchstone and Touchstone Re user interface include tools that enable you to filter by a set of criteria.
- Filter operators
  In Touchstone and Touchstone Re, operators help you filter information.
- Final net loss
  In Touchstone Re, 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
  In Touchstone Re, gross loss includes the total event losses net the percentage established for gross participation.
- Gross participation
  In Touchstone Re, gross participation is the percentage of the losses to be assumed by the reinsurer.
- Ground up loss
  In Touchstone Re, 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
  At Verisk, historical event sets contain simulations of historical events.
- Inception date
  In Touchstone Re, inception date is the first day on which coverage for this treaty is effective.
- Include LOBs
  In Touchstone Re, Include LOBs indicates which lines of business to include in your program.
- Industry Exposure Database
  A Verisk 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
  The Industrial Facility Module (IFM) identifies occupancy class codes for the 400 series.
- Industry loss file
  A Verisk ILF contains gross industry insurable losses for each peril type organized by event, geographic area and line of business.
- Industry loss maximum
  In Touchstone Re, an industry loss maximum is a trigger which specifies the value above which occurrences are excluded from consideration.
- Industry loss minimum
  In Touchstone Re,an industry loss minimum is a trigger which specifies the value below which occurrences are excluded from consideration.
- Industry loss warranty
  In Touchstone Re, 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
  In Touchstone Re, insurers coinsurance is the portion of the losses to the layer that are retained by the cedant.
- Inuring loss
  In Touchstone Re, inuring loss is the loss reduction applied to company loss after inuring programs and terms are invoked.
- Inuring program
  In Touchstone Re, 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
  At Verisk, exposures are organized into LOBs which are specific to country and peril type.
- Loss file format
  Verisk 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
  In Touchstone Re, a loss modification factor is a user-specified adjustment factor that applies to the ground-up losses for a single program.
- Loss perspectives
  A loss perspective is 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
  In Touchstone Re, a match loss is a program term associated with occurrence limit.
- MPCI
  Insurance focussed primarily on crop-related perils and losses.
- MPCI analysis - China
  In Touchstone Re, Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) analysis for China (a.k.a China Agriculture) is based on premiums for all crops.
- MPCI analysis - India
  In Touchstone Re, Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) analysis fapplies to mainland India.
- MPCI analysis - United States
  In Touchstone Re, the Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) model for the U.S. is based on premiums for all crops.
- Multi-year reset date
  In Touchstone Re, multi-year reset date is the parameter used to override program inception date.
- Net of pre-CAT
  In Touchstone Re, 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 an insurance treaty can incur from each occurrence.
- Occurrence loss
  Occurrence loss is the highest possible loss for the specified period from a single event.
- Occurrence retention
  Occurrence retention is the 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 a portfolio.
- Per risk
  Per risk (PR) is a type of reinsurance program 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
  In Touchstone Re, the principal amount associated with the bond/layer.
- Probability of attachment
  In Touchstone Re, the probability of attachment is the probability (%) of a program/layer experiencing some loss.
- Probability of exhaustion
  In Touchstone Re, the probability of exhaustion is 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
  In Touchstone Re, program structures refer to drag-and-drop visualization of complex reinsurance structures managed under the Relationships tab.
- Program types
  A reinsurance program is insurance for an insurance company. Touchstone Re offers a number of program types.
- Projections
  Map projections certified for use in Verisk applications.
- Quota share
  In Touchstone Re, a quota share (QS) is one type of reinsurance program 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 used in Touchstone Re.
- 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
  In Touchstone and Touchstone Re, 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
  In Verisk applications, 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
  A spread reflects the differences between bonds with different interest rate coupons 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 #
  In Touchstone Re, a starting event number is an integer value that indicates at which event during the year the layer terms are to become effective.
- Status
  In Touchstone Re, the 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
  In Touchstone Re, a 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's sister application, Touchstone go to the Client Portal to review the Release Documentation.
- Treaty information
  In Touchstone Re, treaty information are program details.
- Treaty reinsurance
  In Touchstone Re, a common insurance arrangement in the reinsurance business.
- Treaty terms
  In Touchstone Re, treaty terms are characteristics used to define a reinsurance program.
- Treaty type
  Touchstone Re reinsurance programs support a number of reinsurance treaty types.
- Triggers
  In Touchstone Re, triggers define company and industry loss parameters and take into consideration the geographic region defined in Applies to Areas.
- User-defined categories (UDC)
  In Touchstone Re, UDCs enable you to classify companies and programs using criteria that are meaningful and useful to you.
- ULF
  In Touchstone Re, 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
  In Touchstone Re, a unit is 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 files can be imported into and displayed by Touchstone Re.
- World Scenarios events
  World Scenarios files 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

In Touchstone Re, a user-generated Loss File (ULF) is an ASCII file.

ULF file content must adhere to loss file format guidelines.