Wheaton, Ill., Oct. 28, 2009--A U.S. insurance advisory organization recently announced that it has licensed the use of a statistical software platform from one of the world's most renowned actuarial consulting firms.

The American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) recently signed a license to use the "Pretium" system developed by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, the global firm based in Arlington, Va.

AAIS is a national advisory organization that develops standardized policy forms and rating information used by more than 600 property/casualty insurers of all sizes. It maintains 24 programs of personal, farm, commercial, and inland marine insurance for use by its member insurers.

Pretium is a software platform that, in essence, operates in tandem with standard SAS statistical software to provide analytical applications specifically developed for the needs of insurers. Pretium is made available in the U.S. and Canada through Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Bloomington, Ill.

"Pretium provides multivariate modeling and sophisticated geographical spatial analyses," says Roosevelt Mosley, a principal and consulting actuary for Pinnacle, which will provide support services for AAIS's use of the platform.

"These applications are being used by insurers to help identify profitable segments, fine-tune marketing initiatives, and incorporate customer response modeling," Mosley says. "Pretium streamlines the analysis process for faster and more efficient modeling."

At AAIS, Pretium will be used to help develop rating plans that rate for individual types of property perils and liability claims, first in the AAIS Homeowners Program, then in other lines. To accomplish this, Pretium is being used to test a series of variables to determine if and how they are predictive of loss.

"Pretium will allow us to analyze new rating variables and old rating variables to a degree that couldn't be done before," says Greg Jaynes, AAIS chief actuary.

For information on affiliating with AAIS for use of its actuarial service or Homeowners Program, contact Rick Maka, director of marketing, at rickm@AAISonline.com, or by calling 800-564-AAIS, ext. 222.