giving insurance companies the edge on the competition, according to industry experts.

Bermuda-based Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd. and ACE Ltd. subsidiary Tempest Re are on the forefront among companies using catastrophe modelling techniques to better judge the risk they are underwriting.

"It's much more than a portfolio management exercise,'' Renaissance Reinsurance president and chief operating officer Bill Riker said yesterday.

Keeping on the cutting edge of insurance "I just can't understate how powerful a tool it is in putting the odds in your favour. We spend a lot of money developing these methodologies but it paid off beyond our wildest dreams.'' Mr. Riker was moderator of a panel discussion on catastrophe modelling techniques yesterday at the World Insurance Forum. The Forum is being held at the Southampton Princess.

More and more insurers and reinsurers are harnessing the power of the computer and high-tech software packages to look at their book of business in relation to past hurricane and earthquake activity. The catastrophe simulation models allows the underwriters to judge just how risky their business is.

Mr. Riker cautioned however that the models can be wrong. They were just a guide.

Catastrophe modelling: A.M. Best assistant vice president Robin Albanese spoke about computer simulations of natural catastrophies in judging insurance risk yesterday at the World Insurance Forum.