Following the Tohoku earthquake in 2011, a series of investigations have been performed with respect to our established view of this peril. The studies reveal a number of opportunities to improve our modeled view across hazard (attenuation and site conditions), vulnerability, spatial correlation (distance dependence) and appropriate damage ratio distributions.

The investigation includes an assessment of the following themes in improving the Validus View of Risk:

• Enhanced attenuation model by Zhao et al. (2006)
• Updated soil data (NIED, 2008)
• Improving Damage Curve calibration
• Distance-dependence of spatial correlation
• Improving PDFs used for damage ratio modeling

Refinements to the Validus View of Risk for Earthquake in Japan demonstrate improved model performance over recent efforts and a demonstration of the agile application of internal and external Research.

Please contact your underwriting representative to discuss these or other Research topics further.