Towers Watson Introduces Updated Version of ResQ Reserving Software

Advanced software adapted for evolving economic conditions

Global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) has released an updated version of its ResQ reserving software for property & casualty (P&C) insurers, which includes enhanced methods to allow insurers to quantify possible inflationary and other calendar-related effects.

With ResQ 3.8, Towers Watson has concentrated on statistical methods to model calendar-period effects (including possible claim inflation) and further improvements to the user experience. The principal updates include:

• Generalized linear modeling (GLM) that allows statistical modeling of origin, development and calendar-period effects, and provides analytic estimates of the standard deviation of reserve forecasts in addition to a best estimate
• The Markov Chain Monte Carlo method, providing a full distribution of forecasts (and their cash flows) associated with GLM — useful for reserve risk and capital calculations
• Enhancements to other standard reserving methods, data importing features, and the usability of user-defined custom methods and scripts

“Insurers have been operating in a low inflationary environment for some time,” said Peter England, Towers Watson’s global product leader for P&C reserving software. “It’s important to understand and quantify calendar-year trends in the claims that have occurred in the past, and to consider the impact of increasing claim inflation in the future. ResQ’s new features offer a significant step toward quantifying those aspects.”

Building on more than a decade of development and innovation, ResQ combines powerful modeling and reserving methods with flexible mechanisms to structure, access and manage data sets. There are nearly 350 insurance companies worldwide that currently use the software.

About Towers Watson

Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) is a leading global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management. The company offers consulting, technology and solutions in the areas of benefits, talent management, rewards, and risk and capital management. Towers Watson has more than 14,000 associates around the world and is located on the web at towerswatson.com.

Towers WatsonJosh Wozman, +1 703 258 [e-mail] Savani, +1 703 258 [e-mail]