“My work has always been fascinating, and I’ve travelled the world and established relationships with the best and brightest in the industry.”
Name: Karen Clark Company: Karen Clark & Company Job:
President and CEO
Timeline: 2007—Co-founded Karen Clark & Company 1987—Developed first catastrophe model
Karen Clark developed the first catastrophe model and founded the first modelling company, Applied Insurance Research (AIR), in 1987. Clark led the development of models and software applications
that have been used globally over the past two decades as standard tools for catastrophe risk assessment and management. She grew AIR to a top modelling firm that was acquired by Insurance Services Office (ISO). Currently, Clark is the president and CEO of Karen Clark & Company, a firm she co-founded in 2007 to consult with leading insurers and reinsurers and to work on the next generation of catastrophe risk management tools. Clark has been recognised for her contributions to the insurance industry, including being honoured as Woman of the Year by the Association of Professional Insurance Women (APIW) in 2001. She was honoured with an award certificate for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize bestowed on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for her support of the work of the IPCC since its inception. Other awards include Lifetime Achievement Award (Review
Worldwide Reinsurance Awards), Most Influential Woman in the reinsurance industry (Global Reinsurance), Risk Innovator (Risk & Insurance magazine), ranked 14th Most Influential Person in the insurance industry over the last 30 years (Reactions magazine) and 6th most influential Living Legend (National Underwriter). Clark has appeared on national television and was featured in two History Channel specials on Northeast hurricanes and earthquakes.
What has been the highlight of your career so far? This is a difficult question because every year gets better, and I’ve
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been very fortunate throughout my career. My work has always been fascinating, and I’ve travelled the world and established relationships with the best and brightest in the industry. Because I made a fortune when I sold AIR to ISO some may have thought that was the highlight and possible end of my career. But it was neither and I’m still at it—there are certainly many more highlights to come.
What has been the biggest challenge you have
encountered? Twice now I’ve disrupted the status quo and launched new technology to improve the way companies understand and manage catastrophe risk. Getting the industry to adopt something new—even if it’s clearly better—is very difficult. It takes a lot of expertise to develop innovative solutions, and then it takes a lot of energy and tenacity to get companies to embrace the newer and better technology. Because catastrophe models have become so engrained in the industry most people don’t know how hard it was to get companies to use the models in the early days. I developed the first hurricane model in the mid-1980s, but it wasn’t until after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 that most insurance companies started using the models. Rating agencies didn’t start looking at the model numbers until the mid-1990s.
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