PURCHASE, N.Y. & COLOGNE, Germany - (Business Wire) DFA Capital Management Inc. (DFA), one of the leading providers of enterprise risk management solutions for insurers and financial service providers, announced today that Provinzial NordWest Holding AG, Germany
’s second largest public insurer, which offers life insurance as well as property and casualty insurance, has decided in favor of GEMS
™, DFA
’s economic scenario generator.
Provinzial Holding AG generated premium income in 2007 of € 2.9 billion through its insurance subsidiaries Westfälische Provinzial Versicherung AG, Provinzial Nord Brandkasse AG, Provinzial NordWest Lebensversicherung AG and Hamburger Feuerkasse Versicherungs-AG and manages assets of € 20.3 billion within the group. Provinzial employs about 3,000 office employees and serves three million customers with nearly 10 million current contracts.
“For risk modeling under Solvency II, as well as calculating market consistent embedded value, we were searching for a flexible scenario generator that was compatible with our existing modeling instruments and software that we could use to generate so-called real world scenarios for risk modeling as well as risk-neutral scenarios for embedded value calculations,” Dr. Ulrich Lüxmann, CFO of the Provinzial NordWest Group, explained.
“We decided in favor of GEMS after evaluating capital market scenario generators from other providers. We established that, in comparison with models from other providers, GEMS distinguished itself through its more in-depth and comprehensive models and as a result of its greater flexibility. DFA’s product was therefore the one best tailored to our needs,” said Halil Bektas, head of group controlling at Provinzial NordWest Holding AG.
GEMS simulates the future conditions of the world economy that the modeled enterprise or product might have to go through. Thanks to highly modern technology, empirically validated, realistic behavior is achieved that, in turn, leads to more precise modeling scenarios with more realistic resulting events. In addition, it is possible to record the distribution as well as the dynamics of economic and financial variables that might have a critical influence on an enterprise. Users can gain a better overview of their risks through the integration of GEMS and the existing modeling software. It is possible, for example, to quantify the probability and scope of, and basic causes for, financial events. In this way, enterprises can determine with greater precision the risk capital that is necessary to secure their liabilities.
“Provinzial is impressed by the fact that GEMS is able to identify risks whose effects are similar to those of the credit crisis,” explained Lisa Cash, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing at DFA Capital Management. “In addition, they find that DFA provides more sophisticated tools that make it easier to analyze and understand the results of the models. As a result, Provinzial’s opportunity to collect and evaluate information that helps in the development of its business plan is improved.”
“We are pleased that we are able to offer Provinzial state-of-the-art solutions for its modeling of the economy,” Lisa Cash continued.
You can find additional information at www.dfa.com.
About DFA Capital Management Inc.
DFA Capital Management Inc. (www.dfa.com) is the market leader in dynamic financial analysis software for the insurance and financial services industries. DFA’s software-based financial and risk management system is a foundation for competitive advantage for any insurance company with multiple business lines, reinsurance activities, rapidly changing business portfolios, and significant premium volumes.
Founded in 1999, DFA Capital Management Inc. is headquartered in Purchase, N.Y., with offices in Germany and Switzerland.
About Provinzial NordWest Holding AG
The Provinzial NordWest Group – which emerged from the merger of the two long-established groups of companies, Westfälische Provinzial and Provinzial Nord – is the second largest public insurance group in Germany. Property and Casualty insurers Westfälische Provinzial Versicherung AG, Münster, Provinzial Nord Brandkasse AG, Kiel, and Hamburger Feuerkasse Versicherungs-AG – which are solidly anchored in their respective regions – and Provinzial NordWest Lebensversicherung AG, which serves as the common life insurer, operate under the umbrella of Provinzial NordWest Holding AG. Our closeness to our customers and the traditionally tight economic bond to the respective region continue to be the substantial cornerstones of our success.
www.provinzial.de
Stanton Crenshaw Communications
Kathleen Ferrari, +1 212-780-1900
kferrari@stantoncrenshaw.com
or
DFA Capital Management Inc.
Karen Verelley, +1 914-701-7238
karen.verelley@dfa.com
