Boston-based catastrophe risk management firm Karen Clark & Co. has been selected by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) as the lead consultant in developing a recommendation on the scope, timeline and potential costs of building a national catastrophe multi-peril model for personal lines.

The NAIC retained Karen Clark & Co. to conduct the study and produce the report which will include three sections – hurricane loss modeling, earthquake loss modeling and general modeling.

SPA Risk LLC, a consulting firm with expertise in natural hazards model development, risk assessment and risk mitigation, has also been retained by the NAIC to develop the earthquake loss modeling section of the report.

"Given the importance of catastrophe models in assessing insurance company exposure to financial loss, the NAIC requires a thorough expert analysis of various alternatives with respect to these models," said Karen Clark, president and CEO of the firm. "We are thrilled to have been selected by this prestigious organization, and to lend our expertise to this ambitious effort."

The feasibility study is scheduled to be completed in mid-June. Karen Clark & Co. will work with the NAIC to develop realistic timetables and cost projections based on the alternative approaches.