A senior academic at Strathclyde Business School has won a prestigious prize for research that could help mitigate risk for the insurance industry.
Professor Tim Bedford, of the Department of Management Science, was among the winners in the Lloyd’s Science of Risk awards, presented on November 28.
He received the prize for research which was designed to help the insurance industry manage risks and which could ultimately help to reduce costs for consumers. The presentation was made at the Lloyd's Insurance Building in London by Tom Bolt, Performance Management Director of Lloyd's.
Professor Bedford, who is also an Associate Deputy Principal at Strathclyde University, was recognised in the Geopolitical and Societal category – one of three in the Science of Risk awards.
He said, "Insurance affects many of us, whether it is home, car or life insurance. The industry strives for the best possible understanding of risk to operate as effectively as possible. This research offers a new approach to measuring and communicating risk that can lead to improved understanding to the benefit of the insurance industry and society as a whole.
"The Science of Risk award reflects the University's reputation for research with a positive impact on the wider world, and I am thrilled we have been recognised in this way."
The research paper examines the usual model of assessing group risks - a single curve which can misrepresent the level of uncertainty - and proposes a new version which takes greater account of unknown factors.
The judging panel concluded that Professor Bedford's paper was relevant to insurers because of an increasing use of modelling, in which absence of detail can restrict understanding of potential risk, and believed it had broad applications within the industry.
Entrants in the Geopolitical and Societal category could address a wide range of questions in their submissions, including the implications for the insurance industry of recent events relating to the euro, matters relating to an ageing population in Europe and elsewhere and the evolution of risks from cyberterrorism.