Leading Experts to Study Gulf Coast Disasters: Rethinking US & International Insurance, Credit Policies

Business Wire, Jan 30, 2007

CHAPEL HILL, N.C & CHICAGO -- The Political & Economic Research Council (PERC), and the Brookings Institution Urban Markets Initiative (UMI) have joined forces with the World Bank to examine economic recovery in the Gulf Coast region following the Katrina, Rita and Wilma disasters. The study focuses upon the credit and insurance aspects of these disasters upon individuals, communities, and small businesses--an important part of the Gulf Coast regional economy.

Dr. Michael Turner, president of PERC comments, "Understanding how these disasters impacted the affected population's credit standing and access to credit will reveal much about the effectiveness of renewal and recovery efforts to date, and should provide actionable information to guide future efforts."

Massive current and historical datasets of personal and commercial credit information, as well as socio-demographic indicators, will be pooled to measure the financial impacts of the three hurricanes upon individuals, communities, and small businesses. Data partners include Acxiom, Experian, SAS Institute, Standard & Poor's, and TransUnion.

"By using sophisticated analytics on more than 200 historical credit data elements, we can precisely determine the impact of these disasters on a person's credit or access to credit over time," said TransUnion's Chet Wiermanksi, Vice President, Analytics and Decisioning.

Led by the World Bank, the catastrophe insurance component of the study will attempt to develop "financial vulnerability" indices for households and small businesses. "Using high resolution credit data currently available only in the US, the Bank hopes not only to gain insights into the financial effects of natural disasters on the poor, but also develop effective policy recommendations on the design of national disaster risk funding mechanisms for countries prone to natural disasters," said Dr. Eugene Gurenko, Lead Insurance Specialist of the World Bank.

"The results of this research could have profound and far-reaching implications for disaster insurance in the U.S. and around the world," added Alyssa Lee, Acting Director of UMI.

About PERC

The Political and Economic Research Council is a non-profit, non-partisan organization and seeks to advance public policy through the judicious application of objective academically rigorous analysis. Its mission includes the wider use of information and improve information flows for the development of better social and economic policy. The Council is funded by both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations that support the Institute's general mission and agenda.

About TransUnion

TransUnion is a global leader in credit and information management. The company creates advantages for millions of people around the world by gathering, analyzing and delivering information. For businesses, TransUnion helps improve efficiency, manage risk, reduce costs and increase revenue by delivering comprehensive data and advanced analytics and decisioning. For consumers, TransUnion provides the tools, resources and education to help manage their credit health and achieve their financial goals. Through these and other efforts, TransUnion is working to build stronger economies worldwide. Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Chicago, TransUnion employs more than 4,000 employees in more than 30 countries on six continents. www.transunion.com/business

Graphics and/or photographs to accompany this release can be obtained by members of the media by contacting Cliff O'Neal (coneal@transunion.com) at 312-985-2540 or Rob Lynch (ralynch@transunion.com) at 312-985-3059.