Aon plc has acquired Evaluación de Riesgos Naturales (ERN), a Mexico-based provider of risk assessment modeling for an undisclosed price.

The acquisition is expected to help the global professional services firm expand its catastrophe modeling and consultancy capabilities in Latin America.

Through the acquisition, Aon aims to bring further value to its insurer clients, which are said to face three main issues in handling natural catastrophe and climate volatility, the ability to understand an evolving climate, and the necessity to create a tailored view of risk to drive better business decisions.

ERN will join the reinsurance solutions business of Aon. The former will work together with the impact forecasting team, whose modeling suite is said to help businesses in analyzing the financial effects of catastrophic events with a view to build effective reinsurance, exposure management, and underwriting strategies.

Keith Lawler — Aon Reinsurance Solutions in Latin America managing director said: “The acquisition aligns within Aon’s global position as a leader in data and analytics solutions for the re/insurance industry, our focus on catastrophe model development in Latin America, and our use of scientific research, academic collaborations and robust analytics to build innovative risk solutions for the public and private sectors.

“We are excited to welcome the ERN team as we together pursue our shared commitment in helping our insurer clients to differentiate themselves, both in their understanding of how climate change and natural catastrophes affect their businesses, and in how they communicate this view of risk to their reinsurance carriers.”

Established in 1996, ERN is said to have built modeling capabilities specifically for Latin America and is supported by robust expertise and research.

Aon also stated that the acquisition of ERN expands its larger efforts for quantifying climate risk and natural catastrophes around the world.

Dr. Mario Ordaz — ERN founder said: “Throughout the last 26 years, ERN has built a highly respected brand and has utilized a broad range of modeling platforms that assist clients analyzing many risks.

“Joining Aon can take us to the next level in terms of reach and delivery, contributing even more to reducing possible human and material losses from natural and man-made catastrophes.”

  Aon, Dr. Mario Ordaz, ERN, Evaluación de Riesgos Naturales, Insurance industry news, Keith Lawler, Latin America, Mexico, risk assessment