Despite the magnitude of the recent earthquake in Chile – in both physical and financial terms – it's unlikely to trigger a catastrophe bond payout. Catastrophe modeling firms AIR Worldwide and EQECAT offer a range of estimated insured losses of $2 billion to $8 billion, though the dust is still settling. According to insurance securitization blog Artemis.bm, "A similar quake in the right area of the U.S. or Japan would most certainly have triggered a cat bond."

Though there has been cat bond activity in Latin America, none have been issued in the region to cover earthquake risk. Low rates of insurance penetration are likely to keep what will already be a costly situation for insurers and reinsurers from being even worse -- i.e., because not much coverage has been written in Chile.

More than a year after American International Group (AIG) reached the brink of collapse, insurance buyers are still using it to lay off their risk. A survey by Barclays Capital (BCS) find that 80% of commercial buyers use Chartis, the property/casualty unit of AIG.

Since the damage to AIG in 2008 was precipitated by the company's financial products group rather than its insurance operation, the use of Chartis to cover a company's risk isn't a problem, as the division has long been successful for AIG, regardless of the name used.

Amex Financial Select Sector (AMEX: XLF) volatility decreases after rate cut.

• XLF closed at $35.15.
  
• XLF seeks to replicate the total return of the Financial Select sector of the S&P 500 Index. Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), American International Group (NYSE: AIG), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Wachovia (NYSE: WB) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) are components of the XLF.
  
• XLF total option volume was 294,706 contracts on 9/18 . XLF over option implied volatility of 23 is below its 7-week average of 30 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing risk.

Volatility Index S&P 500 Options - VIX at 20.03; 10-day moving average is 24.43.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Insurance and risk management company Aon Corporation (NYSE: AOC) is posting good returns in all three business units on the three most important quantitative metrics: organic growth, margin expansion, earnings improvement. The stock is worth considering as part of a balanced value-income portfolio. Its P/E multiple is just above industry standard, but its EPS is 50% above industry average. Even with a market cap in excess of $12 billion, AON stock still returns 10% quarterly growth year over year, far in excess of industry standard. The stock has already appreciated in price more than 15%, opening the year trading at $35.39 and closing on June 12 at $41.80.

Aon Corporation recently reported very good 1Q 2007 earnings. Revenue was up 10% for the quarter to $2.4 billion, 5% of which was due to organic growth. Net income increased 8% to $213 million or EPS of $0.66. Net income from continuing operations rose 23% to $212 million. Aon posted these numbers despite a tough North American market in which rising health care costs have put pressure on medical insurance and risk management companies. During this quarter, Aon realized restructuring savings of $46 million and is on track to realize FY 2007 savings of $235 million and FY 2008 savings of $280 million. The company also repurchased $345 million of its stock and has authorization from its board to repurchase up to $2 billion of its stock.

The Risk and Insurance Brokerage Service segment posted an impressive 8% gain in revenue due to new US business and 8% in Asia Pacific. Overall, this unit posted a 6% revenue increase despite soft markets in the UK and Australia. The Consulting unit increased revenue by 7% to $329 million despite the termination of large outsourcing contracts. The Insurance Underwriting unit grew revenue by 16% to $574 million, up $79 million from 1Q 2006. At the same time as it posted organic growth revenues, Aon Corporation also increased policyholder benefits 27% to $323 million. Clearly, Aon Corporation has developed a profitable business strategy even in the midst of a challenging economic and political environment regarding health care insurance costs.

When it comes to predictive data analysis and reporting, Fair Isaac (NYSE:FIC) is the stand out leader in that field. Fair Isaac offers statistics-based predictive tools for the consumer credit industry. You know their talents well. Predictive statistical analysis is the type of methodology used to collar you with your credit score. Fair Issac credit score analysis algorithms are utilized by the three big name credit reporting bureaus, Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. Basic FICO scoring systems have been in use since 1970. The current Fair Isaac credit scoring system has been in use since 1981. In addition to credit risk analysis, Fair Isaac also markets solutions for insurance applicant risk assessment, other financial risk predictors and data management solutions as well.

What might make Fair Isaac a good investment? Well, one thing is for sure. If the company is going to run into trouble they should be the first ones to know. I'll just give you some historical background on the company to enlighten you but I'll have to stop there because frankly when it comes to analyzing analytical analysis, I'd rather be sorting laundry or something exciting like that.