PRINCETON, N.J.--Demand surge has little to do with economic factors after the storm and everything to do with quality and cost of claims settlements, said Anna Olsen, a researcher at the University of Colorado.

Her observations came yesterday during a conference at Princeton University sponsored by insurance broker Willis on "Cat 3 Hurricane in the Northeast: Willis Insurers' Summit." The conference brought together members of the Willis Research Network, a group of 18 universities that study risk.

Ms. Olsen, also a Willis Research Fellow, reviewed her historical analysis of demand surge that she has done with Keith Porter, associate research professor in civil, environmental and architectural engineering at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colo.