ISO HomeValue Offers Insurers a New Way to Estimate Residential Replacement Values

January 1, 2011 / 3 min read

Latest Property Replacement Valuation Technology Integrates Seamlessly with Insurers' Underwriting Workflow

ANAHEIM, Calif., Nov. 3, 2003 — Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) and AIR Worldwide Corporation(AIR) announce the release of ISO HomeValueTM, a new web-based property replacement valuation system based on the latest component-based technology. Unlike typical insurance-to-value estimators on the market, ISO HomeValue has the capability to instantly generate cost values with minimal user input by pre-filling detailed information about most individual properties from an extensive residential property database.

What's more, ISO HomeValue offers integrated access to other essential underwriting information, such as claims/loss histories, catastrophe exposure and public protection classifications, to deliver a tool that insurers can seamlessly integrate into their underwriting workflow.

ISO HomeValue is easy to use and offers agents and underwriters significant time and cost savings. By simply entering a street address, the "pre-fill" capability populates ISO HomeValue with detailed property characteristics to provide an initial estimate of the replacement value. As the user adds more information, ISO HomeValue's estimate becomes more refined. The "pre-fill" information draws upon a highly detailed database of key building features for more than 50 million residential properties in the United States.

"Insurers whose underwriting processes include the ability to calculate property replacement costs quickly and with minimal effort on the part of their staffs gain significant strategic advantage in the marketplace," said ISO Chairman, President and CEO Frank J. Coyne. "By combining reliable estimates of replacement cost with other essential underwriting variables, insurers can streamline their workflow and improve their bottom line."

ISO turned to its subsidiary, AIR, to lead the development of ISO HomeValue. AIR has been a leader in the risk modeling industry for more than 15 years. Building on the extensive property exposure databases and cost models embedded in its catastrophe models, AIR employed a component-based technology to power ISO HomeValue.

The core of ISO HomeValue comprises tens of thousands of individual component costs, including costs for materials, labor and equipment, drawn from private and public sources that underwriters and agents generally do not have. To provide accurate estimates based on limited information, AIR's engineers developed residential structural assemblies that combine components into construction designs and floor plans true to actual construction techniques and practices.

ISO HomeValue is available on the Internet or can be hosted on a company's intranet, allowing underwriters, agents and other users to log in from any location. It allows users to enter addresses individually or via batch interface with their policy administration system.

About AIR Worldwide Corporation
AIR Worldwide Corporation (AIR) is the technological leader in catastrophe and weather risk modeling. Through its web-based and computer software solutions (ClimateCastSM, CLASIC/2TM, CATRADER®, CATMAP®/2, AIRProfiler®), AIR services the insurance, reinsurance and capital markets. AIR's models simulate losses from both man-made and natural catastrophes in more than 35 countries. AIR is headquartered in Boston and has additional offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit the AIR website at www.air-worldwide.com.

About ISO
ISO is a leading source of information, products and services related to property and liability risk. For a broad spectrum of commercial and personal lines of insurance, ISO provides data, analytical and decision-support products; consulting; data processing; and technical, statistical and actuarial services. ISO field services include on-site rating and underwriting services and the evaluation of community loss-mitigation efforts. ISO's products help customers with sales and prospecting, underwriting, rating and quoting, customer management, policy administration, product development, claims administration and fraud detection. ISO's AIR Worldwide subsidiary provides technologies to assess and manage natural and man-made extreme-event risk. Through its ISO Claims Services, Inc. (iiX unit) and Intellicorp subsidiaries, ISO provides motor vehicle reports and criminal-records information and through its AscendantOne unit delivers rating, quoting and policy-administration solutions. In the United States and around the world, ISO serves insurers, reinsurers, agents, brokers, self-insureds, risk managers, insurance regulators and other government agencies.

Release: Immediate

Contacts:
Giuseppe Barone / Erica Helton
MWW Group (for ISO)
201-507-9500
gbarone@mww.com / ehelton@mww.com

Mike Gannon
617-267-6645
mgannon@air-worldwide.com