Verisk Climate Extends Benchmark Hail, Wind, and Lightning Reports

March 13, 2014 / 3 min read

Enhances integration with XactAnalysis and adds new web and mobile apps

LEXINGTON, MASS., March 13, 2014 — Verisk Climate, a leading provider of enterprise climate risk management solutions, announced new analytics and software capabilities for the Benchmark database used by property/casualty insurers to streamline claims management, improve accuracy in claims records, and boost customer satisfaction. For the first time in the industry, claims personnel can access property-specific wind history reports when adjusting wind damage claims in addition to hail and lightning reports. Also for the first time, insurers can access hail and wind reports for Canadian properties on demand over the web. Verisk Climate is a division of Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK).

The 2014 Benchmark enhancements include:

The new wind history report is the first on-demand property-specific windstorm analysis available for the insurance industry via the web.
New interactive hail and wind maps show the location and severity of hail size and wind speed across metro areas and states.
Hail and wind analyses now include Canada in addition to the United States.
Now Benchmark for XactAnalysis^® includes property-specific wind history reports in addition to hail and lightning reports. These reports can be added to the claims record automatically or on demand and accessed in both Xactimate^® and XactAnalysis.
The new Benchmark Web and Benchmark Mobile applications expand the self-service platforms for insurers and their service partners by enabling access to the reports and maps from the field.

“The hail history reports in Benchmark for XactAnalysis have improved our claims accuracy by giving us a tool to verify the date of loss reported from the policyholder,” said Gary J. Willis, senior manager of property claims at Georgia Farm Bureau. “The reports speed up our evaluation process for weather-related claims because now we have the data instantly at our fingertips. Together the improved accuracy and streamlined process result in higher policyholder satisfaction.”

“These Benchmark enhancements address requests from insurance customers to make it easier for field staff to access the weather peril history for each property and integrate it with the claims record,” said Patrick Pollard, vice president of insurance solutions at Verisk Climate. “Expanding coverage to Canada helps insurers since the same types of damaging storms occur there too.”

The Benchmark database is the most vertically integrated weather resource in the insurance industry. It provides the comprehensive history of catastrophe and noncatastrophe hail, wind, rain, lightning, and other hazards that occurred at each property on each day for up to the last ten years. Insurance companies integrate this natural hazard archive at each property address to streamline their underwriting and claims workflows.

About Verisk Climate

Verisk Climate provides software, data, and analytics for enterprise climate risk management. The organization’s solutions help corporations improve resilience and profitability while enhancing service to their customers. Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers rely on Verisk Climate to accelerate revenue growth through more accurate forecasts of product demand and to promote stable operations by helping mitigate supply chain risk. Insurance carriers can apply Verisk Climate solutions to help improve customer service and reduce their property combined ratios through more accurate risk selection and lower claims expense. Verisk Climate innovations draw on disaster risk models from AIR Worldwide, vertically integrated data from Verisk Analytics, and environmental data and expertise from its Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) unit. Verisk Climate is a division of Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK).

Media Contact

Brenda Kelly
Verisk Climate
781.761.2348

Verisk Climate Extends Benchmark Hail, Wind, and Lightning Reports and Maps to Streamline Insurance Claims

Enhances integration with XactAnalysis and adds new web and mobile apps