Risk Assessment

Verisk Analytics is the leading provider of statistical, actuarial, and underwriting data for the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry. Through our ISO subsidiary and several other units, our risk assessment business segment offers products and services that help customers define, measure, and manage risk.

Statistical Agent and Data Services
Insurers in the United States have a legal responsibility to collect statistical data about their premiums and losses — and to report that data to state regulators. ISO's statistical service helps customers fulfill their responsibility accurately and economically.

In every state, ISO serves as a licensed “statistical agent” for many lines of property/casualty insurance. We act on behalf of the regulators to collect insurers’ data. And we make that information available to customers — in the form of products and services insurers need for almost every aspect of their operations.

Actuarial Services
Pricing insurance is a professional challenge. Unlike most businesses, insurers can't set their prices based on known costs for production and distribution. Instead, insurers need to project future claim costs by examining data from the past. Such projections are reliable only when the insurers have a sufficient amount of data. That's where ISO comes in.

ISO pools data from many insurers. Our actuaries then perform sophisticated analyses to help customers with their pricing, loss reserving, and marketing. ISO's actuaries also consult with and supply information to a wide variety of customers in government, real estate, banking, and other industries.

ISO’s actuarial services include:

• advisory prospective loss costs — projections of average future losses and loss-adjustment expenses, overall and by class
• a wide variety of standard and customized reports and data files to meet customers' needs
• actuarial consulting services

Industry-Standard Insurance Programs
ISO is the recognized leader in developing standard policy programs that help insurers define and cover the risks that policyholders face. ISO's experts develop policy language, rating and policywriting rules, and a variety of other products that help customers enter and compete in the insurance marketplace.

Property-Specific Rating and Underwriting Information
ISO supplies a wide array of information that underwriters use to evaluate and price particular risks. We maintain a 600-person staff trained to gather information on individual properties and communities. Insurers use that information in underwriting personal and commercial property insurance, as well as commercial liability and workers compensation policies.

Services include:

• surveys of personal and commercial properties to determine construction, condition, hazards, and other valuable information
• evaluations of proposed design specifications for sprinkler systems before construction — and suggestions for upgrading sprinkler performance
• evaluations of the fire-protection capabilities of individual cities and towns
• evaluations of community enforcement of building codes, with special emphasis on mitigating losses from natural hazards
• evaluations of community efforts to mitigate damage from flooding

And for computer access to the most accurate property and hazard information related to a risk address, ISO offers LOCATION® — the comprehensive risk assessment tool. Available online or on CD-ROM, LOCATION provides risk-specific information representing every address in the United States .

For more information . . .
. . . about ISO's products and services for risk assessment, visit the ISO website. To ask a question, make a comment, or request service, contact Verisk. You can also call us at 1-800-888-4476.