Release: Immediate

Contacts:
Susan Boyle / Jessica Riccardi
MWW Group (for ISO)
201-507-9500
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ISO ADDS NEW CLASSES TO ITS COMMERCIAL LINES
MANUAL CLASSIFICATION TABLE

NEW YORK, July 1, 1997 — Forty-three stateshave approvedthe use of Insurance Services Office, Inc.'s (ISO) improved Commercial Lines Manual Classification Table

The table is a basic underwriting tool for general liability, commercial property, business owners and crime insurance that enablesinsurers to correctly classify policyholders and set accurate premiums.

The revised table has 42 new classifications that reflect newand changing industries, most notably the computer and telecommunication industries.

"ISO has revised the format of the classification table in its paper manual to make it easier to use," said Kevin B. Thompson, ISO's vice president — standard commercial lines. "Footnotes have been added or revised for existing classifications to explain, where necessary, exactly whatthe classification encompasses," Thompson said.

ISO will incorporate the revised class table in its Commercial Lines Electronic Manual (CLEMS) before the revision's Sept. 1 effective date. The CLEMS class table takes advantage of state-of-the-art technology that makes possible to conveniently view all the pertinent information on one computer screen. Footnotes will now contain the applicable class code to make it easier to associate each note with the appropriate classification.

Among the new classifications being added to the classification table are:

• Adult day care
• Automobile quick-lubrication services
• Children's indoor playcenters
• Computer service or repair, computer packaged software manufacturing and computer stores
• Nail salons
• Telecommunications equipment providers and manufacturers

Nine classifications have been revised to reflect evolving industries and technological advances that cause current terminology to become obsolete. "For example," Thompson said, "the old classification — medical or X-ray laboratories — has been retitled diagnostic testing laboratories. This revision expands the scope of the classification to include new technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging, as well as any other new devices that may be in the pipeline."