New Location Service From ISO Provides Insurers Access to Natural Catastrophe Information

January 1, 2011 / 2 min read

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Jan. 18, 2006 — A new service from ISO's LOCATION® geographic information system is now available to help insurers better manage their exposure to natural catastrophes for more profitable underwriting decisions.

Developed by AIR Worldwide Corporation (AIR), ISO's catastrophe modeling subsidiary, Natural Catastrophe Service from LOCATION provides reliable risk profiles on every address in the continental U.S. Insurers access the information online via ISO PassportSM — ISO's electronic delivery system that allows insurers instant access to underwriting tools from ISO and other information providers through a single interface.

Based on detailed data from AIR, Natural Catastrophe Service provides address-specific risk information for hurricanes, earthquakes and severe thunderstorms. The service provides the long-term average annual loss, as well as 100-year and 250-year losses for a typical property at a specific location for each peril. The relative risk of a given address can also be compared with that of other addresses in the same county and state.

The service provides additional information pertinent to the earthquake peril, such as soil type, distance to nearest significant fault, and landslide and liquefaction potential. Data relevant to hurricanes includes storm surge potential, elevation and terrain. Tornado, hailstorm and straight-line windstorm frequencies are also included.

"The LOCATION Natural Catastrophe Service offers easy online access to the same detailed hazard data AIR utilizes in its sophisticated catastrophe models," said Uday Virkud, senior vice president at AIR. "The service provides underwriters with valuable information to enable better compliance with company underwriting guidelines and improved underwriting decisions."

For more information on ISO's Natural Catastrophe Service, call ISO Customer Service toll-free at 1-800-888-4476 or send e-mail to info@iso.com.

About AIR Worldwide Corporation
AIR Worldwide Corporation (AIR) is a leading risk modeling company helping clients manage the financial impact of catastrophes and weather. Utilizing the latest science and technology, AIR models natural catastrophes in more than 40 countries and the risk from terrorism in the United States. Other areas of expertise include site-specific seismic engineering analysis, catastrophe bonds and property replacement cost valuation. A member of the ISO family of companies, AIR was founded in 1987 to provide its insurance, reinsurance, corporate and government clients a complete line of risk modeling software and consulting services that produce consistent and reliable results. Headquartered in Boston, AIR has additional offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.air-worldwide.com.

About ISO
ISO is a leading provider of products and services that help measure, manage and reduce risk. ISO provides data, analytics and decision-support solutions to professionals in many fields, including insurance, finance, real estate, health services, government and human resources. Clients use ISO's databases and services to classify and evaluate a variety of risks and detect potential fraud. In the U.S. and around the world, ISO's services help customers protect people, property and financial assets. For more information, please visit www.verisk.com.

Release: Immediate

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