Since we have received so many inquiries, CDS has decided to dedicate a WebEx that exclusively covers our new Building Characteristic and e2Value's Replacement Cost Reports.

In this WebEx, we will be performing demonstrations of e2Value's Replacement Cost Report and our Building Characteristic Report. In addition, we will have a representative from e2Value to outline the benefits of this partnership and to answer any questions.

We have a limited number of seats available for this event! Don't miss this opportunity to see how these reports can lower reinsurance costs, increase underwriting efficiency and most importantly, boost your bottom-line!

This event will be taking place Tuesday, May 16th from 2-3pm (EDT). To secure your spot, register at: https://cdsys.webex.com or contact Charles Kane at 617.737.4444 or ckane@cdsys.com

For companies that have been looking for an alternative to their current replacement cost vendor, CDS may have a solution.CDS has partnered with e2Value to offer leading edge valuation products. e2Value offers replacement cost estimators for homes, mobile homes, farm, ranch and commercial properties. With more and more insurance companies focusing on improving underwriting results, we wanted to offer a solution that would help our users to streamline their underwriting processes. Benefits of this partnership include:

Renewal time is quickly approaching and many carriers are concerned about their reinsurance costs. In the past, carriers were under the impression that catastrophe models assumed a worst- case scenario when estimating losses, if building information (i.e. roof type, construction, number of floors, etc) was incomplete. However, it has recently come to light that modelers assumed a middle of the road approach, which led to lower loss estimates. This was one of the reasons given by modelers for grossly underestimating losses during the devastating hurricane season of 2005.

Due to these shortfalls, many carriers expect modelers to assume worst-case scenarios, if building data is missing from now on. This means if carriers don’t provide data on construction, roof type, number of stories, etc., catastrophe models will assume worst case scenarios, which will result in higher loss estimates. This in turn will result in higher reinsurance costs.

In order to reduce reinsurance costs, it's in carriers' best interests to collect as much of this data as possible. If carriers can provide building characteristic information, they can improve loss estimates for individual properties. For carriers who don’t collect this information, CDS may be able to help by appending this information to policy records and helping to reduce reinsurance costs.

How Does it Work?

For existing buildings, CDS can run an entire book of business through our software in batch and append this information to existing policies. For new policies, this information can be accessed just like any other RiskMeter Online report. Due to the difficulty in obtaining this information, not all records will match. However, it still will benefit a carrier. Why? Because each record that carriers can provide this information for will potentially result in a better loss estimate.

If anyone is interested in learning more about this report, please contact Daniel Munson at 617.737.4444 or dmunson@cdsys.com

CDS is proud to announce that 138 sinkholes have been added to the RiskMeter Online’s sinkhole database! In an effort to provide the most comprehensive sinkhole report for Florida, CDS is coordinating a sinkhole clearing house for carriers. By sharing sinkhole information, CDS believes this will allow carriers to have the most accurate picture of sinkhole activity in FL. CDS has added roughly 1,000 sinkholes not available from public sources to its database from carriers. Missing just one of these could lead to a very costly claim! Get involved today!

For people who aren’t familiar with this program, here’s how it works. Insurers who submit reported sinkholes will have access to an exclusive database, that is comprised of our data and other carriers’ data. Taking part in this program is a win-win situation, because it will give users a better picture of their sinkhole risk. To find out more about this program, contact Jamie Munson at 860.854.6125 or jmunson@cdsys.com

CDS has just added DC, DE and MD to its slope/aspect/elevation report. This cutting-edge report will not only return the slope, aspect and elevation of a location, but it will also give the minimum, maximum and average slope and elevation within a radius of 250’. Currently, this report is available in sixteen states, but we will be adding more states in the next few weeks, until we meet our goal of nationwide coverage. If anyone wants us to add a particular state first, please contact an account executive at 617.737.4444.

CDS has just added Arkansas, Oklahoma and Utah to the RiskMeter Online's Distance to Fire Station report. This brings the total number of states to 41! Within the next few weeks Kansas and Nebraska will be added as well.

The distance between a property and the primary fire station directly affects your loss ratio. Regardless of the training, personnel or equipment at a station, if an insured location is greater than 5 miles from a station the chance of a large loss is inevitable. By simply typing in an address, you will get: driving distance to local responding fire stations, names of the stations and staffing (career or volunteer).

We will continue to add more states until we meet our goal of providing nationwide coverage. We want your feedback to see which states we should add next. If there is a state you would like to see us add, please contact Jamie Munson at 860.854.6125 or jmunson@cdsys.com. In addition, we also have responding fire district boundaries for the following states: CA, FL, HI, IL, KS, MS, ND and VA.

CDS will be attending or exhibiting at the following upcoming conferences. Whether you're a customer or prospect, we'd love to meet with you onsite at these exceptional events! Feel free to stop by our booth or if you wish to schedule an appointment, please contact Dan Munson at 617.737.4444 (dmunson@cdsys.com) or Bradley Sherwin at 617.737.4444 (bsherwin@cdsys.com)

AAMGA Annual Meeting
May 7 - 11, 2006 *Maui, HI

San Diego I Day
May 16, 2006 *San Diego, CA

Insurance Day Summit
May 31 - June 1, 2006 *London, England

IASA Annual Conference and Business Show
June 4 - 7, 2006 *Boston, MA

PIA NY/NJ
June 11-13, 2006 *Atlantic City, NJ

TX Indepentent Insurance Agents
June 15-16, 2006 *Houston, TX

FAIA Convention & Expo
June 15 - 17, 2006 *Orlando, FL

AAMGA UFO Annual Conference
Sept 6-9, 2006 *Lake Tahoe, NV

AAMGA Annual Meeting
Spet 13-16, 2006 *Chicago, IL

American Agents Alliance Conference
September 28 - October 2, 2006 *Indian Wells, CA

In order to help you utilize the RiskMeter Online more effectively, we are now offering FREE Online training. This is a great way for your organization to have its most pressing questions answered, learn about reading various risk reports and how to utilize cutting-edge features, such as: Birdseye Geocoding, One Click Ruler and Manual Placement. To register for an upcoming Webcast, click on one of the links below or for more information, contact Charles Kane at 617.737.4444 or ckane@cdsys.com

National
Wednesday, May 3rd
2:00 pm- 3:00 pm (EDT)
https://cdsys.webex.com

National
Wednesday, May 10th
2:00 pm- 3:00 pm (EDT)
https://cdsys.webex.com

Building Characteristics and Replacement Cost
Tuesday, May 16th
2:00 pm- 3:00 pm (EDT)
https://cdsys.webex.com

Western
Wednesday, May 17th
2:00 pm- 3:00 pm (EDT)
https://cdsys.webex.com

National
Wednesday, May 24th
2:00 pm- 3:00 pm (EDT)
https://cdsys.webex.com

Western
Wednesday, May 31st
2:00 pm- 3:00 pm (EDT)
https://cdsys.webex.com

Would you like the opportunity to evaluate any one of our risk reports without obligation? You can now! For a limited time you will be able to test-drive any RiskMeter Online report for FREE! Take advantage of this exceptional opportunity to see how a particular risk report can benefit your organization. To add a FREE, one-month risk report to your account, please call 617.737.4444.

Carriers

• Germania
• Great American Insurance Company
• Southern Oak Insurance Company
• Tower Hill Insurance Group

• Colonial Group
• Mercator Risk Services
• Southern Risk
• USI Holdings

• Blackadar Ins
• Doyle Partnership
• Ensure
• ESL
• Johnston Ins
• Venture Pacific

Having a hard time managing your inbox? You can now receive the RiskMeter eNewsletter via regular mail. To get the latest issue of the RiskMeter newsletter delivered to your office (when it becomes available), please email Paul Ptashnick at: pptashnick@cdsys.com

Dan Munson, VP of Marketing & Sales
Tel: 617.737.4444
Email: dmunson@cdsys.com

Jamie Munson, Director of Consulting Services
Tel: 860.854.6125
Email: jmunson@cdsys.com

Bradley Sherwin, Account Executive
Tel: 617.737.4444
Email: bsherwin@cdsys.com

Dave Poitras, Account Executive
Tel: 617.737.4444
Email: dpoitras@cdsys.com

Charles Kane, Training
Tel: 617.737.4444
Email: ckane@cdsys.com

If you would like more information on any of the topics discussed in this newsletter, please contact Dan Munson, VP of Marketing & Sales at: 617.737.4444 or dmunson@cdsys.com

Please forward this free newsletter to a friend or colleague who might benefit from it. We only ask that you send the entire newsletter. Thanks!

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