| In This Issue
|
| 2006 & 2007 Data Added
to Tornado & Hail Reports
|
| Top Ten Tornado Prone Metro-Cities
|
| Hail & Tornado Study
|
| Customize Your Report Parameters
|
| e2Value's Replacement Cost
Calculators Integrated into RiskMeter
|
| New South Carolina Windspeed
Report |
| Flood Damage Not Limited to
Flood Zones |
| Accurate Flood Data Counts
|
| Upcoming Events
|
| Online Training Schedule
|
| Welcome to our Newest Customers
|
| Request a Hardcopy
|
| Contacts |
| Questions or Comments?
|
| Please Add Us to Your Safe
Sender List |
| Unsubscribe |
| Complimentary Test Drive of
Any Report |
| Join Our List
|
 | | |
| 2006 & 2007 Data Added
to Tornado & Hail Reports |
|
| According to an A.M. Best
study, tornadoes and related events have accounted
for nearly 57% of all catastrophe losses
per year since 1953. Last year
there were over 1,000 tornadoes
and 12,000 hail storms reported by the
National Weather Service.
In order to provide our users with the most
up-to-date information, CDS has just added 2006
& 2007 data to the RiskMeter Online's Hail and
Tornado reports. These reports are now based
on data from 1990 - 2007. For more
information, please speak with an account
executive at
617.737.4444 |
| Top Ten Tornado Prone
Metro Areas |
|
|
CDS has just released its list of the top
ten tornado prone metro areas. This
list is based on the RiskMeter Online's Tornado
Model, which predicts the severity of tornadoes
for any location in the Continental United
States. According to this report, the
following top ten tornado prone metro areas are as
follows:
- Denver, CO
- Hialeah, FL
- Houston, TX
- Pasadena, TX
- Aurora, CO
- Miami, FL
- Hollywood, FL
- St. Petersburg, FL
- Tampa, FL
- Fort Lauderdale, FL
Tornado exposure has and will always be a
consistent threat to insurers. According to
the National Oceanic & Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), in an average year the U.S.
experiences 1,200 tornadoes, which kills 55
Americans, injures 1,500 and causes more than $400
million in damage. For more information,
please contact Daniel Munson at 617.737.4444 or dmunson@cdsys.com |
| Hail & Tornado
Study |
|
Based on our updated Hail & Tornado
models, CDS is in the process of putting
together reports that include some very
interesting statistics on the frequency and
geography of hail and tornado events. To
receive a free copy, please contact Daniel Munson
at 617.737.4444 or dmunson@cdsys.com |
| Customize Your Report
Parameters |
|
Did you know
the RiskMeter Online and its reports can be
set to your parameters? This can be
done with no programming on your end and at
no cost to you. Below is a
partial list of some of our customization
options.
- Set default zoom level of maps
- Add your coastal definitions (inlets,
rivers, etc)
- For distance to coast reports, we can change
the distance increments, and maximum distance
returned
- Return only distance to high for
wildfire (among other parameters)
- Add custom rating territories
- Return custom messages on reports
(Yes, No, In, Out, Aggregate Limit Exceeded,
etc)
- Set individual member id's to have
different functionality
- Add custom data layers
- And Much More!
For more information, please call your
account executive
at 617.737.4444 |
| e2Value's Replacement
Cost Calculators Integrated into
RiskMeter |
|
|
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, farms,
ranches 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:
Elimination of duplicate data
entry - Since this program is fully
integrated, RiskMeter Online users can get
geographic risk reports and property valuations
without duplicate data entry
One Account/One Bill -
RiskMeter Online users will receive one bill,
which contains the number of geographic risk
reports and property valuations
Valuation Report
Archives - e2Value's Smart Data
Warehouse tool allows users to retrieve existing
replacement cost reports. In addition, it
also enables users to review & edit existing
reports, without having to re-key data, as well as
perform data mining & trend
analysis
One Contact Person - If
someone has a question about billing or how the
account is set up, RiskMeter Online users just
need to speak with their account executive
To learn more about this feature, please
contact Daniel Munson at
617.737.4444 or dmunson@cdsys.com |
| New South Carolina
Windspeed Report |
|
For carriers writing in South Carolina,
insurance department regulations identify certain
wind-related factors that must be considered in
developing rating plans. This new report
from RiskMeter will identify the Windspeed
designations as provided by the South Carolina
Building Codes Council. In compliance with
Section 6-9-105(C) of the South Carolina Code of
Laws, the Building Codes Council has defined the
physical boundaries (streets, highways, streams,
rivers and lakes) associated with the
corresponding maps published in the International
Building and Residential Codes for the State of
South Carolina. This report will identify
the windspeed region for any address in the state
so that appropriate rates may be considered (e.g.
deductibles, storm shutters, roof shape,
etc). This appears to be the first step for
South Carolina as they try and take
similar measures which Florida has passed
over the last few years. If you have any
questions, please contact Jamie Munson at
860.854.6125 or jmunson@cdsys.com |
| Flood Damage Not Limited
to Flood Zones |
|
|
In some of our previous
newsletters, we've written about how
policies that fall outside of a Special Flood
Hazard Area (SFHA) are still at risk.
According to the National Flood Insurance Program,
roughly 25% of all of its claims were in
areas outside of the 100 year flood
plain.
Christopher J. Boggs recently wrote a great
article for Insurance Journal titled: "Flood Damage Not Limited to Flood
Zones". This article is a must read for
underwriters and agents, who want to learn more
about flood risks, special flood hazard areas and
the difference between A & V flood
zones.
RiskMeter's Flood Elevation report was
specifically designed to identify areas outside of
the 100 year flood plain that may still be at risk
from flooding. For carriers or brokers
writing excess flood, or flood outside of the
NFIP, this is an amazing tool for analyzing flood
risk. For more information, please call
617.737.4444
Free Online Training
Available
Private training sessions for RiskMeter's
flood, flood elevation,
storm surge and distance to
coast reports are available to all
RiskMeter customers. For more
information, please contact Val Feeney at
617.737.4444 or vfeeney@cdsys.com |
| Accurate Flood Data
Counts |
|
| Some of the companies we
speak to knowingly use older FEMA flood
data. FEMA has an older set of digital flood
maps known as Q3 flood data (RiskMeter
does not use Q3 flood data).
People have been using these maps for quite some
time, mainly because the data is very inexpensive.
However, these users may not be aware
that there are two big issues with Q3 flood
data. First, Q3 data only covers
approximately 1,800 counties
(there are over 3,000 counties in the US).
So the maps are incomplete. Secondly, and
more importantly, these maps have not been updated
since they were released in the 1990's!
Considering that there are between 15,000 and
20,000 flood map revisions annually, there is a
good chance that companies using this data are
getting the wrong answers. In addition, some
companies also get Q3 data through their cat
models, which run into the same issues as
mentioned above.
On the RiskMeter our maps are updated monthly
to reflect the current FEMA maps. While we
might not be the cheapest source, we believe that
we have the most accurate maps available.
Why does this matter? Within the last
week an insurance agency was sued by a client
because they didn't adequately advise them of
their flood exposure.
If you absolutely need the correct answer
and are on the edge of a flood zone, or question
if the building is in a flood zone, consider
ordering a manual flood determination.
Although it costs a little more, a trained
flood technician will research the location
thoroughly to ensure you get the correct
answer. This also can be helpful if a
location can't geocode. For more
information, please contact your account executive
at
617.737.4444
|
| Upcoming Events - Meet the
CDS Team! |
|
| RiskMeter Online 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! Don't hesitate to
stop by our booth or if you wish to schedule an
appointment, please contact Daniel Munson (dmunson@cdsys.com) or Bradley
Sherwin (bsherwin@cdsys.com) at
617.737.4444
July 13-16, 2008 * Sunriver, OR
September 4-6, 2008 * Whistler, British
Columbia
September 10-13, 2008 * San Diego, CA
October 13-15, 2008 * Tempe,
AZ |
| Online Training
Schedule |
|
In order to help you utilize the RiskMeter
Online more effectively, we are now offering
complimentary training to all RiskMeter Online
customers. This is a great way for your
organization to have its most pressing questions
answered, learn about various risk reports and
discover 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, please
contact Val Feeney at
617.737.4444 or vfeeney@cdsys.com
Western Risks
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (EDT)
National Risks
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (EDT)
Western Risks
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (EDT)
National Risks
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (EDT)
Western Risks
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (EDT)
|
| Welcome to Our Newest
Customers |
|
|
MGAs/Wholesale Brokers
- Edgewood Partners Insurance
Center
Agents &
Brokers
- Beacon Insurance Services Inc.
- Damasca Insurance Agency
- Mason & Mason Insurance Agency Inc
- Reed Brothers Insurance
- Sell & Amoy Insurance Services
- Straka Insurance Services
- Your Good Insurance Agency
Others
|
| Request a Hardcopy of the
Newsletter |
|
Having a hard time managing your inbox?
You can now receive the RiskMeter Newsletter via
regular mail. Just send an Email to Paul
Ptashnick at pptashnick@cdsys.com and a
hardcopy will be sent to
you. |
| Contacts |
|
|
Daniel Munson, Founder and VP of Sales &
Marketing
Tel: 617.737.4444
Jamie Munson, Director of Consulting
Services
Tel: 860.854.6125
Bradley Sherwin, Sales Manager
Tel: 617.737.4444
Val Feeney, Support, Training and Customer
Service
Tel: 617.737.4444
David Poitras, Account Executive
Tel: 617.737.4444
Monique Audette, Account Executive
Tel: 617.737.4444
Wendy Corr, Account Manager
Tel: 617.737.4444
|
| Questions or
Comments? |
|
If you would like more information on any of
the topics discussed in this newsletter, please
contact Daniel Munson, Founder, RiskMeter Online
at 617.737.4444 or dmunson@cdsys.com |
| Please Add Us to
Your Safe Senders List
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|
In order to ensure you receive the RiskMeter
newsletter in your inbox, please make sure to add
the RiskMeter Online into your Safe Senders or
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to do this, please follow the steps below.
- On the Outlook tools menu, located
in your inbox, click "Options"
- On the preferences tab, under Email, click
"Junk Email"
- Click the "Safe Senders" or "Safe
Recipients" tab
- Click "Add"
- In the Enter an Email address or
Internet domain name to be added list
box, type in newsletter@cdsys.com, and then
click "Ok"
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| Unsubscribe |
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| To be removed from our
mailing list, please Email pptashnick@cdsys.com and type
REMOVE in the subject line.
|
| Test Drive Any Risk Report
for One Month |
|
|
Are you a current RiskMeter customer and
you're not sure whether to add a new report to
your account, or would like to test one out?
If so, please don't hesitate to ask your account
executive for a complimentary, one month test
drive. For more information about this
program, please
call 617.737.4444
| |
|
The RiskMeter Online is committed to
providing our users with a competitive edge.
We hope this newsletter was informative
and useful to you. Please forward this
newsletter to a friend or colleague who might
benefit from it. We only ask that you send
the entire newsletter.
Thanks,
Paul Ptashnick
Director of Marketing, CDS Business Mapping
Tel: 617.737.4444
| | |
