| In This Issue
|
| Featured WebEx: Flood Elevation
and Storm Surge Reports |
| EQECAT Updates |
| I-Engineering Partners with
RiskMeter Online |
| RiskMeter to Unveil Virtual
MGA Rating Engine |
| RiskMeter Expands Sinkhole
Clearinghouse |
| Building Permit Report
|
| Nevada Wildfire Updates
|
| FEMA Flood Map Updates
|
| Upcoming Events
|
| Online Training Schedule
|
| New Customers & Partners
|
| New Integrated Customers
|
| Unsubscribe
|
| |
| Featured WebEx: Flood
Elevation and Storm Surge Reports
|
|
It's been reported in various
news outlets that flooding could be a big issue
for many areas this spring. The combination
of record snow fall during the winter, limited
snow melt due to cooler temperatures and dirt
frozen beneath the ground, is a major cause for
concern.
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.
On Tuesday, April 20, 2010
at 2PM (EDT) Dan Munson, Founder, RiskMeter
Online will lead a WebEx, which will cover our
FEMA Flood,
Flood
Elevation and Storm Surge
Reports.. By attending this WebEx you will
learn:
- How to evaluate flood risks outside the 100
year flood plain
- Why the Storm Surge report is a must in
coastal areas, even if you check the flood zone
- Why FEMA's maps on their Website may not be
up-to-date
- Why it's important to use up-to-date flood
data
- How to use aerial overlays to assess flood
risk
- How batch processing can help you to quickly
identify high risk policies in your books of
business
RiskMeter's Flood reports
were 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, these reports are amazing tools for
analyzing flood risk
Registration
Information
We have a limited number of
seats for this event. To secure your spot,
register here
|
| Important EQECAT
Earthquake Report Update |
|
RiskMeter has just updated
the Earthquake service we use from EQECAT.
If you're not familiar with EQECAT, they are one
of the leading EQ modeling firms. The data
that we
had been using was several years
old. Originally EQECAT built software
specifically for RiskMeter so data could be
quickly pulled from their EQ model.
Unfortunately, there wasn't an easy way for EQECAT
to update the software and data they provided to
CDS. Due to this, their earthquake data
hasn't been updated in several years.
RiskMeter is now leveraging new software, which
interfaces directly with their main product line,
WorldCat Enterprise. This means that when
they update their data and models (usually
yearly), our data will be updated as well.
So we consider this a significant
improvement! We are now using their newest
model, version 3.13
In addition, this has
brought us additional capabilities. We can
now provide Annual
Average Loss (AAL) and Probable Maximum Loss
(PML) for the EQ peril! The service
is very fast, generally returning data in about 15
seconds!
Customers who use the current
Quick Quake-Assess (QQ Assess) and Quick
Quake-Score (QQ Score) will notice a slight
change. The fields returned are not exactly
the same.
The QQ Assess will be replaced
by the EQE Ground Shaking Report, and the QQ Score
will be replaced by the EQE EQ Score. The QQ
Assess and Ground Shaking Report are very
similar. Key components, such as the
distance to fault, soil, and MMI Scores (for 100,
250 and 500 years) are still returned. The
new EQECAT EQ score is slightly different.
First, the new score is on a scale from 1-10,
rather than 1-6. Also, primary modifiers
(yr. built, # of stories, # of buildings,
construction & occupancy) are required.
This allows us to give a more accurate score, as
it takes into account how the building will
respond to shaking.
We are hoping to switch
all of our online customers to the newer data on
April 1, 2010. If you have any questions or
issues, please contact Ryan Turgeon at
rturgeon@cdsys.com or
617.737.4444
|
| I-Engineering Partners
with RiskMeter Online |
|
The RiskMeter Online is proud
to announce it has formed a partnership with
I-Engineering. This alliance will streamline
the underwriting process, as well as reduce the
back and
forth cycles between Managing General
Agents (MGA) and Excess & Surplus (E&S)
lines clients to their retail producer clients.
If you're not familiar with
I-Engineering, they develop and market a
comprehensive suite of Web-based products to the
P&C insurance industry. I-Engineering's
mission is to improve
workflow by providing
its clients with turnkey solutions (Web-based
rate, quote, bind, policy issuance and
administration systems) using its unique
proprietary "iNet-Engine" technology.
Through this partnership, it's
now possible for I-Engineering users to pre-fill
natural hazard data into their iNet suite of
products.. By simply entering a few pieces
of information, it's possible to automatically
obtain data for over 30 natural hazards,
including: Distance to
Coast, FEMA
Flood Zones, State Premium Tax
Codes, Distance to Fire
Station, Earthquake Scores
and much more! Furthermore, I-Engineering's
system can adjust premiums based on the natural
hazard data obtained from RiskMeter, thus
presenting a true and accurate quote to one's
customers.
Bring straight through processing
to your system! I-Engineering is committed to
improving workflow processes and reducing the IT
burden for its users. This alliance
demonstrates I-Engineering commitment by
automating the underwriting process, as well as
providing a customized Web-based product..
In addition, these turnkey solutions can be easily
integrated into in-house or third party
systems.
For more information, please
contact Val Feeney, Business Partnership Manager,
RiskMeter Online at 617.737.4444 or
vfeeney@cdsys.com |
| RiskMeter to Unveil
Virtual MGA Rating Engine |
|
At the Target Markets
Mid-Year Meeting, taking place April 12-14, 2010,
representatives from Virtual MGA and RiskMeter
Online will unveil Virtual MGA's integration
of the RiskMeter Online into its risk placement
platform.
For those of you who aren't
familiar with Virtual MGA, they are a leading
provider of web-based risk placement platforms
specializing in the Lloyd's market, as well as
serving the broader E&S markets. Through
this partnership, it's now
possible to
pre-fill natural hazard risk data into the rating
engine component of Virtual MGA's online platform.
In the Property & Casualty insurance
industry, many risk factors are related to the
location of a piece of business.
Unfortunately, for many Managing General
Agents and retailers, a large amount of their time
is spent checking natural hazard risk by using
various third party vendors, making phone calls or
trading Emails. We've streamlined the underwriting
process by eliminating unnecessary
steps that will enable Virtual MGA users to quote
and bind business much faster.
Virtual MGA is excited about bringing the
RiskMeter Online functionality to its clients
because it reduces the back and forth cycles
writing business. In addition, it helps to
solve issues associated with the ambiguities in
rating and binding brought about by "guesswork" in
the data input process.
Although
underwriting automation helps organizations to
quote and bind business much faster for a
competitive advantage,
it also requires IT
departments to take on another long term
project. One great advantage of this
partnership is that
we've done all of the
integration work, enabling users to hit the ground
running. MGA customers will now be able to
access RMS' leading natural hazard reports,
without the time, effort and expense of a systems
integration project. In addition, the Virtual MGA
risk placement platform can be configured for all
of the RiskMeter Online reports.
For more
information, please contact Dan Munson, Founder,
RiskMeter Online at 617.737.4444 or
dmunson@cdsys.com
|
| RiskMeter Expands Sinkhole
Clearinghouse |
|
This winter has been a very
active one for sinkhole claims. We have seen
unprecedented
interest in finding ways to identify
sinkhole prone areas and to mitigate sinkhole
claims. RiskMeter continues to make
important progress in this area. Our goal is
to have the most complete sinkhole database for
Florida. Currently, we are in the process of
expanding our sinkhole clearinghouse, by adding
data from county clerks offices and other sources
from the Florida counties most affected. We have added thousands
of confirmed sinkholes to our clearinghouse
in the past month by incorporating this
data. RiskMeter users can opt-in to use this
data if they wish, or they can also choose not to
use it. RiskMeter will be contacting
participating carriers to see if they would like
to use these records. If you would like more
information, please contact Dan Munson, Founder,
RiskMeter at
617.737.4444 or dmunson@cdsys.com
|
| Building Permit Report
|
|
RiskMeter has been speaking
with a company that has a searchable database of
building permits nationwide. We'd like to
hear from our users to see if this type of
information might be useful to you. If so,
we will consider adding a building permit report
to RiskMeter.
Some of the ways we think
this information would be useful include:
verifying the date when a roof was replaced, using
the report to ensure that damage from a past claim
has been fixed or to see when permits were pulled
before specific building codes took
effect.
We'd also like your input on how
you might use this information. If this
report is of interest to you, please contact Dan
Munson, Founder, RiskMeter at 617.737.4444 or
dmunson@cdsys.com
|
| Nevada Wildfire
Updates |
|
In order to provide users
with the most up-to-date wildfire reports,
RiskMeter has recently updated 5 counties
(Douglas, Clark, Humboldt, Carson City and Washoe)
in Nevada.
We will continue to update
our wildfire reports to provide you with the most
up-to-date information. If you happen to run
a report in an area that has been affected by a
new development or has been cleared, please Email
Jesse Smith at jsmith@cdsys.com
with the address and the result you
received.
Thanks
|
| FEMA Flood Map Updates
|
|
New developments, topology
and changes in the environment, all have an affect
on how areas flood. RiskMeter's number
one priority is to give its users access to
the best and most up-to-date flood data.
That's why our flood information
is refreshed
on a monthly basis. During the course of the
year FEMA will
issue roughly 12,000 - 18,000 map
revisions,
which will be digitally
updated on the RiskMeter Online. To see our
latest map revisions, click here.
For more information on our Flood
reports, please contact Daniel Munson, Founder,
RiskMeter Online at 617.737.4444 or
dmunson@cdsys.com
|
| 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
AAIS Main Event
April 11 - 13, 2010 *
Fort Myers, FL
Target Markets
Mid-Year Meeting
April 12-14, 2010 * Baltimore, MD
PCIAA Joint Marketing &
Underwriting
April 18-20, 2010 *
Orlando, FL
Duck Creek Insurance
Forum
May 3-6, 2010 * Charleston,
SC
IMUA
Annual Meeting
May 16-19, 2010 *
Williamsburg, VA
AAMGA Annual
Meeting
May 23-26, 2010 * Palm Desert,
CA
Acord
LOMA Insurance Services Forum
May 24-26,
2010 * Las Vegas,
NV
|
| Online Training
Schedule |
|
|
In order to help you utilize the RiskMeter
Online more effectively, we are now offering
complimentary training to all of our
customers. This is a great way for your
organization to have its most pressing questions
answered, learn about the latest risk reports and
discover how to utilize cutting-edge features,
such as: Birdseye Geocoding,
One Click Ruler and
Manual Placement.
To attend any of the complimentary training
sessions, please register here
or to to attend one of our featured WebEx events,
please register at one of the links
below. National
Risks
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
2:00 PM - 3:00
PM (EDT)
Western Risks
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (EDT) National
RisksWednesday, April 14, 2010 2:00
PM - 3:00 PM (EDT) Featured WebEx:
Flood Elevation & Storm Surge
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 2:00
PM - 3:00 PM (EDT)
Event
Information
Western
RisksWednesday, April 21, 2010 2:00
PM - 3:00 PM (EDT) National
RisksWednesday, April 28, 2010 2:00
PM - 3:00 PM
(EDT) |
| New Customers &
Partners |
|
MGAs/Wholesale Brokers
- Brownstone Insurance Program
- Kinloch Holdings
- Merchants
- South & Western
- Trustco
Agents & Brokers
- Dwight W. Andrus Insurance, Inc.
- Insurance Zone
- Member Insurance Agency, Inc..
- Mitch Coleman Agency
Partner
|
| RiskMeter Integration
|
|
RiskMeter is excited to
announce that the following companies have
integrated the RiskMeter into their underwriting
or quoting systems.
- Merchants
- South & Western
- Towers Watson
As you know, there
is a big trend towards straight through processing
and making it easier to do business.
Integrating the RiskMeter into in-house or 3rd
party quoting and underwriting systems is easy!
Dozens of companies have already integrated with
the RiskMeter Online, and we're working with our
vendor partners
to bring RiskMeter functionality into
off-the-shelf quoting and underwriting systems as
well. To learn more about integrating the
RiskMeter Online into your underwriting system,
please contact Val Feeney, Business Partnership
Manager at 617.737.4444 or
vfeeney@cdsys.com
|
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