Business News: CoreLogic, Betterview, Gallagher Bassett

CoreLogic Teams Up with Geospatial Insurance Consortium

CoreLogic has integrated aerial imagery provided by the Geospatial Insurance Consortium into its underwriting platform, the Irvine, California-based analytics provider said in a press release.

The GIC is a nonprofit organization sponsored by the National Insurance Crime Bureau and funded by member insurers that provides high-resolution aerial photographs. CoreLogic said the use of GIS images into its CoreLogic UnderwritingCenter product will provide insurers with an additional source of up-to-date images to assess property exposure, condition and features, in addition to providing the capability to survey damage after natural disasters.

“With this additional source of premium imagery, insurers can save resources by utilizing ‘a laptop instead of a ladder’ survey approach to assess important property features and to identify any post-catastrophe concerns such as hail damage,” stated Rosanna Hancock, a senior leader for product and client delivery.

CoreLogic said GIC imagery is updated after a disaster as soon as it is safe to fly. Images are uploaded into the system within 24 to 36 hours after the aircraft touches down. The company said it will integrate GIC imagery into other products, including its SkyMeasure roof measurement service, in coming months.

Betterview Contracts with Frederick Mutual

Frederick Mutual Insurance Co. had contracted with Betterview for property analytics services that will be used for underwriting, loss control, claims and catastrophe response, the San Francisco-based tech company announced.

Nancy Newmister, president and chief executive officer for the Maryland-based carrier, said in a press release that Betterview’s property data and analytics, along with its historical imagery and specific peril information, allows the carrier to better understand risks. “We may be one of the oldest insurance companies in the United States, but we are a forward-thinking organization that acts like a 175-year-old startup,” she said in a prepared statement.

Betterview said its property risk management platform is used by over a dozen personal lines and commercial lines carriers to identify and score roof condition and other property risks. Betterview uses machine learning and computer vision to analyze manned aircraft and satellite imagery. The images are combined with data such as building records and historical weather to determine the characteristics and condition of a roof and the risk of a future loss.

Based in Frederick, Maryland, Frederick Mutual is the ninth oldest insurer in the United States. The company provides insurance coverage to small businesses in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C., and sells homeowners insurance in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Gallagher Bassett Creates Dedicated Transportation Practice

Two years after purchasing an independent adjusting firm that specialized in transportation claims, Gallagher Bassett Services has launched its very own practice group: GB Transportation.

The claims management company, based in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, said the creation of a transportation practice will allow Gallagher Bassett to focus on “pre- and post-loss best practices” to support the transportation industry. The company said it had provided risk and claim management services to transportation clients for 50 years.

“We know our transportation clients, especially in the trucking space, are often exposed to a number of high risks from workplace injuries, to third-party claims and to environmental hazards,” Scott Hudson, president and chief executive officer of Gallagher Bassett, said in a prepared statement.

The company acquired National Transportation Adjusters, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, in September 2017.Keith Dunlap, previously head of NTA, is now a senior vice president of GB’s Transportation Practice. Lori Ilgenfritz is account principal and April Brackett is vice president for industry marketing.