Verisk Climate division created at Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics, parent organisation to the Insurance Services Office, catastrophe and claims data provider Property Claim Services (PCS), risk modeller AIR Worldwide and Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER), has formed a new division called Verisk Climate.

The division was created to respond to customers’ needs for new solutions to help them manage climate and environmental risks,  increase service to customers during high-impact events and improve resilience to the growing effects of environmental extremes, according to Verisk.

“Verisk’s customers in insurance, in government, and across the supply chain are increasingly voicing concern for the effects that climate volatility and environmental extremes are having on their operations and earnings,” commented Verisk Analytics President and CEO Scott Stephenson. “The climate division was formed to introduce new weather and environmental analytics that will enable our clients to assess and plan for environmental impacts and implement strategies to differentiate and grow their businesses despite those impacts. Advancements will be realized by creating integrated solutions that directly leverage the data and platforms of our other Verisk operating units.”

Kyle Beatty has been appointed president of the new Verisk Climate division. Beatty was formerly senior vice president of Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER), where he introduced new products that translate the effects of climate into decision analytics for manufacturers, insurance carriers, and commodities traders. AER will operate as a unit of Verisk Climate under the leadership of AER President Ron Isaacs, continuing its focus on providing science-based services to government customers.

“Our division’s focus is to bring market-leading insight on the business impact of weather and environmental extremes,” said Beatty. “Verisk Climate is fundamentally different than a weather forecasting company: The breadth of our scientific knowledge, our access to environmental big data, our ability to transform that data into decision analytics, and the integration we offer into clients’ workflows through Verisk software platforms allow us to effect change in unprecedented ways. Insurers using Verisk Climate analytics are increasing customer retention while meaningfully reducing expenses, and manufacturers are realizing significant competitive advantage while reducing corporate risk.”

“AER remains deeply committed to providing world-class scientific research, development, and operational support to its government clients, including NOAA, NASA, and the Departments of Defense and Energy, and to its university and industry partners,” added Isaacs. “The new Verisk Climate Division will leverage AER’s more than 100 advanced-degree scientists and software engineers, global environmental data resources, and satellite remote-sensing expertise to innovate new products for all the markets our division serves.”

Beatty reports to S. Ming Lee, group executive of Verisk Analytics and president and CEO of risk modeller AIR Worldwide. Verisk Climate’s focus on reducing risk in operational processes, such as mitigating environmental disruption across the supply chain or informing underwriting at the point of sale, will complement AIR’s focus on managing the risk of financial loss for insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and insurance-linked-securities investors. The independent operating units’ research and development teams will work together on strategic initiatives that increase the range of analytical tools offered to current and new customer sets.

“Kyle’s deep understanding of AIR Worldwide’s natural disaster and weather risk models will serve as the catalyst for a new suite of derivative innovations targeted at supply chain executives and corporate risk managers,” stated Lee. “When combined with the scientific capabilities and data within AER, Verisk Climate will further extend Verisk’s leadership position in risk-based analytics.”

Manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors can accelerate revenue through more accurate product demand forecasts using the Verisk Climate solutions for supply chain, which incorporate Verisk’s industry data and the effects of weather events. Verisk Climate solutions aims to enable clients to run stable operations by mitigating climate and environmental disruption risks to manufacturing facilities and suppliers.

Insurance carriers are applying Verisk Climate software, data, and analytics in catastrophe claims operations to improve customer retention by responding faster. Underwriters reduce property loss ratios through more accurate risk selection. Examples include Verisk Climate integrations with the data and platforms of Verisk Analytics units Xactware and Verisk Insurance Solutions – Underwriting.

“In the past three years, weather-related losses across the United States and Canada totaled more than $72 billion, according to Property Claim Services (PCS), for which more than 7.8 million property claim estimates were created using Xactware’s platforms,” said Jim Loveland, president of Xactware. “Verisk Climate’s rapid and accurate assessment of damaging weather events is accelerating our clients’ ability to process insurance claims, improving service to their policyholders.”

“Verisk Climate’s land surface terrain analytics are providing unprecedented information regarding a site’s risk characteristics, including property slope, complexity of terrain, and site accessibility, which can be used to further refine the 20 million property valuations conducted in Verisk Insurance Solutions – Underwriting platforms each year,” commented Neil Spector, president of Verisk Insurance Solutions – Underwriting.