SiteIQ and the Art of Empowerment

This is a taster of an article published in the latest edition of EXPOSURE magazine featuring the new RMS application – SiteIQTM. For the full article click here or visit the EXPOSURE website.

EXPOSURE magazine recently looked at the challenges that underwriters and agents at coverholders currently face, to get comprehensive risk data when evaluating an individual location.

When evaluating single risks, underwriters and coverholders typically have to request exposure analytics from their portfolio managers and brokers, or gather their own supplementary risk data from a range of external resources, whether it is from Catastrophe Risk Evaluation and Standardizing Target Accumulations (CRESTA) zones, through to lookups on Google Maps. But all this takes valuable time, requires multiple user licenses and can generate information that is inconsistent with the underlying modeling data at the portfolio level.

With underwriters in desperate need of better multi-peril data at the point of underwriting, the article looks at a new app that RMS has developed – SiteIQ, that leverages sophisticated modeling information, as well as a view of the portfolio of locations underwritten, to be easily understood and quickly actionable at the point of underwriting. The app can also integrate with a host of third-party data providers so users can enter any address into SiteIQ and quickly see a detailed breakdown of the natural and human-made hazards that may put the property at risk.

SiteIQ also allows the underwriter to generate detailed risk scores for each location in a matter of seconds, assigning a simple color coding for each hazard, in line with the insurer’s appetite: whether that’s green for acceptable levels of risk, all the way to red for risks that require more complex analysis. Crucially, users can view individual locations in the context of the wider portfolio, helping avoid unwanted risk aggregation and write more consistently to the correct risk appetite.

The app goes a level further by allowing users to use a sophisticated rules engine that takes into account the client’s underwriting rules. This enables SiteIQ to recommend possible next steps for each location – whether that’s to accept the risk, refer it for further investigation or reject it based on breaching certain criteria.

In complex cases where deeper analysis is required or when models should be run, working together with cat modelers will still be a necessity. But for most risks, underwriters will be able to quickly screen and filter risk factors, reducing the need to consult their portfolio managers or cat modeling teams.

The app is not intended to replace the deep analysis that portfolio management teams do, but instead reduce the number of times they are asked for information by their underwriters. Leaving more time to focus on the job at hand and helping underwriters assess the most complex of risks.

Bringing Coverholders On Board

The article also explores how using the app can ensure that similar efficiencies be gained on coverholder/delegated-authority business. In the past, there have been issues with coverholders providing coverage that takes a completely different view of risk to the syndicate or managing agent that is providing the capacity.

Coverholder business continues to grow in the Lloyd’s and company markets, and delegating authorities often worry whether the risks underwritten on their behalf are done so with the best possible information available. A better scenario is when the coverholder contacts the delegating authority to ask for advice on a particular location, but receiving multiple referral calls each day from coverholders seeking decisions on individual risks can be a drain on these growing businesses’ resources.

RMS has ensured SiteIQ works for coverholders, to give them access to shared analytics, managing agent rules and an enhanced view of hazards. It is hoped this will both improve underwriting decision-making by the coverholders and strengthen delegated-authority relationships.

This is a taster of an article published in the latest edition of EXPOSURE magazine. For the full article click here or visit the EXPOSURE website.