The commercial auto industry is facing profitability challenges now more than ever. A hard market, increased risky driving behavior,^[1] and rising social inflation costing over $20 billion in the past decade^[2] have put a premium on pricing precision.

Understanding vehicle risk is crucial for not only addressing these challenges, but also improving segmentation, pricing, and profitability. Verisk’s new solution, CL VIN Decode, provides detailed vehicle attributes parsed out from passenger, commercial, and specialized vehicle identification numbers (VINs). Most VIN decoding solutions are limited to passenger vehicles. But ours returns 50+ risk attributes from vehicles ranging from light- to extra-heavy duty, including:

• Trailer and truck-tractors
• Powersports and off-road motorcycles
• Low-volume, specialized vehicles, like golf carts and ATVs
• Any other vehicle manufactured from 1981 on

These 17-digit VINs unlock granular information such as year, make, model, class, manufacturer’s suggested retail price, engine and transmission type, and gross vehicle weight rating, all normalized into insurance-ready analytics.

In addition to identifying unique vehicle risk components, CL VIN Decode helps automate and streamline workflows, avoiding data entry mistakes. The solution is integrated with the ISO Commercial Auto Class Program, combining and delivering insights in an accessible and convenient way, allowing insurers to better evaluate risk and provide a more efficient customer experience with minimal inputs. CL VIN Decode also positions insurers for the future by enabling access to a data exchange that is updated monthly as vehicle data and technologies advance.

Decode your commercial lines book of business with standardized, VIN-level analytics that increase the speed, accuracy, and profitability of your underwriting team.

Learn more about CL VIN Decode.

By Neil Lieberman, commercial auto product manager for Verisk. Spending much of his career in the automotive industry, he has developed multiple VIN decoders from the ground up. His knowledgebase for vehicle data is widespread across all types of vehicles and he has a clear passion for the data he works with. He can be reached at neil.lieberman@verisk.com.

[1] Steve Hallo, Property Casualty 360, “U.S. Traffic Deaths Hit 20-Year High to Start 2022,” August 19, 2022
[2] Jeff Dunsavage, The Trip-I Blog, “Triple-I, CAS Quantify Social Inflation’s Impact on Commercial Auto,” February 8, 2022