ISO recently announced the expansion of its ISO Risk Analyzer Personal Auto suite of predictive modeling tools to include a new module to help with determining vehicle liability risk. ISO, a member of the Verisk Insurance Solutions group at Verisk Analytics, said the new liability module and a counterpart for physical damage aim to give insurers pricing refinement tools for their vehicle rating programs.

Because the characteristics of a vehicle are a major factor in determining the liability risk associated with insuring it, the vehicle module for liability analyzes loss experience along with data on individual vehicle attributes, such as body style and dimensions, vehicle performance and safety features (including ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety), and information related to the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP). In doing so, the module can produce Symbols in detail down to the vehicle level—not just the vehicle series level—for model years 1981 to the present.

“The new vehicle module for liability is a significant development because, until now, the rate level available to insurers was the same for all vehicles within a particular vehicle series,” said David Cummings, senior vice president, ISO Insurance Programs and Analytic Services, in a statement. “Using the liability module, we can see that specific characteristics, such as performance and safety features, of vehicles within the same series can affect the risk. For example, when comparing a two-wheel-drive SUV with an all-wheel-drive SUV within the same series, we’re seeing different model output for the two vehicles.”

The new vehicle module for liability provides Symbols and analytical output that insurers can use as a basis for enhancing their own vehicle-level modeling and analysis for five coverages: bodily injury, property damage, personal injury protection, medical payments, and single limit liability.

ISO has filed ISO Risk Analyzer Personal Auto Vehicle Liability Symbols with insurance regulators in 36 states, and the filing had been approved or acknowledged in 28 states as of early last week.

ISO will deliver the new Symbols and components through VINMASTER. (Editor’s Note: VINMASTER is an ISO tool that allows carriers to quickly and easily identify an automobile’s current ISO Symbols even if its vehicle identification number is unavailable.)

Neil Spector, president, Verisk Insurance Solutions-Underwriting, said that delivery of the new liability module through VINMASTER makes it easy for carriers to implement the new tool with minimal IT involvement, allowing current VINMASTER customer to use the module right away.

Source: ISO