The Hanover uses CAPE property data

AI geospatial property intelligence company CAPE Analytics is working with The Hanover Insurance Group to make the most of more accurate property information for underwriting, their executives said.

"Speaking generally to the industry, carriers are leveraging CAPE data for ratings on roof condition, solar panels, overhanging trees and swimming pools," said Busy Cummings, chief revenue officer at CAPE Analytics. "These can all be derived faster, and with more accuracy from CAPE aerial or imagery based models than traditional third-party data sources."

By identifying key property characteristics quicker and more accurately than third parties, CAPE will provide Hanover with intelligence it can leverage. 

"We continue to push the boundary of what's possible by integrating CAPE's capabilities, like underwriters reviewing residential roof quality and other homeowner potential issues like yard debris and the presence of pools and trampolines," said Tim Dillahunt, vice president of underwriting operations and strategy at The Hanover, in a press release. "The Hanover's commitment to investing in technology provides independent agents with a better understanding of risk and more accurate pricing."

CAPE is working with Hanover to improve workflows, enhance pricing segmentation and push its technology to perform better underwriting.

"Traditionally, the industry has leveraged roof age as a data point to understand useful remaining life or how much risk and likelihood for a claim to occur in a weather event," Cummings said. "You and I could both have 10 year old roofs, but depending on where we are and the covering material and the slope and the direction they're facing, they've aged at different rates and therefore have different useful remaining life."

"We impact across the board, helping carriers on the loss ratio side with eliminating those poor risks or pricing for them," Cummings said. "If it still fits within the appetite, but it's going to cause a higher rate, we lower the expense ratio from inspection optimization, making sure that you're not sending out an inspection team when CAPE says everything's great."

Other key risks to evaluate when assessing residential properties include livable square footage and quality of interiors, according to Cummings. "Those are two of the data elements that are most incorrect in the industry through various sources, and have the biggest impact, when they're incorrect, on replacement costs and therefore coverage," he said.