Comprehensive Roof Assessment Tool for Home Insurance Carriers Leverages Leading Data Sources, Claims Histories and Aerial Imagery to Help Improve Underwriting and Profitability
LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, a leading provider of data, advanced analytics and technology for the insurance industry, announced the launch of LexisNexis® Rooftop, a next generation risk assessment tool for home insurance carriers that includes data from aerial imagery, weather, location and a complete claims history view across personal coverages. LexisNexis Rooftop delivers roof-related insights at quote, bind and renewal, enabling insurers to make informed underwriting and policy pricing decisions.
LexisNexis Rooftop leverages imagery analytics to identify roof damage and other characteristics but uses other key data to create the whole picture. Because some types of damage may not be visible with aerial imagery, LexisNexis Rooftop also incorporates nearby weather event data and the resulting auto and home claims to determine how much wear and tear a roof has sustained.
“Wind and hail claims – which are associated with roof replacements – now represent close to half of all home insurance loss costs, according to our latest LexisNexis Home Trends Report,” said George Hosfield, senior director of home insurance at LexisNexis Risk Solutions. “Currently the insurance industry manages this risk by asking homeowners about their roof’s age or by using outdated images. This approach is just not good enough for the complete evaluation of the risk. The combination of aerial imagery and predictive capabilities of our Rooftop solution provides a more effective tool to fight the rising wind and hail losses.”
LexisNexis Risk Solutions conducted a claims study1 that assigned a rooftop score to a random sample of properties located in states impacted by weather-related claims. This study analyzed the next 12 months of large weather claims involving those properties and segmented the results by score. The high-risk score group had 30 times the claim frequency of the low-risk score group in the study, and 3.5 times the claim rate of the overall population.
LexisNexis Rooftop also has benefits for homeowners. If carriers better understand the roof condition up front, consumers can expect a faster, more streamlined buying experience. Carriers can also use these insights to let their existing customers know about deteriorating conditions that should be addressed to avoid more costly repairs down the road, and in their claims process to validate prior condition.
“According to our C.L.U.E.® Property reports, home insurance shopping is up year over year as homeowners look for ways to lower their expenses. Carriers that have the most accurate understanding of the property they’re insuring will have a competitive advantage as consumers shop for new insurance and seek more accurate premiums,” said Hosfield.
For more information about LexisNexis Rooftop and other LexisNexis home insurance solutions such as LexisNexis® Current Carrier Property, which enables LexisNexis Rooftop to 
provide insights using contributed policy data prior to renewal, click here.
1 2020 LexisNexis® Risk Solutions Study: Claim Rate Relativity by Rooftop Score
