Upgrades to AER Respond Product Significantly Improve Hail Claim Assessments

LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER), a member of the Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK) Family of Companies, today announced upgrades to its near-real-time AER Respond^TM and historical AER Benchmark^TM products. The upgraded service provides a 15 percent improvement in the ability to validate hail claims.

“Their commitment to transparency and their investment in long-term transformative solutions for our industry are exactly what we look for in our suppliers.”

“Until now, the fundamental gap in all radar interpretations of hail has been ground truth,” said Nicole Homeier, senior staff scientist at AER. “We’ve confirmed that insurance claims data, when considered carefully to avoid bias, has proven invaluable to validate radar-based hail data. Insurance claims data can also elevate the state-of-the-art of algorithms that predict the occurrence of claims and the resulting repairs.”

“We are thrilled to see continued investment by AER on this important topic for the insurance industry,” said Tim Reinhold, senior vice president of research and chief engineer at IBHS. “Increasing accuracy on where hail has occurred and how severe it was directly relates to IBHS’ work to improve building standards and building component performance in hail-prone regions.”

AER leverages aggregated claims data provided by hundreds of property/casualty insurance carriers to Verisk Analytics.

“Three years ago, carriers approached AER with the request to improve the state of the art for the industry,” said Kyle Beatty, senior vice president of Business Solutions at AER. “It’s been satisfying to work with industry leaders in the insurance, manufacturing, and professional services sectors to transform the way cause‐of‐loss data is used in the insurance claims and restoration process.”

“AER is an extended part of our team, pushing the boundaries of physical and data science approaches to improve the claims experience of our policyholders,” said Renee Beauford, vice president for Claim at Hastings Mutual Insurance Company. “Their commitment to transparency and their investment in long-term transformative solutions for our industry are exactly what we look for in our suppliers.”

“The combination of advanced weather content and insurance claims that AER has brought to market has created substantial value for GAF and our business partners,” said Randy Bargfrede, executive director of logistics and transportation for GAF. “AER’s unique position in the industry can truly transform how wholesale and retail distributors look at weather’s effect on their businesses.”

“AER’s ability to translate the occurrence of hail to effects on our top line is providing us the opportunity to reduce the volatility of some of our revenue streams,” said Jay Huie, chief financial officer at ITEL Laboratories, Inc. “We have been impressed with their weather expertise and their ability to provide related analysis to assist us in better understanding the effects of weather on our business and planning for optimal results.”

Hail is a foundational peril in AER’s suite of peril-monitoring and database services. The AER Respond analysis and forecasting service comprises hail, wind, rain, lightning, heavy snow, hurricane, tornado, and wildfire perils. AER uses market‐leading weather content, satellite‐based damage recognition, and insurance claims analysis to provide the industry’s most valuable service.

About Atmospheric and Environmental Research

Atmospheric and Environmental Research helps businesses and the government anticipate and manage climate- and weather-related risks. Insurance, energy, and manufacturing firms count on AER to help decrease their weather-related losses and increase profitability by integrating state-of-the-art climate science and weather information into their planning and decision processes. Government agencies such as NOAA, NASA, and the Departments of Defense and Energy rely on AER’s scientists to help solve weather- and climate-related problems of vital national importance in energy, environment, national security, and climate change. Established in 1977 and headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, AER is a member of the Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK) Family of Companies. Please visit www.aer.com.