Ohio Mutual Gains Competitive Advantage in Homeowners Lines by Utilizing Marshall & Swift/Boeckh's PerilVision

MILWAUKEE, Oct. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- When Ohio Mutual Insurance Group (Ohio Mutual) purchased one of the Northeast's leading auto insurance carriers in 2010, an opportunity arose to grow their property portfolio in this new geographic region. Being an analytics-driven organization, Ohio Mutual used this moment to develop an intelligent process around risk assessment and pricing for their homeowners insurance business line.

They turned to a trusted partner for help: Marshall & Swift/Boeckh (MSB).

"Ohio Mutual has enjoyed a long-term productive business relationship with MSB," says Dave Grove, Ohio Mutual's Vice President of Product Management.  "They are knowledgeable and supportive of our business goals, and have been proactive about proposing innovative solutions to our business challenges."

MSB's PerilVision solution provided the right answer for Ohio Mutual. PerilVision delivers peril-specific scores, along with a composite score to predict loss potential on any household based on its specific property and construction characteristics. These scores correlate objective and observable property characteristics to loss potential based on a carrier's historical claims data and a compiled MSB industry database. MSB's depth of property intelligence and analytics combined with Pinnacle Actuarial Resources' actuarial expertise helped deliver the right solution for Ohio Mutual.

Today, Ohio Mutual uses PerilVision to price property risk more precisely in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Connecticut, where the model has been filed and approved. The PerilVision scores generated in these areas are directly integrated into Ohio Mutual's by-peril rating structure to competitively price homeowners products.

"PerilVision was one of the first products in the market to look at the characteristics of an insured home," Grove adds. "MSB has been at the forefront of this emerging data product segment."

PerilVision's predictive models provide scores for five perils and an overall composite score for each of the individual risks Ohio Mutual underwrites. This insight gives Ohio Mutual the ability to develop sophisticated rate and pricing strategies, while ensuring sufficient premiums are collected.

While early indications have been positive, Grove expects to have an even better idea of the product's long-term value sometime next year.  "In just a short period of time, PerilVision has helped us accurately evaluate and price a significant amount in homeowners business, and we expect that volume to double in the next 12 months."

"We highly value partners like Ohio Mutual who are highly collaborate and focused on improving their pricing and underwriting sophistication," said Steven Brewer, MSB's Senior Vice President of Underwriting Solutions. "We will continue to invest in new data and analytic bases solutions to deliver the industry's most complete view of property risk, accelerating the pace of underwriting and pricing sophistication possible."

About Marshall & Swift/Boeckh
Marshall & Swift/Boeckh (MSB), a Decision Insight Information Group company, is the leading provider of building cost information, residential and commercial analytics solutions and book of business management services for the property insurance companies, financial services organizations and government entities. MSB offers the industry's most extensive and validated underwriting and claims property data. Throughout their eight decades of experience, they have compiled a strong track record of consistently developing innovative property solutions, analyzing our clients' operations and providing them with the assistance needed to dramatically improve their business results. This track record continues today as they serve as the hub for all of their clients' property needs and work tirelessly to help them maximize their profitability and achieve a competitive advantage. More information can be found at www.msbinfo.com.

About Ohio Mutual Insurance Group
Ohio Mutual Insurance Group, founded in 1901 and based in Bucyrus, OH, partners with nearly 400 independent agencies to distribute quality property and casualty insurance products throughout Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Ohio, Indiana, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The company also maintains a regional office in Saco, ME. Ohio Mutual has maintained a rating of "A / Stable" from A.M. Best Co. for 21 consecutive years, is a 2013 Ward's Top 50 P&C Company, and in 2009 was named Company of the Year by the nation's largest association of independent insurance agents. Additional company information is available at www.omig.com.

SOURCE Marshall & Swift/Boeckh