Centurisk has been helping entities solve property exposure and risk management challenges for a long time now. And one thing we’ve learned is that organizations face some very common, yet critical problems that only property risk management software can solve.
Six of the biggest challenges that come up time after time include:
1. Inconsistent Property Values
The challenge:
Similar properties with a similar purpose sometimes have wildly varying values. This can be a big red flag in your data. For example, you might be part of a school district with academic buildings valued far under, or over, other buildings of a similar type. So, how do you know which value is accurate? Was the outlier building always valued differently and why? How do you make sure there aren’t more outliers? And how do you make sure you get the right amount of insurance at the right rates when your property values vary so widely?
How software for risk management solves it:
Property risk management software with robust reporting, like Centurisk’s RiskStar, allows you to easily report on and analyze these values. The software should let you drill-down to see the property feature details that can cause widely different building values. And the property history capabilities let you record any changes made to the information or values over time. This lets you compare and contrast what changed and when. The software lets you get your arms around your property holistically and assess it. Then you can take care of any red flag inconsistencies.
2. Difficulty Identifying Changes to Property Schedules
The challenge:
Every year, you need to submit your property schedule to your insurance company. But how do you know what’s changed from year to year? You might be updating your statement of values (SOV) information that you receive from various contacts by using and sharing spreadsheets, by exchanging emails, or by simply picking up the phone, asking questions, and taking notes. Because of this, you may not have a well-documented information trail. Spreadsheets are passed from person-to-person without version control and without date, time and user stamps to show who updated what and when. In addition, relying on institutional memory regarding what might or might not have happened even a year ago isn’t the most effective way of handling it, either.
As a result, you might submit information to insurers/reinsurers that really would raise an eyebrow, if you could only examine the history more thoroughly. And when that information is what ultimately helps dictate your coverage and your rates, this oversight can have a cascading effect on both your risk levels and your bottom line.
How software for risk management solves it:
Effective property risk management software tracks and allows you to report on which fields have changed, and how values have shifted from year-to-year. The risk management software system serves as your organization’s institutional memory, so you no longer need to rely on well-meaning staff to (hopefully!) recall what was decided in the past. It’s all there, documented by building with supporting photo attachments, dated and showing the name of the user who made the updates.
3. Missing Workflows to Approve Property Changes
The challenge:
Wouldn’t it be great if you could build accountability for updating information right into your property data processes? How many times have you wished you could know who’s updating which data and when? Wouldn’t you like to prevent erroneous information from ever becoming grandfathered into the system? And we bet you’d like to make sure your stakeholders knew just when their property data updates were included, too! So many organizations struggle with these checks and balances and how to properly document them. But when spreadsheets represent the typical method of data collection, it becomes hard to so ensure your organization has the accountability and current, accurate information you need.
How property risk management software solves it:
A permissions-based risk management software system like RiskStar allows you to assign user roles and parameters for those roles, building your approval workflow into its very functionality. It improves communication by notifying data managers when new data updates are available for approval. RiskStar helps property data administrators control what information gets added to the property database and head off old data or red flag items. And RiskStar also increases communication with stakeholders so information can be gathered quickly and electronically, and everyone is on the same page. The automatic documentation of all correspondence and updates helps increase accountability.
4. Inconsistent Property ID Numbers and Names
The challenge:
With property information spread across multiple systems and maintained by different individuals, it’s easy for a single property to end up with multiple identifiers like property ID numbers and names. Clarifying and consolidating this information for your Statement of Values can become time-consuming. And, until every system and spreadsheet is updated to become identical, you’re likely to just carry the problem over going forward. And that wastes even more of your precious time.
How software for risk management solves it:
With property risk management software like RiskStar, the system issues each property one single property ID number in the system, and a naming convention that carries throughout the functionality via search lookups and dropdown menus. So, if you’re looking up an insurance policy for that property, it will have the same name and ID as its primary and secondary COPE information, its ISO construction details, its CAT data… Wherever that property appears, it will be listed the same.
5. Lack of Data Integrity Across Multiple Systems
The challenge:
Like the issues regarding property ID numbers and names, when you’re working across multiple, siloed systems maintained by different individuals, the information is very likely to become inconsistent. One data manager for one system may update more regularly or simply receive fresher information more often. They might have fields of the same name containing very different data types. And as time passes and there’s staff turnover, the disconnects only continue to grow. Soon, looking in one system may tell a very different story about your property details than in another. So how do you know which is correct? Being certain requires detective work and time that could be better spent on other tasks.
How software for risk management solves it:
Because property risk management software ties all your property data into one unified system, you update information once and it flows throughout the system, available to anyone with the right permissions. These user permissions mean you can control who can update what data, assuring you the right authorization and greater consistency. Dropdown menus allow you to choose from available options to populate certain fields, keeping nomenclature consistent throughout, and saving time. User-based approvals based on your organization’s unique workflow keeps stakeholders informed and your change history well-documented. Gone are the days of trying to choose the right answer from two disparate systems.
6. Limited Communication around Appraisal Project Status and Review
The challenge:
Many organizations run into complications when it comes to property insurance appraisal time because, while appraisals are in the works, they remain in the dark about just what has been completed and when, and where the updates lie. They have difficulty knowing if their new values are accurate, because they can’t see what’s changed and, in some cases, they may not be able to control what types of data are used in the valuation. This can affect how thorough the data collected is, and leaves organizations open to “worst case scenario” rates if the data brokers need isn’t available.
How software for risk management solves it:
With a Centurisk property insurance valuation, all valuation data goes straight into the RiskStar reporting system for easy customer access and transparency. The system shows a clear comparison between old and new values, so you understand what’s changed and why. You have access to the AMP reporting data at any time and can generate reports of your own. Centurisk’s RiskStar lets you report on any field in system. Our Centurisk project valuation managers also review valuation data with you, pointing out red flags so questions can be resolved in the system. It’s the right marriage of expertise and data quality that keeps your rates more accurate and mediates risk.
Common Data Challenges Require an Uncommonly Configurable Software Solution
Property risk management shouldn’t be about simply enduring the challenges and working around the data dilemmas that plague you. You can solve them once and for all with robust and configurable property risk management software. You can see the results in the time and energy you save each year. Plus, y and the peace of mind that your insurance rates and coverage are right where they need to be.
- For more information on Centurisk’s RiskStar property risk management software, click here.
- To see a demo of Centurisk’s RiskStar Property Risk Management software, simply click here and a member of our team will be in touch.