What is this page?
This page is a comprehensive guide to COPE data, designed for risk pools, public entities, schools, and state organizations. It explains why primary and secondary COPE data are key to more accurate insurance property valuations.
Who is this for?
Risk managers, pool members, insurance administrators, and anyone responsible for maintaining accurate Statements of Values and property data for insurance.
What will you find here?
If you need to know what data to collect for a more accurate property insurance valuation, Centurisk has you covered! We’ve included articles, presentations, web links and frequently asked questions to help make learning what you need to know efficient.
COPE is an acronym for Construction, Occupancy, Protection and Exposure and this refers to data used by insurers and reinsurers to assess property risk due to a catastrophic event. There are two kinds of COPE data, primary COPE data and secondary COPE data.
Primary COPE data includes characteristics such as the type of construction used throughout the building, square footage, number of stories, fire protection and location.
Secondary COPE data characteristics relate to the building’s susceptibility to damage from windstorms or seismic activity.
COPE data affects organizational decision making, stewardship of funds, and property protection in cascading ways. Thorough and accurate COPE data can lead to:
Here at Centurisk, we help organizations collect and maintain thorough, accurate property appraisal details like primary and secondary COPE data. So, we see what data organizations tend to have on hand and what data they’re commonly missing or need to update. Examples of frequently missing or inaccurate elements include:
We also see organizations that struggle to maintain and refresh this data due to:
Spreadsheet version control issues and manual tracking across multiple Excel files make maintaining and updating the many details involved in COPE data extremely time-consuming and difficult. It also makes presenting that data in a confident, professional way to insurers/reinsurers at renewal time a much more challenging endeavor.
When COPE data is instead stored in a centralized property database, tracking details across an organization or even whole risk pools becomes quick and easy. Updating the data becomes a part of regular data hygiene, and presenting the information at renewal time is a matter of running the right reports.
If you’re looking to get your arms around collecting COPE data, what it entails and why it’s important, the blog articles below are a great way to start.
From earthquake, windstorm, and fire, the resources below are designed to help you handle specific COPE data enrichment related to natural disasters.
PRESENTATION: Quick Guide to Verisk Construction Classifications
The resources below were designed to offer you insight into how property data enrichment supports better insurance ratings and rates, and reduces the potential for underinsurance.
Check out these links for solutions related to COPE data enrichment.
Still have some questions about COPE data and how it affects your organization? Check out the Frequently Asked Questions here.
COPE stands for Construction, Occupancy, Protection and Exposure. Insurers and reinsurers use COPE data to better understand a property’s characteristics and its potential exposure to catastrophic loss events such as fire, windstorms, earthquakes and flooding.
COPE data helps insurers evaluate property risk more accurately. Better property data can support more accurate insurance valuations, improved underwriting decisions, stronger catastrophe modeling and more reliable Statements of Values (SOVs).
Incomplete or outdated COPE data may result in inaccurate premiums, coverage gaps or increased underwriting scrutiny.
Primary COPE data includes core building characteristics such as square footage, construction type, occupancy, number of stories and fire protection information.
Secondary COPE data includes additional details that help assess catastrophe-related risks. Examples include roof shape, roof anchorage, opening protection, seismic bracing and other architectural or engineering characteristics related to windstorm, flooding, or earthquake resistance.
COPE data is commonly used by insurers, reinsurers, risk pools, brokers, underwriters, appraisers and public entity risk managers to help determine the level of risk for a property. It is especially important for organizations managing large property schedules or complex portfolios.
Organizations should review and validate COPE data regularly, especially before insurance renewals, property appraisals or major coverage changes.
COPE data should also be updated whenever buildings are renovated, expanded, repurposed or repaired following a loss event. Generally property appraisals should be done every four to five years, and COPE data should be assessed and refreshed.
COPE data is used across many property types, including property associated with schools, municipalities, counties, universities, utilities, healthcare facilities and other public entity properties.
Large or complex buildings often require more detailed COPE information to support underwriting and catastrophe modeling.
Missing or inaccurate COPE data can create challenges during underwriting and renewal discussions. It may also affect catastrophe modeling results, property valuations or the accuracy of your Statements of Values.
In some cases, insurers may default to conservative assumptions when detailed data is unavailable. And that can mean an organizational loss of ratings and higher rates.
COPE data provides detailed building characteristics that help catastrophe models estimate potential damage from events such as hurricanes, convective storms, earthquakes and wildfires.
Secondary COPE data is especially important for evaluating how specific building features may affect vulnerability to natural disasters.
No. COPE data and insurance appraisals are related, but they are not the same thing.
An insurance appraisal focuses on estimating the replacement cost value of a property. COPE data provides supporting property characteristics used in underwriting, risk analysis and catastrophe modeling.
Accurate COPE data can help support more reliable appraisal outcomes.
Examples of secondary COPE data may include:
These details can help insurers better differentiate property risk.
Organizations can improve COPE data quality by:
A Statement of Values (SOV) is a document used during insurance renewals that lists insured properties and key information such as location, values, construction type and occupancy.
COPE data is often a foundational component of accurate SOV reporting.
Check below for the definitions of topics we discussed in this section.
Catastrophe (CAT) Modeling
The use of computer simulations to estimate potential losses from natural disasters, such as hurricanes or earthquakes, based on geographic and structural data.
Primary COPE Data
Primary COPE data includes characteristics such as the type of construction used throughout the building, square footage, number of stories, fire protection and location.
Replacement Cost Value (RCV)
The cost to replace an insured item or property with a new one of like kind and quality, without deducting for depreciation.
Secondary COPE Data
Secondary COPE data characteristics relate to the building’s susceptibility to damage from windstorms or seismic activity.
Statement of Values (SOV)
A standardized document submitted to insurers that summarizes the total value and details of insured properties, often required for underwriting and premium calculation.
Underinsurance
A situation where a property or asset is insured for less than its actual value, which can lead to significant financial loss after a claim.
Verisk/ISO Construction Classes
A system used to categorize buildings based on the materials and methods used in construction, affecting fire risk and insurance rates. Verisk’s ISO system includes six main classes ranging from highly combustible to more flame retardant.
For additional term definitions, check out our full Glossary here.
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