Frederick Mutual Insurance Company
Improve and Manage Loss Control
How Frederick Mutual improved their direct loss ratio by 57% with the launch of the product, rating structure, and utilization of the Betterview platform.
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About Frederick Mutual Insurance Company
Founded in 1843, Frederick Mutual Insurance Company (FMIC) stands as one of the oldest insurers in the U.S., serving commercial lines across 5 states and Washington D.C. Despite its long-standing history, FMIC recognized the need to evolve and modernize its operations within the current insurance landscape, with a particular focus on enhancing loss control and a forward-thinking risk management strategy. FMIC found the Betterview platform in 2019, which it has since utilized to achieve an impressive average loss and LAE (Loss Adjustment Expense) ratio of 35.6% over a five-year period.
The Challenge
Losses & Inaccuracies
Loss Control
Frederick Mutual did not have an accurate view of roof condition to effectively prevent or manage losses. “The challenges with roof condition are prevalent across the country,” says Nancy Newmister, CEO at FMIC. “We had to rely on inspection teams to verify roof condition, which cost significant time, money, and resources.”
Claims Accuracy
Due to an uptick in property claims and insufficient visibility, the company struggled to accurately handle and verify roof claims. “We had many scenarios where a claim was made, and we needed a source of truth to vet whether the roof was previously damaged,” said Nancy Newmister. “It was negatively impacting our ability to detect an inaccurate claim or potential fraud.”
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The Solution
Effectively Managing Loss Control
FMIC uses the Betterview platform as a powerful loss-prevention tool. Leveraging recent imagery and property data housed on the platform, they remotely pre-inspect all new business and property claims, resulting in significant cost and time savings.
- The Roof Spotlight Index (RSI), our 100-point roof score, spotlights the most relevant risk drivers, empowering FMIC to proactively communicate with their policyholders to mitigate the risk. The top three building detections in their portfolio were Roof Staining (47.5%), Tree Overhang (36.4%), and Vents (19.1%).
- Bulk processing generates rapid, detailed reports for every property in their book.
- Historical imagery archive verifies accurate change analysis of any property.
- Customizable Flagging Engine empowers underwriters to set their own business rules, automatically flagging high-risk issues or allow straight-through-processing. Thus, automating underwriting and reducing the need for physical inspections.
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“We can look at different time frames and verify whether a loss occurred on a roof during the Frederick Mutual policy term,” said Nancy Newmister. “In other cases, we can isolate a claim that happened during a catastrophic (CAT) event which may become part of the CAT event reporting and recovery process. There are many other examples of this tool being extremely effective on the claim side.”— Nancy Newmister, CEO, Frederick Mutual
Managing Fraudulent Claims
In the past, Frederick Mutual struggled to accurately handle and verify property claims, resulting in increased risk of losses and fraudulent claims. The Betterview platform delivers high-resolution historical imagery and detailed property condition data to accurately determine how a property changes over time.
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“We can look at different time frames and verify whether a loss occurred on a roof at a different time than a carrier or agent said it did,” said Nancy Newmister. “In other cases, we can isolate a claim that happened during a CAT-event which instead becomes part of the CAT payout from our reinsurance carrier. There are many other examples of this tool being extremely effective on the claim side.”
Business Impact
Better Loss Control
With the Betterview platform, Frederick Mutual:
- Improved loss ratio year-over-year, reducing it by 26.8%, and maintaining a 35.6% average despite increased risk of severe weather events.
- Straight-through processed low-risk properties.
- Optimized physical property inspections.
- Leveraged the RSI to write new business for properties meeting their guidelines.
- Reduced risk of losses and fraudulent claims.
Betterview is the property intelligence and risk management platform for P&C insurance. Optimize pricing, quoting, underwriting, renewals, and claims by applying AI and computer vision to high-resolution aerial imagery. Betterview helps you write more profitable business, reduce expenses, and mitigate risk.
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