How Forensic Data Improves Hail Claim Verification

This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic.

In the summer of 2023, there were several hailstorms in the Minneapolis area that caused over a billion dollars in damage.

The Minneapolis area was one.

There were a record number of hailstorms last year across the United States that caused significant losses, much of which occurred in densely populated areas. The frequency of these storms has made it a common problem for insurance companies to define which event caused the damage in a particular area.

Hail can happen anywhere, many times a year. Since hail damage coverage is covered under standard homeowner's insurance policies, carriers must be able to determine the exact date of loss to accept claims and perform procedures to recover damaged properties within the policy coverage period.

According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, fraud accounts for about 10% of property losses. Among these fraud cases, fraudulent hail-related claims are common, where property owners and contractors often claim that hail damage occurred on their property before receiving assistance.

By using data-driven claims validation technology, insurers can ensure that they accurately negotiate claims when hail strikes, benefiting their businesses and improving their customer service.

Risk analysis vs. Prediction vs. Forensic data

Weather forecasting involves identifying and analyzing weather patterns to predict future weather events. It allows carriers to prepare for potential storms in the next few days. With accurate risk analysis and forecasting data, carriers can make underwriting decisions, develop strategies for recovery efforts, and prepare their policyholders for future weather events.

In contrast, forensic Weather data is historical information from the investigation and analysis of past weather events. With forensic hail data, solution providers can create precise, accurate measures of historical hail events. These tools help insurance companies determine which policyholders were active at the time of the hail damage to their homes. Carriers need tools like forensic maps to verify claims and prevent fraudulent claims.

The latest version of CoreLogic® forensic Hail Verification Technology: HVT 3.0

We at CoreLogic® have long been in the business of creating hail verification maps and reports for insurers by using advanced technology and forensic data to produce the most accurate address-specific information in the market.

Our newly developed proprietary hail model, Hail Verification Technology (HVT) 3.0, provides a solution that enables carriers to focus on accurately verifying the time and location of hail events so that carriers understand the impacts to policyholders. This way, they can focus on providing the best customer service to policyholders who have the right insurance when their properties are damaged by hail.

The HVT 3.0 model generates reports for insurers using polarimetric radar data, ground truth data, and the expertise of dedicated in-house meteorologists. It now effectively separates not only rain and hail, but small hailstones from large stones and produces accurate hail tracks 0.75″ or larger in diameter. In turn, our maps are a very effective indicator of loss severity and complexity.

CoreLogic's HVT 3.0 reports include the highest resolution data in space and time, so these reports ensure the accuracy of when and where hail occurred. This allows for timely responses to eligible insureds.

Validate claims with forensic data-driven technology

While forecasting is undoubtedly important for insurers in certain processes, forensics data should play an important role in verifying claims. As an insurance carrier, to make sure you are reporting accurately and paying claims – specifically to protect the people who are entitled to your support – you should use a forensic analysis tool like the offerings found in the latest version of CoreLogic's Hail Verification Technology.

There are many providers of claims verification solutions in the marketplace whose models use publicly available algorithms that are mainly used by weather forecasters to assess the potential of hail storms. These offerings do not provide the level of detail and accuracy required by insurers and property owners. The difference is in the details, and only forensics-based technology can provide both the details and the context surrounding them to carriers during the critical hail verification process.

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