Verisk Launches Black Box 3

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey, Jan. 8 -- Verisk, a data analytics provider, issued the following news release:

JERSEY CITY, N.J. and SURREY, U.K. -- Verisk (Nasdaq:VRSK), a leading data analytics provider, has launched Black Box 3 (BB3), a new solution available in parts of Canada, Europe, Australasia, and Asia, that helps insurers make smarter underwriting decisions for risks posed by travelers with preexisting medical conditions.

Customers complete a simple, intuitive declaration of their medical conditions, and the Black Box analyses the answers using a bespoke algorithm. A risk score is quickly generated that can then be used to complement an existing underwriting strategy.

The latest development of its proven Black Box series (first launched in 2000), BB3 has a range of improvements for insurers, underwriters, and customers alike.

For example, BB3 can now generate a score reflecting the likelihood of a cancellation claim arising, in addition to the scoring output reflecting medical expenses and repatriation risk.

The tool also includes a new feature called "Screening Lite," which, subject to insurer-determined criteria, reduces the number of questions a customer is asked when traveling to lower-risk destinations for a shorter period with a reduced lead time (for example, traveling within the next couple of days for a weekend break).

"Black Box is a proven technology that in 2018 will support more than 20 million risk assessments for clients in multiple countries around the world," said Lara Suttie, director of business development for Verisk's Risk Rating division.

"Our ethos is to provide data analytics solutions that help our customers make better and faster decisions that minimise risk and maximise value," added Suttie. "This launch builds on 18 years of underwriting experience and industry knowledge and will keep Black Box at the heart of insurers' policy decisions for many years to come."

"The integration of the Black Box technology has allowed us to process millions of risk assessments each year--an invaluable resource," said Ian Rogers, managing director at CYTI, the site that powers MoneySupermarket's travel insurance proposition. "We're excited about the new and improved version and how it can help us going forward."

"I've become very familiar with the Verisk technology, and our most recent integration of the BB into the Nordic insurance platform at Zurich has allowed us to cover preexisting medical conditions with confidence," said Chris Price, EMEA head of travel insurance at Zurich General Insurance, who has worked with the Risk Rating division of Verisk for 15 years across a range of different roles within the industry. "Our alliance with Verisk also allows Zurich to participate on the price comparison websites, which remain an important channel of distribution for our business unit."