Test
Descriptions & Availability
For property underwriters and agents who are looking to increase accuracy, productivity and overall speed of operations, the RiskMeter Online is an Internet application used to automate property risk reports. By simply typing in an address, underwriters and agents can get back natural hazard information for a given policy location. The RiskMeter can perform more than 30 different lookups, including distance to coast, rating territory, flood zone, windpool eligibility, proximity to brush and EQ hazards. Unlike conventional paper-based lookups, the RiskMeter Online provides underwriters and agents with accurate, efficient and defendable positions up to 90% faster than existing methodologies. To learn more about our reports, please click on the links below.
| |
This report shows the distance to the coast. This can be tailored to meet your needs in 2 ways: 1) The shoreline can be customized to meet your underwriting requirements. This means the coastline can be edited to remove insignificant water. 2) You can determine what distances you want to check (Ex. 100ft, 500ft, 1000ft, 2500ft, 1 mile, etc. or 1/10th of a mile up to 10 miles). Speak to CDS about implementing these items.
Fields: Description, Index and Within.
Description: This is a text statement describing the distance to the nearest shoreline (ex: Within 1 mile to shore).
Index: When setting up an account, CDS can set the distances to check: (i.e. ½ mile, 1 mile, 2 mile, etc). This number tells how many distances it has checked.
* Note - Generally companies set a maximum distance that they are interested in checking (i.e. once you’re more than 10 miles inland, its not considered a coastal risk). We include the message “Outside of risk zone,” if the property is not within a meaningful distance of the risk.
Within: This states how far the property is from the shoreline according to the distance measure selected during the setup of the account. This is the actual distance checked.
Availability: All coastal States (Atlantic, Pacific
and the
Special Features/Options:
A custom shoreline can be developed for your account so that only water that your company considers coastal will be used. You can determine how far to go up rivers/inlets, whether to consider the Intra Coastal Waterway coastal, etc. Contact your CDS representative for details.
These are custom rating territories
that are defined by each insurance company. We can convert all of your paper
definitions into digital maps. This
will allow you to accurately determine the rating territory for any address,
whether your territories are built by ZIP Code, cities and towns, or defined
by roads or rivers. This works
using street-level mapping technology for unparalleled accuracy. Contact CDS about adding your rating territories.
Generally, companies provide CDS with paper definitions, and CDS creates
a digital copy of the rating territories, accurate down to the street level.
Fields: Description and Zone. Custom fields can be added, too.
Description: This is a physical description of the zone that makes up the territory.
Zone: This is the code that identifies the territory.
Availability: Entire US,
if set up for individual company (Call CDS to have your territories set up).
This report shows whether or not the address entered falls into a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA – The 100-year flood plain, or 1% probability of flooding each year), as well as the Flood Zone. The FEMA source data has been updated and significantly enhanced by First American Flood Data Services. First American has checked and Quality Checked (QC’d) 100% of the panel information. In addition, they continually update this information, and it is downloaded into the Risk Meter Online monthly. This is an excellent screening tool if your concerned with properties falling within flood-prone areas.
Fields: SFHA, Within 250 Feet, Community Number, Community Name, Zone, Panel, Panel_dte, FIPS Code and Census Tract
SFHA: Special Flood Hazard Zone – This is the 100 year floodplain. This is generally what people refer to as being “In a Flood Zone.” Returns In or Out, telling whether or not the property falls within the SFHA zone.
Within 250: If the property is within 250’ of the SFHA boundary, it tells you. Because of minor sources of error, if the property is outside a flood zone, but within 250’ of one, this method is not accurate enough to make a definitive determination. A property site visit or certification by a flood service should be used to make an absolute determination.
Community Number : A 6-digit standardized community code defined by FEMA.
Community Name: Name of the community
Zone: The type of flood zone as specified by FEMA.
Panel: The panel number of the paper map associated with this flood zone area.
Panel_dte: The panel date. This is the date that the map was produced and/or last updated, whichever is newer. Formatted as (month, day, year).
COBRA: Coastal Barriers Resource Act of 1982 removed federal government support for building and development in undeveloped portions of hazardous coastal areas. Returns In or Out, telling you whether or not the property falls into a COBRA zone.
FIPS Code: The FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) standardized county code.
Census
Tract: Census tracts are
small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county or statistically
equivalent entity delineated by local participants as part of the U.S. Census
Bureau’s participant statistical areas program. (
Availability:
Entire US, where available. FEMA
does not provide maps for every community in the
Special Features/Options:
As an option, CDS can also tell you the distance to high risk zones, such as A Zones. You can specify a list of zones that you are concerned with. This will tell you if you are near a high-risk zone or if you are not in one.
*Additionally, using the Flood Report along with the aerial images and manual placement, you can ensure that your structure is being plotted in exact location.
Flood Zone Definitions and Explanations
If your not exactly sure what a particular zone means, check out our Flood Zone definitions and explanations at: http://www.riskmeter.net/RiskMeter/floodzon.htm
Flood Elevation
This report builds upon the standard
Flood Report. However, in addition to the flood data, the report also identifies
flood risks that are nearby. The idea is to identify flood risks that may
be present even if the location is not in a flood zone. If the location falls
outside of a flood zone, the report calculates the distance to the nearest
100 year flood zone, and estimates the height of the location above the flood
zone. If the location falls within a flood zone, the report estimates what
the water depth would be during the 100 year flood.
The key to this report is that
CDS has figured out how to estimate the Base Flood Elevation (eBFE). A base flood elevation is the elevation of the surface
of the water when flooded. This is done with a combination of the flood data
and the elevation data. Please note that these may not match exactly
the BFE’s shown on FEMA flood maps. This
is due to differences in the elevation data, which is provided by the USGS.
USGS elevation data in general has an accuracy of +/- 2 meters, or about 6
feet. However, it is still very valuable to know the location is near a flood
zone, and the difference in elevation is small.
Some answers may seem odd, which are attributable to the elevation data and corresponding flood information. Again, these are due to minor inconsistencies in the elevation data, but the information is still very useful in raising awareness of possible underwriting concerns. For example, on some occasions the height above the flood zone may be negative, or the water depth may be shown as a negative number. This is because by chance, the elevation of the location is very close to the elevation of the flood zone. In either case, it means that this location is at risk of flooding, as there is very little difference in elevation.
Fields: SFHA, Distance To Flood Zone, Community Number, Community Name, Zone, Panel, Panel Date, Cobra, Elevation, Estimated BFE, Height Above BFE, Estimated Water Depth
SFHA: Special Flood Hazard Zone – This is the
100 year floodplain. This is generally what people refer to as being “In a
Flood Zone.” Returns In or Out, telling whether or
not the property falls within the SFHA zone.
Community Number: A 6-digit standardized community code defined
by FEMA.
Community Name: Name of the community
Zone: The flood zone as specified by FEMA.
Panel: The panel number of the paper map associated with
this area.
Panel date: The panel date. This is the date that the map
was produced and/or last updated, whichever is newer. Formatted as (month,
day, year).
COBRA: Coastal Barriers Resource Act of 1982 removed
federal government support for building and development in undeveloped portions
of hazardous coastal areas. Returns In or Out, telling
whether or not the property falls into a COBRA zone.
Distance to Flood Zone: This field gives the distance to
the nearest 100-year flood zone in increments
Elevation: This is the elevation at the location entered
(subject property) in feet above sea level
Estimated BFE: This is the Estimated Base Flood Elevation
(eBFE). This is the estimated elevation of the water’s
surface when at the 100 year flood level. This is not shown (N/A) if the subject
property is too far from the nearest flood plain. By default, a property whose
closest flood zone is greater than 1,500 feet will see the N/A result.
Height Above BFE: This is the height
above the flood zone. It is the difference between the elevation and the estimated
BFE. In general this is a positive number. If the number is small or negative,
this indicates a risk of flooding. Negative numbers are due to minor accuracy
issues in the elevation data. This is only shown if the location falls outside
of the 100 year flood zone. This is not shown (N/A) if you are too far from
the nearest flood plain
Estimated Water Depth: This is the estimated depth of the
water if this location was flooded to the 100 year flood level. This is the
difference between the elevation of the location and the estimtated
BFE(eBFE). This is only shown if the location falls within a 100
year flood zone.
Note: If the location is far away from the nearest 100 year flood plain, then the Estimated BFE and Height above BFE fields are not calculated, as the would probably be of little practical use. In these cases, the Estimated BFE and Height Above BFE will say “N/A”.
Availability: Entire US, where available. FEMA does not
provide maps for every community in the
Special Features/Options:
The maximum distance to return the Estimated BFE and Height above BFE can be set to different distances. Contact CDS if you have any questions.
By default, CDS calculates the
distance to all 100-year flood zones; i.e. all A and V zones. However, we
can use specific distances, or also give the distance and height above other
zones, like the 500 year flood plain.
*Additionally, using the Flood Report along with the aerial images and manual
placement, you can ensure that your structure is being plotted in exact location.
Flood Zone Definitions and Explanations
If your not exactly sure what a particular zone means,
check out our Flood Zone definitions and explanations at: http://www.riskmeter.net/RiskMeter/floodzon.htm
This report shows the distance to the nearest fault. The data is provided by United States Geological Survey (U.S.G.S.). You can set the parameters as to how far from the fault you are concerned with.
Fields: Within (Distance).
Within: This states how far the property is from
the Earthquake fault according to the distance measure selected during the
setup of the account. When setting
up an account,
CDS can set the distances
to check: i.e. ½ mile,
1 mile, 2 mile, etc. This is
a textual description (i.e. “Within 1 Mile of EQ Fault”)
* We include an outside of risk zone message if the property is not within meaningful distance of the risk
Availability: Entire US.
This report
shows what tax district the address entered falls into. In the state of
Fields: Fire Tax Code, Name, County, Fire
Fire Tax
Code: This is the proper
jurisdiction code that should be used as defined by the State of
Name: This is the name of the jurisdiction.
County: This is the county
Fire: This tells if it falls within a fire jurisdiction
Availability: State of
This report
shows what tax district the address entered falls into. In the state of
Fields: Police Tax Code, Name, County, Police
Code: This is the proper jurisdiction code that
should be used as defined by the State of
Name: This is the name of the jurisdiction.
County: This is the county
Police: This tells if it falls within a police jurisdiction
Availability: State of
This report shows whether
or not the address entered falls into the state defined wind pool area. In
areas with a tiered wind pool, the report will also tell what eligible area
the property falls within.
Fields: Wind Zone
Wind Zone: This says whether a property is “In” or “Out” of a state wind pool. If the wind pool is tiered, it will tell which pool the property is eligible for.
Availability: AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, NJ, SC, TX.
This report
gauges the potential for hail damage for any location in the Continental US.
It is based on
Fields: Hscale, Hpercentile, Storms Per Year, Hail Score
Hscale: This is a number between 1 - 100 that represents the frequency of hail storms from 1990 - 2005. For example, the national average is 6 (equates to 2.3 hail storms/year), so any Hscale number higher than that is more likely to have hail.
Hpercentile: This
is a percentile score that compares your lookup to the rest of the
Storms Per Year: This
is the average number of storms per year for the area. The national average is 2.3 hail storms
per year.
Hail Score: This is the hail score based upon the number of storms per year. The scores can be interpreted as follows:
0 No Risk - No Storms
1
Low Risk – Less than 2 storms per year
2
Average Risk – 2 to 3 storms per year
3
Elevated Risk – 3 to 5 storms per year
4
High Risk – 5 to 15 storms per year
5
Extreme Risk – More than 15 storms per year
Availability:
Entire US.
This report
gauges the potential for tornado damage for any location in the Continental
US. It is based on
Fields: Tscale, Tpercentile, Storms per Year and Tornado Score
Tscale: This is a number between 1-100 that represents the frequency of tornado events from 1990 - 2005. Currently, the national average is 8 (equates to 0.33 tornadoes per year), so any Tscale number higher than that is more likely to have a tornado occur.
Tpercentile:
This is a percentile score that compares your lookup to the rest
of the
Storms Per Year: This is the average number of storms per year for the area. The national average is 1 tornado every 3 years or 0.33 tornados per year
Tornado Score: This score is based upon the number of tornados per year. The scores can be interpreted as follows:
0 No Risk - No Storms
1 Below Average Risk - Less than 1 tornado every 5 years on average
2 Average Risk – Approximately 1 tornado every 3 to 5 years on average
3 Elevated Risk – Approximately 1 tornado every 1 to 2 years on average
4 High Risk – 1 to 2 tornadoes per year on average
5 Extreme Risk – More than 2 tornadoes per year on average
Availability: Entire US.
This report
shows in which county the address entered is located.
Fields: County and FIPS.
County: Name of the county.
FIPS: Federal Information Processing Standard
- The standardized code corresponding to the county.
Availability: Entire US.
This report
shows in which city or town the address entered is located. These cities and towns are referred to
as minor civil divisions (MCDs). These are the official town boundaries
as defined by government entities. This
has recently been changed. In
states where significant development and annexations occur, this can look
at cities and unincorporated areas.
City: This is the name of the city, or unincorporated area.
Availability: Entire US.
This report will give you the driving distance to the three closest fire stations, names of the stations and staffing (professional, volunteer or a combination). This report uses routing technology to determine the distances to the stations (This is not a guesstimate)!
Fields: Distance, Station, Staffing and RMID
Distance: This will give you the distances of
the three closest fire stations
Station: Returns the name of the fire station
Staffing: Tells you if the station is career,
volunteer or a combination
RMID: Serial number which helps us to identify a particular fire station
Availability: National
This report shows whether or not a property falls into a brush fire zone. For this test, the California Department of Forestry and local governing agencies provide the information. These are the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ) as defined by the “Bates Bill”.
Fields: BF Bates, BF Proximity and BFSRA.
BF Bates: This tells if a property is located in an area identified as a brush fire hazard. Brush fire hazard areas are those identified by the “Bates Bill.” It will say whether or not the property is “IN” or “OUT” of the hazard area.
BF Proximity: This shows how close a property is to a brush fire zone. If a property falls outside of a brush fire hazard area, this tells how far away the property is from the closest brush fire hazard.
* Note - Generally companies set a maximum distance that they are interested in checking (i.e. once you’re more than 1 mile away, it is not considered a wildfire risk). We include the message “Outside of risk zone,” if the property is not within a meaningful distance of the risk.
BF
SRA: State Responsible Zone
– These are non-federal lands for which fire protection is provided by the
State of
Availability: State of
This report shows whether or not a property falls into a brush fire zone. This data is a digital version of the popular “Renie Ad Map” books that have been used for decades by insurers to identify brush hazard areas, as well as the Fire Protection Class for a given location.
Fields: RF Results, Proximity
RF Results: This tells if a property is located in an area identified as a brush fire hazard. Brush fire hazard areas are those identified by the Renie Ad Map map books. It will say whether or not the property is “IN” or “OUT” of the hazard area.
* Note - Generally companies set a maximum distance that they are interested in checking (i.e. once you’re more than 1 mile away, it is not considered a wildfire risk). We include the message “Outside of risk zone,” if the property is not within a meaningful distance of the risk.
Proximity: This shows how close a property is to a brush fire zone. If a property falls outside of a brush fire hazard area, this tells how far away the property is from the closest brush fire hazard. These distances can be set according to the distances you want to check.
Availability: 6 counties in CA.
The CDS Business Mapping Wildfire Hazard Model is the
quick and accurate way for you to determine the potential risk of brush fires
for properties in the western
Fields: BF_Results, Proximity
RF Results: This is the brush rating for the location where the property is located. It returns one of the following four values:
· Very Low
· Low
· Medium
· High
Proximity: This shows how close a property is to an area rated as a risk. The idea here is that if you are not in a high risk area, you would like to know if you are near one. These distances can be set according to the distances you want to check. CDS can also set this to check for both medium and high, or simply high-risk areas.
* Note - Generally companies set a maximum distance that they are interested in checking (i.e. once you’re more than 1 mile away, it is not considered a wildfire risk). We include the message “Outside of risk zone,” if the property is not within a meaningful distance of the risk.
Availability: AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, SD, UT, WA and WY.
Special Features/Options:
The brush report is highly configurable. First, the distances to check for proximity can be customized for each account. In addition, you can decide whether to check the proximity to only high risk areas, or medium and high risk areas. Also, we can allow small patches of brush to be allowed (using percentage thresholds), while eliminating large areas. Different thresholds can be used for different distances, too. Finally, for agents who write for many different carriers, CDS can give back separate distances for the distance to medium and the distance to high, so that the agent can see which carriers will accept the risk.
When used in conjunction with the aerial images/Birdseye Geocoding, this can be an incredibly powerful tool for you to evaluate brush exposures.
This lookup shows what the
fire protection code is for the address entered. They are based upon fire
districts and municipalities. CDS Business Mapping takes the paper definitions
as provided by the Renie Ad Map books.
Availability: 6 counties in CA (
This lookup shows what the
fire protection code is for the address entered. They are based upon fire
districts and municipalities, as defined by the Mississippi Rating Bureau
(MSRB).
Fields: City, County,
Protected, Unprotected
City: Name of the
municipality
County: Name of
the county
Protected: Protection
class for protected homes
Unprotected: Protection
class for unprotected homes
Availability: State of
This lookup provides the insurer with the proper CEA Zone. CEA zones are set up by the California Earthquake Authority to determine rates for homeowners insurance.
Availability: State of
US Quick Quake – Assess (Basic)
Specifically geared
for underwriters, this tool provides the local soil conditions, the name and
distance to the closest fault, identification of the controlling fault and
the resulting MMI at the site. The account can be set to return values for
a 100, 250 or 500 year return period.
In areas of low EQ risk, not all fields will be returned. Fields
that may be returned are as follows Soil, Magnitude, Peak Ground Acceleration,
MMI, Controlling Fault, Distance to Controlling Fault, Closest Fault, Distance
to Closest Fault and Score.
An
important note on the EQE methodology used. The model looks at
faults that are active faults.
An active fault in the model is a fault that is expected to rupture
with a given probability within the return period chosen. For example, if a fault is not expected
to rupture, within say, 100 years, and the return period chosen is 100 years,
that fault will not be shown in the output. It is statistically insignificant. Because of this fact, known faults may
not be shown in the output (because they are not expected to rupture within
the return period), or different answers for the same location are possible
based upon different return periods.
Also important to note
is that full data will only be returned in areas where there is statistically
significant seismic activity and an active fault. Areas with inactive faults (based upon
the return period selected) will only return the soil type (and the score,
if US Quick Quake – Score if selected).
Fields: Soil, Magnitude, Peak Ground Acceleration,
MMI, Controlling Fault, Distance to Controlling Fault, Closest Fault and Distance
to Closest Fault.
Soil: Returns one of the following values:
o Rock
Magnitude: This is the magnitude of the "design-basis"
earthquake at the controlling fault. In other words, it is the largest
magnitude expected at the controlling fault during the selected return period.
Peak Ground Acceleration
(g): Intensity is a measure of how strongly
the ground is shaken by an earthquake. Because some types of ground
shake more than others, the intensity can vary from place to place in an earthquake,
even within the same neighborhood. The measure of intensity is the peak
ground acceleration (PGA) in unit of "g" or gravity. A value of 0.5
represents a peak ground acceleration of half the acceleration of gravity.
Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI): This scale uses the
observations of the people who experienced the earthquake to estimate its
intensity. There are 12 levels of observation represented by a roman numeral equivalent. 1 (Low) – 12 (High).
See further descriptions below:
Controlling Fault:
Name of the fault producing
the greatest damage at the site