MoreThe American Association of Insurance Services is a national insurance advisory organization and statistical agent. AAIS develops policy forms and rating information used by more than 600 property/casualty insurers throughout the United States as the bases for policies they sell to individuals and organizations. AAIS offers these resources for more than 20 different lines of personal, commercial, farm, and inland marine insurance.
Launched in June 2003, the Means CostWorks Valuator software program employs RSMeans cost data to prepare replacement cost valuations of residences for homeowner property appraisal and insurance underwriting. The easy-to-use Windows-based program allows users to quickly enter specific property information and select pre-determined criteria in the electronic forms, and the program calculates a property valuation in summary or detail format. Sophisticated cost models determine quality levels for each structure greatly reducing user subjectivity.
Through the partnership with AAIS, Reed Construction Data will not only align itself with a long-standing organization, but it will have the opportunity to further market the CostWorks Valuator product as a reliable alternative to perform valuations for all AAIS customers.
Several AAIS companies have already adopted CostWorks Valuator. Bruce Arnold, senior vice president of Hingham Mutual Ins. Co., Hingham, Mass., says CostWorks Valuator will cost his company only a fifth of what its previous valuation supplier would have charged. "CostWorks Valuator is definitely much more detailed [than Hingham's previous valuation program]," he said. "It's going to be much more precise."
Source: Reed Construction Data, Nov. 13, 2003
