Getting to the Heart of Hail: How Forensic Data Optimizes 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 each caused more than a billion dollars in damage.

The Minneapolis area wasn’t alone.

There were a record number of hailstorms last year across the United States that caused major losses, many of which occurred in densely populated areas. The frequency of these storms made it a common problem for insurers to decipher which incident caused damage at what specific location.

Hailstorms can occur in any given area, many times a year. Since coverage for hail damage falls under standard homeowner insurance policies, carriers must be able to determine the exact date of loss to accept claims and carry out recovery processes exclusively for properties that incurred damage during their policy coverage period.

According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, fraud occurs in about 10% of property-casualty losses. Among these instances of fraud, fraudulent hail-related claims are commonplace, with property owners and contractors too frequently claiming that hail damage occurred to their properties before they actually secured coverage.

By using forensic data-driven claims verification technology, insurers can guarantee that they accurately carry out claims coverage agreements when hail strikes, benefitting their businesses as well as improving their customer service.

Risk analysis vs. Forecasting vs. Forensic Data

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

Conversely, forensic weather data is historical information that results from the investigation and analysis of past weather events. With forensic hail data, solutions providers can create precise, accurate footprints of historical hail events. These tools help insurance companies decipher exactly which policyholders had coverage at the time hail damage occurred to their homes. Carriers need tools like forensic maps for claims verification and to prevent fraudulent claims.

CoreLogic®’s latest version of its 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 upgraded proprietary forensic hail model, Hail Verification Technology (HVT) 3.0, provides a solution that enables carriers to focus on accurately validating the time and location of hail events so carriers can understand the impacts to their policyholders. This way, they can focus on providing the best customer service to policyholders who were rightfully insured when their properties sustained damage from hail.

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

CoreLogic’s HVT 3.0 reports incorporate the highest resolution data in space and time, so these reports ensure accuracy of when and where hail actually occurred. This allows for timely responses to the rightfully insured.

Verify claims with forensic data-driven technology

While forecasting is undoubtedly important for insurers in certain processes, it is forensic data that should play the central role in claims verification. As an insurance carrier, to make sure you are accurately addressing and paying out claims — exclusively protecting the people who are entitled to your support — you must use a forensic analysis tool like offerings available from CoreLogic’s latest version of its Hail Verification Technology.

There are many claims verification solutions providers in the marketplace whose models use publicly available algorithms used primarily for weather forecasters to assess the potential of hail output by a storm. These offerings do not provide the level of detail and accuracy that insurers and property owners need. The difference is in the details, and only forensic science-backed technology can provide both the details and the context around them for carriers during the critical process of hail verification.

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