Ability to process up to seven million addresses an hour accelerates decision making

Windsor, Berks UK, 17 March, 2011 – Pitney Bowes Business Insight (PBBI), a global leader in customer data, analytics and customer communication software and services, today announced that the world’s premier reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor, Aon Benfield, has signed a deal for its Spectrum data management solution, incorporating the Enterprise Geocoding module, Location Intelligence module and global data.


ImpactOnDemandAon Benfield will utilise the PBBI solution internationally to provide its clients with a consistent approach to location intelligence and more effective decision-making across international territories, including the UK, the US and Australia. The Enterprise Geocoding module translates common reference points, such as customer addresses, into latitude and longitude points that can be visualised on a map, providing up-to-date, accurate and consistent geocoding across international geographies.
 
Aon Benfield has standardised globally on the PBBI solution, using it as the geocoding engine behind two of its proprietary state-of-the-art tools:

•ImpactOnDemand - a versatile platform which enables insurers to visualise and quantify their exposures to historical, current and forecasted natural or man-made catastrophes on a map, in addition to loss estimates; and

•ELEMENTS from Impact Forecasting (Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development centre of excellence) - loss calculation software for catastrophe modelling that enables insurers to analyse exposure data at an aggregated and individual level, to estimate losses from catastrophes such as earthquakes, hurricanes or floods.

Insurers are thus empowered to better understand levels of exposure, quantify potential losses and develop more effective reinsurance programmes via easy-to-understand visualised information.  Standardising on the PBBI solution for geocoding also helps Aon Benfield provide its clients with better insight and risk reporting capabilities to prepare for the proposed Solvency II requirements.

Additionally, on behalf of its clients, Aon Benfield is able to make comparisons across country lines to create more effective pricing, underwriting and risk management. For example, the ability to pinpoint the distance between a property and a fault line can help ensure a deal is underwritten at the correct price.

“We’re now capable of processing up to seven million addresses an hour, which far exceeds our prior geocoding capabilities," said Stephen Mildenhall, CEO of Aon Benfield Analytics. “Having a single platform globally has extended our area of coverage and enabled much better decision making across country lines. It also means we can bring in data from multiple sources and manage it from a central system.”

Aon Benfield chose to work with PBBI due to Spectrum’s ease of use and integration alongside the company’s flexible approach to licensing terms.

“PBBI proved to be very effective in ensuring the solution met all of our requirements,” added Mildenhall. “They exhibited the kind of flexibility that is crucial when dealing with an international business.”