LEHI, Utah, Feb. 27, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Severe weather had a significant impact on property claim trends and reconstruction costs in Canada last year, according to a new report from Xactware. Xactware is a Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK) business.
Xactware's 2014 Property Report for Canada shows that monthly property claim activity peaked in summer and early fall, rising to C$295.2 million in August and C$307.5 million in September. The bump in claim activity was caused by severe summer weather.
Rebuilding costs were also up in 2014. "National costs to rebuild rose by 4.88 per cent in 2014," said Greg Pyne, Xactware's assistant vice president of Pricing Data Services. "That's the highest annual increase we've reported since 2003."
Xactware's annual property report provides information about important trends in the Canadian property insurance industry. In addition to an in-depth overview of property claims and reconstruction costs, Xactware's 2014 Property Report for Canada includes cost trends for commonly used building materials (such as lumber, drywall, and roof shingles) and reconstruction labour. The property report is based on research conducted by Xactware's pricing data services team and on claims processed throughout 2014 by Xactware's claims management and analytical network, XactAnalysis®.
"The six-year trend of highly damaging storms and flooding continued in 2014," said Joel Dagenais, Xactware's Canadian and international consultant and president of AXP Software. "The 2014 storms were down significantly from the recording-breaking year of 2013 but still pushed the number of water, wind, and hail claims processed by Xactware to the highest monthly level since Xactware started compiling the yearly report in Canada."
About Xactware's 2014 Property Report for Canada
Xactware pricing and analytical experts researched, analyzed, and compiled the cost information contained in the 2014 property report. This team conducted more than 28,000 surveys with material and equipment suppliers and more than 9,000 surveys with repair contractors and service providers during 2014. Xactware analyzed more than 5.7 million data points from repair and rebuild estimates to tabulate claims information shown in the property report.
Visit the Xactware Online Store to order a copy of the 2014 Property Report for Canada.
About Xactware
Xactware specializes in technologies for the property insurance, remodeling, restoration, and mortgage and lending industries. Xactware's tools provide claims estimating, contents replacement, claims management, and property maintenance solutions for desktop, mobile, and online platforms. Xactware's services include repair cost research and reports, aerial imagery, and real-time business intelligence. Xactware has been providing cloud services for customers since 1995. Xactware is a Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK) business. For more information about Xactware's solutions, contact Xactware at 1-800-424-9228 or Xactware.com. Twitter: Xactware
For media information, please contact:
Jens Dana
801-932-8653
jadana@xactware.com
HUG#1897896