Enservio Announces Contents Claims Index for Benchmarking and Analyzing Property Insurance Contents Claims Trends

NEEDHAM, Mass. – May 18, 2011 – Enservio, the nation’s leading provider of contents inventory creation, valuation and replacement services and software, announced today the launch of the Enservio Contents Claims Index (CCI). The index aggregates and analyzes contents claims reported by over 200 U.S. property insurers, providing valuable insights into contents claims trends on more than 14 million individually appraised personal and business items claimed by insured as lost, damaged or stolen.

Enservio’s CCI consists of more than 2,000 categories and subcategories of millions of personal and business items – with thousands of new line item descriptions added every week. 
 
2010 Content Claims Trends Revealed – Electronics and Jewelry Top the List 
 
The Enservio CCI shows the top contents categories compiled from claims filed with insurers in 2010. Electronics topped the list at 15.76%, followed closely by Jewelry at 15.02%. Next come Apparel (11.91%), Furniture (11.21%) and Home Goods (9.14%) – all ranked among the Top 10.
 
Enservio Contents Claims Index for 2010
Top contents categories as compiled from claims filed with insurers in 2010. Ranked by dollar value as a percent of total claims.
1. Electronics
15.76%
2. Jewelry
15.02%
3. Apparel
11.91%
4. Furniture
11.21%
5. Home goods
9.14%
6. Tools
4.36%
7. Appliances
3.72%
8. Sporting goods
3.54%
9. Music and Movies
2.66%
10. Bed and Mattress
2.50%
 
A closer look at the subcategories within the Top 10 provides insights into consumer lifestyle, purchasing habits and behavior. Claims for Televisions (23.70%) and Laptop Computers (16.81%) dominated the Electronics category. Desktop Computers rank third at 7.39%. The considerable drop-off from Laptops to Desktops reveals the growing popularity of portable computing devices.
 
Enservio’s CCI shows a significant increase in Jewelry claims during the past two years of the recession, showing that claims for high value items tend to increase during economic downturns. Rings, Watches and Necklaces top the list of Jewelry items claimed. A closer look at watches also reveals that contents claims made by insureds may sometimes be inflated, especially during a recession.
 
The 2010 CCI also revealed the following contents claims trends:
 
-       Regional Trends
o    Jewelry claims are more prevalent on the west coast.
o    Claims for books and magazines are more prevalent in the east than in other areas of the country.
o    Claims for tools are more prevalent in the Midwest.
 
 
-       Apparel
o    The value of claims made for women’s and men’s shoes are nearly equal at 7.08% and 7.06% respectively.
.
-       Sporting Goods
o    Bicycles and golf clubs are among the most commonly stolen items. 
o    Many higher-end bicycles exceed the value of scheduled jewelry.
 
-        Appliances
o    Refrigerators account for nearly as much value as clothes washers, dryers and ranges combined.
 
“The Contents Claims Index is just one manifestation of the mountain of extremely valuable contents claims data that Enservio’s Valuation Platform generates,” said Jon McNeill, Enservio’s CEO. “We also run highly detailed reports on claimed items and how they trend over time – insights that our carrier customers use to improve the accuracy of contents claims while also identifying new product development and business growth opportunities.”
 
About Enservio
Enservio is the market leader in contents inventory creation, valuation and replacement. We provide software and services to property insurance carriers and their policy holders nationwide. Founded in 2004, we are headquartered near Boston, with offices and professional staff across the United States. For additional information, please visit the company's web site www.enservio.com or call 888.567.7557
 

 

Media Contacts: 

Tom Francoeur
Topaz Partners
781-404-2405
tfrancoeur@topazpartners.com