Verisk to Acquire BuildFax

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Oct. 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verisk VRSK, a leading data analytics provider, announced today it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BuildFax, a provider of property condition and history data, from its shareholders. The majority shareholder of BuildFax is DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust [Lon:DMGT]). BuildFax will become part of ISO, a Verisk business, and will enhance ISO's existing property data and analytics. 

BuildFax uses building permit, contractor, and inspection data to provide critical information about the condition of properties to some of the largest insurance and financial institutions in the world. The data from BuildFax will enhance ISO's robust property analytics while helping underwriters gain insight into changes in the buildings they insure.

"Property insurers have traditionally made underwriting decisions without important information about the condition of a building's roof, electrical system, and plumbing," said Neil Spector, president of ISO. "The data that BuildFax provides about building conditions is transforming property underwriting, both at inception and renewal. We've been using BuildFax data for years in our powerful Roof Age estimation tool, and we look forward to leveraging the company's other data in new and unique ways." 

"Verisk has become a global leader in developing innovative analytics for decision making," said Holly Tachovsky, president of BuildFax. "Becoming part of the Verisk family will enable us to augment our solutions, expand our reach, and provide added value to our customers."

"The insights that BuildFax has been able to extract from building permit, contractor, and inspection data will significantly expand the analytics that we can provide property insurers," said Mark Anquillare, chief operating officer of Verisk. "These analytics will be able to help insurers in their continuing efforts to underwrite potential and existing customers with increased speed and precision."

The transaction is subject to the completion of customary closing conditions.

About BuildFax
BuildFax, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is trusted by the largest insurance and financial institutions in the world to deliver business-critical property condition and history data. With the only database of its kind encompassing more than 84 billion data points on commercial and residential structures, BuildFax delivers detailed data on remodeling, solar installations, new construction, roof age, major systems, maintenance history, and more. To learn more about BuildFax, visit www.buildfax.com.

About ISO
ISO, a Verisk VRSK business, is a leading provider of advanced tools and analytics for the property/casualty insurance industry. Drawing on unique data assets and deep domain expertise, ISO products and services help insurers underwrite and price risks with greater precision and efficiency and manage claims more effectively across the spectrum of commercial and personal lines of insurance. For nearly 50 years, ISO has been a leader in developing innovative solutions and working with multiple stakeholders in the property/casualty insurance marketplace, including insurers, reinsurers, third-party administrators, agents and brokers, insurance regulators, and risk managers. For more information, please visit www.verisk.com/iso.

About Verisk 
Verisk VRSK is a leading data analytics provider serving customers in insurance, energy and specialized markets, and financial services. Using advanced technologies to collect and analyze billions of records, Verisk draws on unique data assets and deep domain expertise to provide first-to-market innovations that are integrated into customer workflows. Verisk offers predictive analytics and decision support solutions to customers in rating, underwriting, claims, catastrophe and weather risk, global risk analytics, natural resources intelligence, economic forecasting, and many other fields. Around the world, Verisk helps customers protect people, property, and financial assets.

Headquartered in Jersey City, N.J., Verisk operates in 30 countries and is a member of Standard & Poor's S&P 500^® Index. In 2018, Forbes magazine named Verisk to its World's Best Employers list. For more information, please visit www.verisk.com.

Contact:

Investor Relations
Stacey Brodbar
Head of Investor Relations
Verisk
201-469-4327
stacey.brodbar@verisk.com

Media
Frank Lentini
Edelman (for Verisk)
212-704-4425
frank.lentini@edelman.com