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Frequently Asked Questions: Best's Underwriting & Loss Control Center
What is Best's Underwriting & Loss Control Center?
What information is included in the reports?
Do reports include a quick reference to the hazards I may encounter?
If I'm underwriting an unfamiliar line, can Best's Underwriting Guide Online reports help?
What can I use Best's Loss Control Online inspection checklists for?
What special features does the online product offer?
What search fields are available?
What does access to Best's Underwriting Guide Online and Best's Loss Control Online cost?
How do I purchase this product?
What if I only want to view one risk classification? Can single reports be purchased?
How often are reports on the Center updated?
What is Best's Online Account?
What is Best's Underwriting & Loss Control Center?
Best's Underwriting & Loss Control Center is a Web-based resource that provides detailed reports, descriptions and exclusive on-site inspection checklists for hundreds of business and industry classifications.
The Best's Underwriting Guide Online reports contain thorough coverage of more than 575 classifications, including a complete description of the operating methods involved, materials and equipment used, and lines of liability to consider when insuring. This reference allows underwriters to gather all the details they need to write policies accurately and effectively.
The Best's Loss Control Manual Online reports offer descriptions of more than 500 businesses and services, in clear, concise language that allows loss control professionals or insureds to quickly identify areas of potential loss. This reference is perfect for business managers and government officials seeking to reduce their exposure to insurance claims.
Visitors to the Center can review the list of available reports at no charge and then decide whether to purchase a subscription to the Underwriting reports and/or the Loss Control reports, or to purchase individual reports separately.
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What information is included in the reports?
The Underwriting reports include:
· A detailed description, including background and history, of the classification
· Best's Hazard Index charts, which quantify the degree of exposure to various types of loss
· Materials and equipment typically used by the business
· Lines of liability applicable to the business
· Special exposures, listing the chief hazards to consider for a particular business
· Underwriter's checklist to determine the principal hazards and exposures
The Loss Control reports include:
· A concise description of the classification, including history and background
· Best's Hazard Index (see above)
· Materials and equipment typically used by the business
· Lines of liability applicable to the business
· References to related reports
· Checklists for On-Site Inspection and Items to Investigate, to help identify areas of potential loss
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Do reports include a quick reference to the hazards I may encounter?
Yes. Best's Hazard Index charts display the relative degree of risk for the insurance coverages in each classification. Use them to identify lines of insurance requiring further investigation before writing coverage, to identify the problem areas within a classification or to quickly view the overall degree of exposure associated with a classification.
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If I'm underwriting an unfamiliar line, can Best's Underwriting Guide Online reports help?
Yes. Besides the information contained in the risk description, the reports include detailed sections for each relevant line that are designed to help you determine the risk, the principal hazards and exposures and recommended loss control measures. Also, Underwriter's Checklists containing some of the most important questions to look into may be found at the end of each report.
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What can I use Best's Loss Control Online inspection checklists for?
Use the "On-site Inspection" and "Items to Investigate" checklists while conducting on-site surveys to:
· Identify exposures the insured may be vulnerable to;
· Review the condition of the property;
· Investigate the insured's safety practices for employees and customers, quality of supervision, type of hiring practices, frequency of bank deposits and more.
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What special features does the online product offer?
Subscriber features include the ability to:
· Search for reports across Best's Underwriting Guide Online and Best's Loss Control Manual Online
· Create custom lists of reports
· Use Custom Templates to view specific report components then save the template for future use
· Query the entire database or specific section by keyword
· View, export, print or save reports in PDF format. The printed reports are suitable for use as hand-outs and presentations
· View a Hazard Chart, which is a graph of the Hazard Index values for a particular business
In addition, non-subscribers may search for reports but must purchase the report or subscribe to either (or both) Best's Underwriting Guide Online or Best's Loss Control Manual Online to view.
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What search fields are available?
You can search for classifications by:
· Report Title
· Line of Liability
· Hazard Index Code
· Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code
· North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code
· Organization for Standardization (ISO) Code
· Text Within Report
· Data source (Best's Underwriting Guide, Best's Loss Control Manual or both)
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What does access to Best's Underwriting Guide Online and Best's Loss Control Online cost?
A one-year subscription to either database costs $565 per database (either Underwriting or Loss Control---databases are sold separately) and includes access to all reports in the database. Multi-user pricing is available. Please call (908) 439-2200, ext. 5311, for details.
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How do I purchase this product?
Best's Underwriting Guide Online and Best's Loss Control Manual Online subscriptions can be ordered through our secure eCommerce system following the online prompts. You may choose to pay with a credit card or through your Best's Online Account. You can also call Customer Service at (908) 439-2200, ext. 5742.
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What if I only want to view one risk classification? Can single reports be purchased?
Yes, single reports are available for $35 each.
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How often are reports on the Center updated?
New, revised and updated reports are released on Best's Underwriting & Loss Control Center throughout the year, as soon as they become available.
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What is Best's Online Account?
Best's Online Account is the quickest and easiest way to pay for select A.M. Best's products, including individual articles from Best's Underwriting and Loss Control Center. By setting up a Best's Online Account (minimum balance: $500), you can give permissioned users within your organization the ability to obtain these articles without needing to complete a payment for each transaction; the cost of each article will simply be deducted from your account. For more information, go to www.ambest.com/sales/onlineaccount.
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