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Brush/Forest Fire Data

MSB brush and forest hazard information, coupled with advanced geo-coding and mapping is the proven way to assess exposure to fire from natural environments. The automated process increases the efficiency and consistency of your underwriting workflow while eliminating manual reviews of maps and subjective interpretations that plague traditional approaches.

MSB delivers the brush and forest hazard data in an efficient, cost effective manner through MSB Express™, a Web-hosting technology that integrates with most customers’ residential and commercial underwriting processes. Property managers, their agents and sales staff easily geo-code any property location for inclusion in and proximity to fire hazard areas.

With a click of a mouse, fully automated mapping and interactive brush and forest risk analyses are available at the point of sale. Producers instantly identify rating territories and nearest fire, streamlining the sales process and closing business faster. Risks with high loss potential are also flagged for further underwriting action.  MSB’s brush and fire program also supports complete book of business review through automated batch processing.

Integrating Brush and Forest Fire Exposure Data with Decisioning Technology 

MSB’s data expertise includes the ability to link brush and forest fire exposure data to complete underwriting decisioning technology from MSB and its sister company MindBox®.  The MSB Express platform gives you immediate access to hazard analysis and is your link to the nation’s most complete and user-friendly decisioning technology.  With MSB Decisioning, you will also be able to go beyond underwriting guidelines to tier pricing and other rating variables that make hazard exposure information more than just a “go / no-go” decision.

The MSB Data Difference 

Vegetation and topography features that directly affect fire risk can vary greatly over relatively small distances. Therefore, MSB drills down to a 30-meter cell.  You receive the same level of detail for all states from MSB, unlike other systems that provide different criteria and limited information for the states they cover.

• Digital Elevation Map (DEM) produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
• LandSat™ satellite imagery
• Data from the United Sates Department of Agriculture Forest Service Division (USDA)

Analyzing this data along with up-to-date satellite and aerial information enables us to create a hazard-class identification system that is more comprehensive than competing models. MSB also works with insurers to assess data from thousands of physical inspections of brush conditions to confirm the validity of our brush and forest fire models. Furthermore, we continually refine our fire hazard identification by analyzing new data and reassessing our findings.