AAIS Members Qualify for Discount on RSMeans Valuation Service

RSMeans and the American Association of Insurance Services, announced an agreement that grants AAIS member insurers a discount on the licensing fee for RSMeans’ new CostWorks Valuator service.

CostWorks Valuator is a software application that calculates replacement cost valuations of residences at reportedly far less cost than some comparable services. The program is based on a comprehensive residential component cost modeling system developed by RSMeans, a provider in construction cost data for more than 60 years.

RSMeans is the cost and estimating product line of Reed Construction Data, an Atlanta company that produces publications and software for the construction industry. Over the past 25 years, RSMeans has developed and published its quarterly Construction Cost Index, and currently publishes 27 annual cost publications on construction and maintenance.

With CostWorks Valuator, a user enters specific property information and selects criteria in the template, and the program calculates a property valuation in summary or detail format. Each valuation is built by housing cost components from RSMeans’ collection of unit and assembly cost data and priced by U.S. ZIP Codes and Canadian postal codes.

CostWorks does not require the user to make any initial guesses about a structure, such as trying to determine its style (e.g., Cape Cod). The valuation is built entirely from objective, verifiable features of a house, such as the square footage and ceiling height.

A 15 percent discount on the licensing fee is available for all AAIS affiliates who write residential property insurance, whatever programs they use for homeowners or dwelling coverage. The discount does not extend to agent user fees.

For a demonstration of CostWorks Valuator, go to www.rsmean.com (registration required). For information contact Michael Cummings, account executive for insurance services for Reed Construction Data, at mcummings@reedbusiness.com.