LOS ANGELES August 30, 2005 – Marshall and Swift / Boeckh (MS/B) augmented client catastrophe support as Hurricane Katrina hit Florida on Friday and battered Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama yesterday. Trainers and technical support staff are already on site and on standby to assist carriers and independent adjusters with field estimating tool installations, upgrades, and data updates. MS/B’s research department is also gathering material and labor costs to monitor and provide storm surge pricing in all affected areas.
According to Jonathan Kost, MS/B’s Vice President of Claims, MS/B immediately began to research storm surge data for Katrina’s targets: Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Jackson and Biloxi/Gulf Port, Mississippi. Storm surge databases from Hurricane Dennis for Panama City and Pensacola, Florida were previously posted and remain on MS/B’s Web site, http://www.msbinfo.com. Storm surge databases will be developed, posted, and updated on a regular basis as warranted.
Free help desk support is also available to clients at 1-888-337-9665. Help desk hours are 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CST weekdays and 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST on Saturday and Sunday. Extended hours will be added as necessitated by call volume.
http://www.msbinfo.com also includes Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and on-line tutorials with tips for handling the most common situations encountered by adjusters using MS/B estimating technology, as well as links to information about helpful Web-based and instructor-lead IntegriClaim(TM) training classes.
Last year, MS/B provided hundreds of adjusters with on-site IntegriClaim training classes. In addition, dedicated technical support staff at MS/B’s Technical Support Center in Texas worked many extra hours to help adjusters activate and utilize IntegriClaim to quickly and accurately complete their storm claims. As the 2004 hurricane season came to a close, account managers made regular follow-up visits to client catastrophe centers, where hundreds of thousands of claims were adjusted and closed using MS/B claims estimating technologies.
MS/B, recognized as the insurance industry’s leading provider of data, technology and consulting services for residential and commercial property valuation, is also among the top three providers of property claim field estimating and management systems.
About MS/B
Marshall & Swift / Boeckh (MS/B), an MDA company, is the leading supplier of local building cost information, residential and commercial property valuation technology and services for the property and casualty insurance sector in the United States and Canada. MS/B has five offices throughout the U.S. and Canada. For information, please contact Marsha Berenson, Media Coordinator, at 800-285-1288, Ext. 2828, MAILTO:[email protected], or visit MS/B’s Web site at http://www.msbinfo.com.
About MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA)
MDA provides advanced information solutions that capture and process vast amounts of data, produce essential information, and improve the decision making and operational performance in business and government organizations worldwide.
MDA employs more than 2,500 people in locations across the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TSX:MDA..
Tags: hurricanes, Marshall & Swift / Boeckh (MSB)