AMS Services, the Bothell, Wash.-based insurance agencyautomation firm, and Insurance Services Office announced today thatAMS Phoenix now has a direct link to ISO products via anetwork-to-network connection within the Phoenix system.

Jersey City, N.J.-based ISO also announced that R.L. Polk &Co., Southfield, Mich., an automotive information and marketingsolutions provider for automakers and related sectors, will nowoffer the ISO Liability Symbols product for use within its VINDecoding products on behalf of its insurer, MGA, agent andthird-party rating vendor customers throughout the UnitedStates.

Regarding the ISO and AMS Phoenix arrangement, the companiessaid mutual customers of the two firms will be able to directlyaccess ISO's LOCATION services–including Public ProtectionClassification, Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule,FireLineTM, Crime Service and FloodAssist–and ISO HomeValue.

This connection, the companies said, will improve underwritingresults by including risk-specific data and property-valuationcapabilities from ISO in the underwriting and rating processes.Financial details of the transaction were not announced.

AMS Phoenix is described as a comprehensive policy managementsystem for insurers that allows them to manage policies, claims andbilling.

AMS Phoenix automates processes for rating, quoting, issuance,renewal and midterm changes, and customer service inquiry. ISO'sLOCATION provides risk-specific information representing everyaddress in the United States.

ISO HomeValue is a Web-based property replacement valuationsystem that provides localized replacement-cost estimates.

By creating a link, the companies said all data generated by ISOHomeValue or LOCATION is pulled directly into AMS Phoenix. Thismeans AMS Phoenix customers do not have to rekey information orleave the AMS Phoenix system–reducing effort and improvingturnaround time.

“We are committed to providing AMS Phoenix carriers with therobust functionality required to apply the latest, mostsophisticated underwriting techniques with minimal manual steps,”said Vance Huntley, vice president of development for carrier andenterprise solutions at AMS. “Our business agreement with ISO is animportant component of that strategy.”

George Davis, vice president at AIR Worldwide Corporation, anISO subsidiary, said, “Providing the added value of underwritingreport integration and replacement-cost estimation will enhance ourclients' ability to service their markets more efficiently.”

AMS Services is a Vertafore Inc. company which counts 150,000users in more than 15,000 agencies, as well as 600 carrierpartners. Vertafore is an insurance industry provider ofspecialized software services and information.

Concerning its deal with Polk, ISO said that its LiabilitySymbols product assigns rating factors and rating symbols tovehicles to enable insurers and agents to better rate personal autoliability and personal injury protection/medical payments coveragesbased on a review of the actual loss experience of the vehicle makeand model.

Joe Jurkiewicz, vice president of Polk's Strategic MarketsGroup, said the addition of ISO Liability Symbols complements ourproduct mix, which already includes ISO Personal Auto PhysicalDamage Symbols.

No details of financial arrangements between ISO and Polk werereleased.