You may live in an area with 20 inches of fresh snow on the ground, but it's business as usual and clients need to be serviced.

Once difficult, not doable. Rating by peril is relatively simple, because the only information needed is the property address. However, adding in the building characteristics component requires detailed property-specific information for each property under consideration for underwriting.

P&C insurers are increasingly using analytics to target underwriting and claims, and to detect fraud.

Insurers should start tackling a quartet of long-term challenges likely to prompt transformations in how the property and casualty industry does business, both internally and externally.