Ohio Mutual Insurance Group has long believed that better visibility leads to better decisions. Founded in 1901, Ohio Mutual distributes quality property and casualty insurance products through a partner network of more than 500 independent agencies throughout Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Years ago, well before it was common practice, Ohio Mutual began using aerial imagery to get a clearer picture of property risk. What started as a way to support underwriting with visual context has grown into a more targeted, insight-driven strategy. That journey eventually led them to CAPE Property Intelligence solutions.
Over the past year, the underwriting team at Ohio Mutual Insurance Group has been working closely with the Moody’s team to bring more consistency and clarity to how they apply Actual Cash Value (ACV) roof settlement in their homeowners book.
Reliable, objective view of roof quality
The joint work has centered on CAPE Roof Condition Rating, part of CAPE Property Intelligence and its suite of attributes and scores, to provide Ohio Mutual's underwriters with a reliable, objective view of roof quality—notoriously difficult to assess at scale, to deliver property-specific Actual Cash Value (ACV) roof settlement insights.
Using Roof Condition Rating helps Ohio Mutual work more closely with its agents to identify the properties most susceptible to loss and prioritize them for a loss settlement change.
One reason why the solution works so well is its geographic coverage. Moody’s imagery analytics reach 98% of homes in Ohio Mutual’s largest territories, including Ohio and Indiana. That means underwriters can make immediate, informed decisions and aren’t delayed chasing down roof photos or waiting on inspections.
“We’ve always wanted to be more precise with ACV,” said Chad Combs, Vice President of Personal Lines Underwriting at Ohio Mutual. “CAPE Roof Condition Rating has helped us do that. Instead of relying on reported roof age or subjective notes, we’re using consistent data to segment risk, apply depreciation where it’s warranted, and match the price to the risk more accurately.”
Ohio Mutual is using the latest CAPE Roof Condition Rating model from Moody’s, which includes confidence scores and reason codes that explain why a roof received a particular rating. These features have made it easier for underwriters to trust the data and for agents to discuss coverage decisions with their policyholders, especially in tricky cases, such as roofs with tree cover or obscured by snow.
Beyond the data itself, Moody’s has been a hands-on partner in helping Ohio Mutual navigate regulatory filings across Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin—including everything from model documentation to agent talking points, ensuring a smooth transition to ACV both internally and externally.
At the Insurance Innovators USA conference in Nashville, held in May 2025, Chad shared a perspective that has shaped much of this work:
“The underwriter of the future empowers agents, aligns goals, then gets out of the way.”
That mindset has guided how Ohio Mutual uses CAPE Property Intelligence as a data source and a way to support agents by reducing friction and making underwriting more proactive.
This partnership is part of a broader shift in the industry toward predictive, imagery-based analytics. For Ohio Mutual, the past year shown that these tools are becoming central to how modern underwriting is accomplished.
