Though CAB is far more than just a Financial Analysis Service, financial analysis is one of the cores of our business.
CAB maintains detailed financial information on more than 50,000 motor carriers throughout the country, both interstate and intrastate. Financial information is obtained from federal and state regulatory agencies, from motor carriers and from insurance companies.
When information is received it is subjected to comprehensive financial analysis applying those criteria and ratios which CAB has determined over the past seventy years to be the best indicators of a motor carrier’s financial condition for underwriting purposes. New information is also compared with data in our files in order to establish trends and verify the validity of the new information.
Based upon our analysis, a rating is assigned to each motor carrier expressing CAB’s opinion of the motor carrier’s financial strength.
The six CAB ratings are as follows:
- SATISFACTORY – good financial structure
- FAIR – adequate financial structure
- BARELY FAIR – limited financial structure
- POOR – weak financial structure
- UNSATISFACTORY – inadequate financial structure
- DANGEROUS – distressed financial structure
A CAB rating is not intended as a credit rating. While it is an indication of a motor carrier’s ability to meet its obligations to an insurance company, it is primarily a measure of a motor carrier’s financial ability to perform in other areas that directly affect underwriting experience. These areas include equipment maintenance, vehicle replacement, customer service, employee quality and general consistency of operations.
The CAB financial analysis report, containing a CAB rating and other specific data of interest to underwriters, is our basic service. Our analysis reports usually include revenue, profit or loss, equipment (both owned and leased), cost of hire, insurance costs, commodities carried, states served, number of employees, payroll cost and affiliated companies. As an added service to underwriters the CAB report also includes information from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Safety and Fitness Electronic Records System (SAFER), including the carrier’s safety rating, and Motor Carrier Safety Status Measurement System (SafeStat) databases, where available. With all this information the CAB report is a valuable tool for both voluntary and residual market underwriters.
Our analysis reports are furnished on an annual basis, with quarterly or periodic updates issued if sufficient information is available.
CAB’s Financial Analysis Service, however, consists of more than just annual and quarterly reports. Throughout the year, when information comes to our attention regarding matters which could affect a motor carrier’s financial condition or which we feel will be of interest to an underwriter, a special letter is sent, by mail or e-mail, alerting the subscriber to this information. Furthermore, an underwriter can, at any time, contact us by telephone to discuss the motor carrier in depth. An underwriter can also submit to us information, such as financial statements, reports of open and unpaid OS & D claims (a CAB form may be requested or downloaded from our site for this purpose), or any other data, which we will review and comment upon either by e-mail, fax, letter or telephone as appropriate. To assist underwriters in gathering financial data our “Motor Carrier Insurance Information Form” form is available. This form, developed by CAB and widely used by the motor carrier insurance industry, provides a convenient way to collect financial and other operating information.
CAB’s Clearinghouse
Insurance companies who are automatic or premium subscribers have unlimited use of our “clearing house” service free of charge. Underwriters evaluating prospective insureds may access all of the information on the CAB report, along with insurance filing history, Safer and SafeStat information via our web site at cabfinancial.com or they may contact CAB by telephone or e-mail regarding any prospective insured and discuss it with one of our financial analysts. All the information in our files is available to underwriters using our “clearing house”. If no current information is available in our files, we will try to obtain sufficient information. However, given the extreme importance of knowing your prospective insured’s finances, underwriters are also strongly encouraged to submit financial information they have obtained from their prospective insured. We will analyze and review this information and if it is sufficient for analysis purposes, we will provide the CAB rating by telephone, fax or e-mail without charge. When time is of the essence, information can be sent to us by fax or as an e-mail attachment. We understand the deadlines faced by underwriters and can, if necessary, respond with a rating the same day within an hour or two from when we receive financial information. If requested, a written analysis report on a prospective insured can be provided as well.
As with our financial analysis reports, the “clearing house” service is tailored to the specific financial needs of the underwriter. The information we provide is a valuable underwriting tool. It allows underwriters to verify information provided in the application and on premium reporting forms. It also may enable voluntary market underwriters to quickly screen out undesirable risks, thus saving further time and investigation costs. This prescreening can help to avoid future problems. Also, since so many of the nation’s underwriters use our “clearing house” service for all of the prospective motor carriers, those underwriters who do not use this service may face a distinct disadvantage due to a lack of objective information.
