Press Release

Cadcorp client ISL, an Experian company, wins prestigious AGI Innovation and Best Practice Award for ground breaking RiskPoint™ insurance application.

Stevenage, UK. 11 January, 2005 - Digital mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) software developer Cadcorp has announced that during the Association for Geographic Information (AGI) annual dinner and awards ceremony, held on 25 November, 2004 in London, its client ISL, an Experian® company, won the AGI Innovation and Best Practice in the Private Sector Award 2004, sponsored by Oracle.

ISL was nominated for its work with Ecclesiastical Insurance to bring an innovative, easy to use GIS-enabled application into Ecclesiastical's main business process. The project has resulted in the development of a Microsoft Windows application, ISL RiskPoint, which uses Cadcorp SIS (Spatial Information System) as the digital mapping and GIS component.

RiskPoint allows insurers to pinpoint the location of their policies and to assess the impact of catastrophic events on the environment and critically, on their book of policies, i.e. insured properties and businesses. Developed through a successful partnership between Ecclesiastical, ISL and Cadcorp, the initiative was conceived in response to the Individual Capital Assessment (ICAS) regime being introduced by the Financial Services Authority on 1st January 2005 whereby insurers will have to substantiate the adequacy of their capital base on a risk by risk basis.

"The project has been a great success by enabling Ecclesiastical to instantly assess, monitor and report on where its risks are concentrated," said Mark Harrison, ISL commercial director. "It has allowed previously untapped and proprietary data silos to be combined to improve the availability and quality of relevant risk information across our client's business. The award confirms RiskPoint as an exemplar application, which we believe will be used extensively across the insurance sector."

"RiskPoint is a milestone application for the mainstream insurance and peril analysis sectors and we are extremely pleased that the AGI has recognised it in this way," commented Mike O'Neil, managing director, Cadcorp. "This is a great example of a Cadcorp business partner delivering a mainstream GIS-based application in response to real business requirements in the insurance sector, which is a growing market for us. We look forward to supporting the ISL team and to developing other projects with them throughout 2005.

Quoting from the judges:

"An excellent, ground-breaking GI/GIS project that provides a flexible and innovative systems solution for terrorism and security risk assessment professionals. The judges believe the solution represents a well considered and well engineered GIS application for the insurance/risk sector.

"The system enables viewing and modelling of specialist datasets, together with extensive facilities to handle Ordnance Survey (OS) data without the need for translation. The interfaces appear simple, elegant and user-friendly and it is evident they have been designed for non-GI professionals. The RiskPoint system has been designed on scaleable, open system standards and it provides good linking capabilities to numerous commercial data providers.

"The project successfully delivered GI into the mainstream and is an excellent example of how spatial systems and GI data can be successfully adopted by a highly commercial and competitive market such as the insurance/risk sector. The project also demonstrates the excellent results that can be achieved by a collaborative development approach - in this instance, Ecclesiastical, ISL, Cadcorp and risk assessment practitioners."

About ISL, an Experian company."

ISL, an Experian company, (www.isl-online.com, www.experian.com) is a risk modelling consultancy and software supplier providing a comprehensive range of professional support services to insurers on all aspects of risk selection and risk management. With over 90 customer licences in place for its products and services, ISL is a high quality niche player and the market leader in the supply of data to assist general insurance risk pricing in the UK.

ISL's Whatif?™ market analysis product is the standard in the insurance market and the ISL perils models are recognised as being the most accurate and of the highest quality currently available. A number of the key data sets feeding into the perils models are exclusive to ISL and the team has built up a detailed knowledge base in this area over a number of years.

ISL was established in 1991 and initially focused on bespoke quotation software and market analysis software for household insurance. In 1997, the company expanded its range of products, developing market analysis software for other lines of general insurance and on data models to assist risk pricing. The team is an experienced blend of software engineers, developers, statisticians, Phd level flood risk specialists as well as geographical information systems analysts and insurance professionals. ISL is now the established leader in the UK insurance market, offering high quality software designed to analyse and assist in the pricing of personal and commercial lines insurance.

About Experian

Experian is a global leader in providing information solutions to organisations and consumers. It helps organisations find, develop and manage profitable customer relationships by providing information, decision-making solutions and processing services. It empowers consumers to understand, manage and protect their personal information and assets. Experian works with more than 50,000 clients across diverse industries, including financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, insurance, retail and catalogue, automotive, manufacturing, leisure, utilities, e-commerce, property and government. Experian is a subsidiary of GUS plc and has headquarters in Nottingham, UK, and Costa Mesa, California. Its 12,000 people in 26 countries support clients in more than 60 countries. Annual sales exceed £1.3 billion.

For more information, visit the company's website on www.experian.com

The word 'Experian' is a registered trademark in the EU and other countries and is owned by Experian Ltd and/or its associated companies.

About Cadcorp

Established in 1991, Cadcorp (www.cadcorp.com) is a leading developer of digital mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) software. With offices in the UK, USA and Australia, Cadcorp's distribution and VAR network stretches worldwide. The company also plays a pivotal technical role in the Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc® (OGC). The Cadcorp SIS - Spatial Information System - product range is fully integrated digital mapping and GIS software that uses OGC certified compliant interfaces. Cadcorp technical director Martin Daly is an OGC Gardels Medal holder for his contribution to the OGC. Cadcorp is an ISO9001:2000 certified company, an Ordnance Survey Licenced Partner and also holds a UK government S-CAT agreement for category 15, GIS Software. Cadcorp SIS applications exist in local government, central government, emergencyservices, insurance, oil & natural gas, mapping and surveying, commerce, utilities and many other markets.

ENDS

Editors: For further information contact: Richard Rollins, Tel: +44 (0)1438 747996, e-mail: richard.rollins@cadcorp.com, Mark Harrison, Tel: +44 (0)1384 472 110, e-mail: mark.harrison@isl-online.com or Neil McLeod, Tel: +44 (0)1666 504293, e-mail: neilmcleod@btopenworld.com.

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