Verisk CEO Says A Top-Five Retailer Tried AI On Fraud Itself, Then Signed A Multi-Year Deal
Lee Shavel says the client's own datasets lagged Verisk's industry data, while 2026 guidance of $7.45 to $7.75 a share stays in place.
Verisk, which sells data, analytics and software to insurers, has a self-insured top-five retailer back as an anti-fraud client after the retailer's in-house AI work fell short, CEO Lee Shavel said on the company's Thursday third-quarter earnings call. The company also maintained its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook at $7.45 to $7.75.
The retailer that came back
Shavel said the retailer had moved workers' compensation claims management in-house, expecting AI to help. It found outcomes and return on investment were stronger with Verisk's data, returned to the anti-fraud solution and signed a large multi-year agreement.
Pressed by a Jefferies analyst, Shavel said the client found the lift from applying the technology to its internal datasets "was not as good and as impactful" as with the broad industry datasets Verisk provides. Many clients, he said, are coming back to say Verisk's data is critical to a return because it is broader and better integrated, and he pointed to a semantic layer and MCP connectors that help AI use it.
Asked by a JPMorgan analyst whether longer sales cycles set up stronger 2027 growth, Shavel said AI is "effectively increasing the data sophistication of all of our clients." He called the underlying premise of the question "absolutely true," though he gave no 2027 forecast. He expects AI adoption to broaden to larger carriers over the next 12 to 24 months.
Guidance held, midpoint likely
Third-quarter revenue was $809 million, up 5%, and organic constant-currency growth was 7.4%, the company said. Diluted adjusted EPS rose 14% to $1.96.
CFO Elizabeth Mann said elongated sales cycles and lighter weather will likely keep full-year results toward the midpoint of the range. Contractor and adjuster clients, about 10% of consolidated revenue, are under strain from lighter weather, including collection pressures and a small number of bankruptcies. Mann called it a minor headwind that could matter into early next year.
Mann also said Verisk's access through Claude connectors is monetized through price increases for now, though it reserved the right to charge separately later. Shares were up about 4% to $205.50 in Thursday trading.
Data assets keep growing
Verisk's digital media forensics library for fraud detection now holds over 800 million images, up from 600 million in March. Its excess and surplus data set covers $36 billion in premium from 21 contributors, up from $18 billion in July.
A partnership with a leading specialty insurer to build agentic AI capabilities is in its third phase, heading toward a major review in December.
Verisk's next checkpoint on the AI front is the December review of its specialty-insurer partnership.
Sources
- Verisk maintains 2026 adjusted EPS outlook of $7.45 to $7.75 amid 7.4% OCC revenue growth rebound (NASDAQ:VRSK) — seekingalpha.com
- Verisk Analytics Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Jump 5% Y/Y — Yahoo Finance
- Verisk Non-GAAP EPS of $1.96 beats by $0.04, revenue of $809M beats by $2.8M (VRSK:NASDAQ) | Seeking Alpha — seekingalpha.com
- Verisk Analytics (VRSK) Surpasses Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates — Yahoo Finance
- Verisk: Q3 Earnings Snapshot – WTOP News — wtop.com
