CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Insurance data specialist Verisk Analytics Inc. shares are set to debut Wednesday, and a handful of insurance giants, including government-supported American International Group Inc., are looking to cash in their shares.

In an initial public offering, the Jersey City, N.J., company plans to raise as much as $1.79 billion as it offers 85,250,000 million shares priced between $19 to $21 a share.

The proceeds of the IPO go to the companies that own stakes in Verisk, including AIG, Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and Travelers Cos. and that are selling some of their shares in the firm.

"It's not atypical for insiders to sell shares on the offering, it happens frequently," said Scott Sweet, senior managing partner at advisory firm IPO Boutique. "Right now, insurance companies are trying to bolster their own balance sheets."

Verisk first filed for an IPO in August 2008, just a month before the financial crisis hit. Insurance companies struggled during the financial turmoil as many of their investments soured, causing them to post steep losses and look for ways to build capital.

AIG was saved from near-failure in September 2008 with a government bailout that grew to $182.5 billion and gave U.S. taxpayers an 80 percent stake in the company.

Verisk said an additional 12.7 million shares will be available to underwriters to cover over-allotments. The offering is being managed by Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley.

The stock will be listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol "VRSK."

Founded in 1971, Verisk was formed as an advisory and rating organization for the U.S. property and casualty insurance industry to provide statistical and actuarial services, develop insurance programs and assist insurance companies in meeting state regulatory requirements.

Today, Verisk says it is the largest aggregator and provider of actuarial and underwriting data pertaining to U.S. property and casualty insurance risks.

"There is no other business entity providing the complete range of business services to the insurance, health and mortgage industries that Verisk Analytics offers," Sweet said. "They have become the industry standard in insurance risk management, and fraud prevention and detection."

In 2008, Verisk's customers included all of the top 100 property and casualty insurance providers, four of the 10 largest Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, four of the six leading mortgage insurers, 14 of the top 20 mortgage lenders, and the 10 largest global reinsurers, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company is led by chairman, president and CEO Frank J. Coyne, who joined the company's Insurance Services Office Inc. subsidiary in 1999 and took over Verisk's reins in 2000. ISO provides data for property casualty insurers to gauge risks.

Some of the company's other subsidiaries include catastrophe risk-modeling firm AIR Worldwide Corp. and mortgage fraud risk company Interthinx.

In a filing with the SEC, Verisk said it believes there is a long-term trend for companies to "set strategy and direct operations using data and analytics to guide their decisions."

Verisk earned $90.9 million on revenue of $503.7 million for the six months ended June 30. That compared with income of $80.9 million on revenue of $437.7 million in the year-ago period.

Steady, impressive growth with the company's revenues should help keep Verisk's capital costs reasonable while allowing the company to grow, Sweet said.

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