* Sells 85.25 mln shares at $22 each, above range
* Largest IPO by U.S. company since March 2008 (Adds details)
NEW YORK, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Insurance risk specialist Verisk Analytics Inc raised $1.88 billion on Tuesday in the biggest IPO by a U.S. company since March 2008 after pricing its shares at a higher-than-expected $22 each.
The sale of the shares, which had been expected to price at between $19 and $21, marked the biggest IPO since a $19.6 billion offering by credit card operator Visa Inc.
Verisk, owned by a group of large property and casualty insurance companies, collects actuarial and underwriting data related to U.S. property and casualty insurance risks.
All 85.25 million shares in the IPO are being sold by Verisk's existing shareholders, which include American International Group Inc, Hartford Financial Services Group and ACE Group Holdings.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc is the only major shareholder not selling a stake through the IPO.
Verisk, which also provides fraud detection analytical tools, began in 1971 as a nonprofit association of property and casualty insurers to help them meet regulatory reporting requirements.
Revenue rose 15 percent to $503.7 million in the first six months of 2009 over the year-earlier period, while net income rose 12 percent to $90.9 million.
The IPO was led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. The underwriters have the option to buy an additional 12.7 million shares.
Shares are set to begin trading on Nasdaq on Wednesday under the symbol "VRSK." (Reporting by Phil Wahba; Editing by Ted Kerr)