Michael Shashoua is Senior Editor at Digital Insurance. He joined the site in April 2022, after working as a marketing communications writer specializing in financial technology and data management for companies including GoldenSource, FIS, Thomson Reuters, Rimes, Bloomberg, DTCC and Vested. Previous to this, he edited Inside Reference Data at Incisive Media (now Infopro Digital) for five years and deputy edited WatersTechnology at Incisive. He also covered financial technology for Global Investment Technology until 2009. His interests include comedy, podcasting, music, movies and arts and entertainment in general.
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The global life insurer has made the technology available to its whole workforce, with a majority now using it in their work.
March 7 -
The report, based on home insurance price and availability data collected by the association of state regulators from private insurers last year, confirms rising costs and non-renewals, and the impact of climate change on these increases. The U.S. Treasury's insurance office stopped short of publicly releasing the data used for the report.
March 4 -
Insurance industry economic cycles match premium increases more than litigation judgments do, an advocate for civil justice for consumers says.
March 3 -
Artur Wisniewski, the new COO of Allianz Trade, talks about how the trade credit arm of the insurer, which covers corporate business transactions, developed a new platform to improve claims and premium collection.
March 2 -
Improvements to workflows and operations boost customer service and help tailor products, making coverage more attractive.
February 25 -
Insurers are seeing improvements in workflows, authentication and adjudication.
February 24 -
Before the wildfires, California decided to pass on reinsurance costs to policyholders. After the fires, California is considering catastrophe bonds to help shore up the state's insurer of last resort. A consumer advocate says these measures concentrate too much risk locally and do not improve home insurance availability.
February 4 -
Regulator says it will rule urgently; Consumer Watchdog says insurer must disclose more information to justify an increase.
February 4 -
Terms of home insurance policies and rising construction costs will affect how those who lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires can rebuild.
February 3 -
Tech companies Wuuii and ZestyAI enhance underwriting with risk evaluation capabilities.
February 2 -
A round up of announcements and actions by the state's insurance regulator, a consumer advocate and an industry trade association.
January 29 -
After the California wildfires, other state governments are reacting to wildfire mitigation and related insurance coverage issues, proposing bills or announcing plans for action.
January 28 -
The state's insurance crisis, worsened by the L.A. wildfires, has people talking about measures including mitigating risk, price signaling and even moving residents out of risky areas.
January 28 -
The California State Assembly has introduced a bill to issue catastrophe bonds to shore up the state's last-resort property insurance, the FAIR Plan. Bonds would remove the burden of L.A. wildfire fallout from taxpayers, insureds and insurers. But analysts say a nationalized risk pool might be necessary.
January 26 -
AI-evaluated insurance claims denials can depend on characteristics of the claimant, not just the merits of their claim. AI may not be a reason or the only reason for a claim denial, experts say.
January 22 -
The North Carolina Rate Bureau, representing home insurers, settled for two 7.5% increases this year and next, after originally seeking a 42% rate increase. NCRB says the settlement just postpones the need for higher rates to accurately cover risks, while the insurance commissioner calls it "a big win" for homeowners.
January 22 -
The insurance market going into the Jan. 7 catastrophe already had been hit with non-renewals and cancellations -- and an overburdened state-supported insurance plan. A Morningstar analyst said the state insurance commissioner's reform strategy could have turned it around but now faces new obstacles.
January 16 -
A round up of announcements and actions by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the state's Department of Insurance to assist residents with claims and insurance-related issues.
January 15 -
The National Flood Insurance Program has been kept alive with short-term authorizations since 2017. Flood risk data and increased use could strengthen it.
January 14 -
The California FAIR Plan Association, already vulnerable financially, will likely need an assessment of insurers or policyholders as a rescue measure, according to experts.
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