Digital Platforms

After reviewing the claims data from 2019 to 2021, Embroker uncovered some interesting trends and shifts that can help insurers predict the types of claims that businesses will most likely continue to see in 2022.

As property and casualty insurance carriers look to reduce growing loss ratios in 2022, many have shifted their focus away from growing their customer bases and toward increasing their profits. But for carrier marketers, the path to efficient customer acquisition isn’t as simple as merely cutting budgets.

Russian digital warfare against Ukraine and potentially other nations as part of its invasion is prodding cyber insurers to beef up language protecting them against losses, and has left policyholders uncertain about the extent of their coverage.

Matheus Riolfi and Jerome Selles met while working at Turo, a car-sharing marketplace, where they both did work on the global expansion of its insurance program. During that time, the two saw an opportunity to start their own insurtech, Tint.

The majority of Trov’s employees will join Travelers in its personal insurance segment. The financial terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

Changing consumer expectations, new workplace realities and increasing demand for third-party access to data are pushing companies to re-invent cybersecurity's role for the future.

Nationwide and Labrador Systems are partnering on a pilot program to support people aging in place and people with long or short-term health challenges, as well as their caregivers, using the Labrador Retriever robot.

Nearly three-fourths, 72%, of companies are planning to increase staff in the next 12 months, according to the Q1, 2022 U.S. Insurance Labor Market Study results from The Jacobson Group and Ward Benchmarking at Aon.

Many insurers anticipate an accelerated economic recovery, which can lead to additional digital technology investments in 2022. However, the challenges companies both big and small are facing due to a volatile risk environment continue to be both hurdles and motivators towards technology adoption. One of the pieces to help overcome these hurdles is talent.

Technology investment is showing no signs of slowing down, M&A continues at a torrid pace and the composition of the independent channel is shifting with generational changes. One thing remains certain: the independent channel has a lot to look forward to in the coming year.

Digital Insurance spoke with Steve Prymas, the chief insurance officer of Embroker, a digital insurance platform, about new products, cybersecurity and digital transformation within the industry.

The demand for no-medical exam life insurance has grown in the last year, likely related to the COVID-19 pandemic. From October to December 2021, about 56% of applications submitted through Policygenius were for no-medical exam policies compared to January to March 2021, which was only 26%.

A recent study shows cyber incidents, business interruption and natural catastrophes are the most important global business risks for companies in 2022.

McKeel Hagerty’s parents were into wooden boats and saw an unmet need to underwrite them. Hagerty, however, has been a car nut from day one. When the family’s marine insurance business finally began to offer auto policies in 1991, he saw a chance to join the fold and, along with his sisters, Tammy and Kim, stomp on the pedal.

The pandemic and industry challenges that lie ahead have fast-tracked innovation and a push for much needed modernization in the industry.

The Singapore-based company is working with financial advisers and a formal funding round may kick off later this year, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. It plans to use the proceeds for expansion, they said.

As we look ahead, evolving technologies are presenting home and auto owners with new potential risks. Hacking and ransomware, once confined to computer networks, may become an endemic cyber vulnerability for our increasingly connected vehicles and “smart home” devices. Yet many of these same technologies could create new data sources and risk mitigation options for personal lines insurers.

In other news: Online embedded insurance, Bubble launches; Obie partners with Munich Re company; Nintex, Insuresoft team up on digital transformation.

Research shows rapid adoption of predictive algorithms and digital identity technology will stem the pandemic-driven fraud deluge. Insurance fraud causes more than $80 billion in losses annually in the U.S. alone, according to the report.

Digital Insurance spoke with Brett Jurgens, the CEO of Notion, a DIY smart home monitoring company, which is owned by Comcast, about how Notion works with insurers and what benefits smart home monitoring has for policyholders.

As we emerge from the pandemic and look to the future, the case for cloud must be elevated beyond the limitations of IT savings, to how insurers can use it to address their biggest business challenges.

New methods, using artificial intelligence, ease the fraud detection burden and help insurance companies stay one step ahead.

In other news: Overhaul and Movingdots collaborate; Zurich Resilience Solutions adds DEI service; Vertafore names chief technology officer.

There’s little faith in the global economic recovery accelerating, with officials and business leaders citing climate change and rising social tensions, alongside the pandemic, among their top risks, the World Economic Forum found.

Digital Insurance spoke with Rand Harbert, chief agency, sales and marketing officer for State Farm about celebrating 100 years and its support of small businesses.

In 2021, only about 40% of claimants interacted with a claim estimator via digital channels and 47% made a claim using a website.

Ecosystems, sustainability and workforce transformation were the main topics of the EY 2022 Global Insurance Outlook, which comes out in January 2022. It’s important to understand how digital transformation is uniquely related to each of those topics.

In case you missed it, insurtech -- technology developed to improve and transform the insurance industry -- is having a bit of a moment. Forrester recently reported record-breaking funding for insurtechs, closing Q3 at $15 billion - more funding than in 2019 and 2020 combined - with more deals anticipated by the end-of-year.

Only 32% of 2,750 U.S. consumers surveyed by the company in fall 2021 had been offered telematics-based insurance, the company said. Of those that were offered, 49% took the offer, and 64% have stuck with it.

There are vital aspects of business that have virtually stagnated despite the high-tech breakthroughs all around them. In insurance, it’s easy to spot: the process for managing risk transfer still relies on technology better suited for the 20th Century. It’s time for an upgrade.

In 2021, the insurance industry reckoned with the broad impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Appropriately, 2022 will need to be the year that agencies and carriers pivot from reacting and surviving to implement new strategies for success.

Not only is digital technology changing but so is the regulatory landscape. Some U.S. states have passed laws that will lead the insurance industry to take a fresh look at technology such as Bluetooth and navigation because they capture significant amounts of personal information from drivers and occupants.

In other news: Chubb teams up with Betterfly in Latin America; Franklin Mutual partners with vipHomeLink; Aon announces last-mile insurance with CarrierHQ.

Digital Insurance spoke with Thomas Kang, the North American head of cyber technology and media for Allianz Global Corporate & Speciality about cyber insurance trends and challenges ahead for the industry.

Rackspace survey reveals how insurers are looking to operationalize cybersecurity in the digital era.

New research highlights the evolving role of the insurance industry from reimbursements to incentivizing to reduce risk and prevent losses altogether.

The transformation of consumer-focused technologies is forcing providers to adopt new tools to keep up. However, many of these tools are not built with user-friendly experiences that meet customer expectations, and therefore, they suffer from low engagement and adoption.

Today’s clients are looking for financial guidance and product recommendations that account for their entire financial lives. Unfortunately, because of legacy technology in place, most insurance advisors can’t credibly weigh in on the whole picture.

Arity, a mobility data and analytics company founded by Allstate in 2016, has made its nearly 100 million driving risk scores exclusively available on Transparent.ly, a platform for auto insurance marketers to leverage leads and target shoppers.

There are many important legal issues to consider when operating in the heavily regulated and ever-changing insurance ecosystem. Discussed are some of the key issues to consider when contracting, to demonstrate what is truly important and where insurtechs should focus, whether it concerns program administrator agreements or other types of partnership, master services, or marketing agreements.

Success demands an innovation-driven formula with four main components: speed, accuracy, scale and customer experience. To do this and change the economic equation, here are five efficiency strategies recommended by Verisk.

Nationwide’s Sarah Jacobs, vice president of personal lines product development, spoke with Digital Insurance about a recent survey on smart home devices and the future of IoT at Nationwide.

In other news: Zurich releases cyber risk survey results; Hertz and Uber to add 50,000 Teslas to network; Amica selects Shift Technology.

Keynova Group, a financial services intelligence firm specializing in benchmark insights, released its 2021 Small Commercial Insurance Scorecard report, which evaluates the small commercial insurance digital capabilities of the 10 largest U.S. carriers.

About four in 10 executives cited technology as their company’s greatest challenge, twice as many as in 2019, according to a new survey from LIMRA and Boston Consulting Group.

That’s the takeaway from an Aon Plc survey of 2,344 risk managers, chief risk officers and chief financial officers conducted in the second quarter. Cyber attacks were the No. 1 most-cited hazard, and more than half of the Top 10 risks executives say they face today are tied to the pandemic, according to survey results released Tuesday.

Insurance blockchain working group The Institutes RiskStream Collaborative has partnered with Trustlayer to build out an insurance verification proof of concept.

Deciding which transformation initiatives to tackle first should involve a careful examination of the dysfunction, importance and level of change resistance expected among stakeholders of any process that may be impacted.

The number of cyber insurance claims AGCS has seen has increased in the past few years, following along with general cyber risk trends. In 2020, the company received more than 1,000 in total, compared to 80 in 2016. This trend has continued into 2021.

Digital Insurance spoke with Maroun Mourad, president of global underwriting and leader of the life unit at Verisk about life insurance technology and what’s ahead for the industry.

In other news: Algorithm calculates number of good health years; Hiro rebrands to Locket; Alliant launches diversity initiative.

Microsoft 365 customers are eligible for discounts on At-Bay cyber insurance if certain security controls are implemented like multifactor authentication and Microsoft Defender.