Insurance

The rules would make it harder for insurers to skirt a federal law that requires them to offer the same type of coverage for mental-health issues as for physical ones.

In other news: Nationwide launches digital platform Pet HealthZone and Bain Capital Insurance closes its 1.15B inaugural private equity fund.

As of March 27, 2023, the top five insurance companies had an average workers' comp market share of 5.55% and a combined marketshare of 27.76%.

Consumers preferred to share data using smart devices in the home: 45% said they are happy to share information via Amazon Alexa, Google Home and the like. A little over a third of consumers (36%) said they were willing to share data through wearables or fitness health tests.

The US Department of Labor has until December to tell Congress whether to update a policy advising pension plans to choose the "safest" option when transferring obligations — unless doing otherwise would be in the interest of participants.

Life insurers are among Japan's biggest institutional investors, with a combined portfolio of about 380 trillion yen ($2.7 trillion), according to the association.

In other news: Embroker names new CEO and Swiss Re announced global head of property and casualty solutions.

Coterie Insurance, a small business insurance underwriter, is seeking to expand its ability to provide instant quotes and coverage with AI-powered data technology.

The move comes as incumbent truckmakers face the task of developing battery trucks that require fast-charging points with energy needs akin to small towns, and complex fuel-cell technology.

Both transactions are at an early stage and may not lead to a sale, said the people, who asked for anonymity to discuss the private information.

Digital Insurance's State of Insurance 2023 report also reveals that underwriting technology and staffing difficulties are top of mind for insurers.

Property and casualty players have struggled to maintain profitability as they deal with a greater frequency and severity of accidents, combined with higher costs to repair or replace damaged vehicles, as well as heightened costs linked to extreme weather events.

It is important to leverage human-in-the-loop processes, rather than automating them away, and to surface relevant information for agents to help contextualize interactions with policyholders.

Attorney Jason Rosenthal explains how the case may affect other insurance companies.

The chief information and operations officer said the company is working to give customers "seamless pickups" from voice to app to website.

In other news: Chewy expands pet insurance nationwide and Tokio Marine launches a market intelligence platform.

So far, the bots are popular conversation partners. Character.AI users have sent 36 million messages to Mario, a character based on the Nintendo 64 version of the video game plumber.

The damage has triggered the highest insurance payout in almost two decades, with experts warning that it could get worse.

As climate change continues to worsen extreme weather, damaging homes and wreaking havoc on crops, the need for more responsive insurance policies is growing.

Local embedded and microinsurance models could provide immediate assistance to vulnerable low-income communities at risk of extreme climate events.