Insurance

The automaker got the green light to sell its Drive Pilot package for use on stretches of the country’s Autobahn network at a speed of up to 60 kilometers (37 miles) per hour, Mercedes said Thursday.

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.

There’s no denying that working with startups entails risk. Plenty of newer insurtechs have technology that’s too underdeveloped, a value proposition that’s too undefined or leadership that’s too inexperienced to overcome the gauntlet of obstacles that stands between startups and success.

Wyshbox is the marketing name for Wysh Life and Health Insurance, which provides term life insurance for consumers with digital customized plans.

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.

Chubb Ltd. is joining with insurance-tech startup Betterfly for offerings in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina as the companies seek to tap into under-served Latin American markets.

As the wave of SPAC mergers crested in the past two years, startups that chose this path found it difficult to keep up with more established companies and investor expectations. The insurtech companies that went this route are not exempt from experiencing that strain.

Bain Capital has made a final pitch to members of British insurer LV= to back its takeover bid, after a lengthy sale process that’s drawn a dozen offers as well as political heat about preserving mutual firms.

The clock is ticking for banks, insurers and asset managers still providing support to oil, gas and coal producers. It’s not just the moral imperative—that fossil-fuel use is destroying the atmosphere and life on Earth with it. It’s that their financial health requires leaving such companies behind.

Companies create a more customer-friendly, digitally-focused roadside assistance experience.

The Dutch company will use some of its surplus cash to add scale organically to the global auto business, Chief Executive Officer Bob Van Dijk said in an interview.

In this segment of the series, the authors examine the role M&A will play in the industry’s adoption of insurtech—and more generally, the need for established carriers to adapt to the increasingly innovative and service-based product and service offerings new entrants bring to bear.

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.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. is sticking with a hybrid work model as the best way to attract staff in the post-pandemic era, having just opened a major office overlooking Boston Harbor.

In other news: Liberty Mutual launches insurance agency; Neptune Flood releases carbon-neutral plan; New York Life announces CEO-elect.

Apple Inc. venturing into cars might shake up the electric vehicles market in the same way the iPhone revolutionized the mobile communications industry in 2007. So says Morgan Stanley.

Willis Towers Watson Plc is adding four new members to its board after activist investors pushed for changes at the insurance brokerage following the collapse of a $30 billion planned sale to Aon Plc.

A total of 63.6 million shares were sold for C$22 apiece, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company said in a release late Wednesday, the top end of the range it had targeted. The company is also selling another C$700 million in shares in a private placement to the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and Swiss Re.

American International Group Inc. and other insurers avoided steep losses from a spate of extreme weather this year thanks in part to the reinsurance industry. But increased reliance on those policies probably means price hikes are coming.