Insurance

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

The P&C industry has been on an automation path for many years. When the pandemic hit, it became a catalyst for accelerating automation and digital transformation.

Marshmallow, a car insurance app which recently became the U.K.’s second black-founded firm to reach a billion-dollar valuation, won’t be working from its current Old Street digs for much longer. It’s moving to a nearby office with triple the space after headcount grew more than threefold during the pandemic and as it plows ahead with expansion plans into Europe.

With so many touchpoints across the insurance industry, and so many potential use cases, there is a lot of room for innovation — and there is a lot of room for failure. As an early adopter of AI technology, Harmon shares some of his key insights.

Digital Insurance spoke with Angela Orbann, vice president of property, PI product management at Travelers about how technology can optimize a home insurance policy and how artificial intelligence and satellite imagery is helping insurers.

The partnership provides Lyft drivers with the opportunity to select an auto insurance policy that is built for rideshare drivers. Policyholders are also eligible to get money back with each ride using the Lyft platform.

This year’s 40% stock dive has cut its price-to-earnings ratio to just above 6, slightly more than the Shanghai Stock Exchange Property Index’s multiple of 5.7 and a far cry from the 20-plus commanded by insurance peers Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and AIA Group Ltd.

Old Mutual Group Ltd. plans to make acquisitions within the next five years to boost its market share in the West Africa region, where insurance penetration still has significant headroom for growth.

Armadillo was founded this year by two insurance industry executives. Matan Slagter, who was most recently with AIG, and Lansdon Robbins, a serial entrepreneur, recently launched the home warranty solution in 20 markets.

What’s driving your digital claims transformation program: COVID? Competition? Or cost? Whatever the answer, we could be in danger of leaving the customer out of the equation in the rush to digitize and automate insurance processes. It could be time to take a more user-centric approach, reimagine the customer journey and find out what customers actually want.

The transaction, which involves Cigna’s businesses in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan and Thailand as well as its interest in a joint venture in Turkey, comes months after Chubb was repeatedly rebuffed in its bid to take over Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. for about $25 billion.

In other news: Allstate closes $400M sale of New York life, annuity business; USAA partners with Blink by Chubb; Zurich North America implements Chisel AI.

Boomers are moving and buying renters insurance but carriers are struggling to retain them during the transition. Only a little over half of Boomers and Pre-Boomers who have moved from homeowners to renters stay with the same insurer.

Vethelpline offers insurance members and now subscribers, 24/7 access to veterinary experts and veterinarians who can answer care questions through an app with a chat feature or through a phone consultation.

Insured losses from the storm, the second-most intense hurricane to hit the state of Louisiana, will probably range between $28 million and $30 million, the reinsurer said in a statement Tuesday. It estimated its own cost from claims related to the storm at about $750 million.

Haven Technologies will make the platform behind MassMutal’s Haven Life available as a software-as-a-service insurtech.

The Chinese insurance giant is working with financial advisers on the potential sale, which could value Founder’s life insurance unit at as much as $1 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.

The Palo Alto, California-based company is now valued at $900 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency in April announced the first significant update to the beleaguered National Flood Insurance Program, which covers about 5 million properties. Premiums have risen steadily, but the program is more than $20 billion in debt, thanks in part to rising seas and stronger storms. Now, a quarter of the participants will see lower costs, while the remainder will see premiums rise in increments as high as 18% annually.

Recent EY research confirms how the pandemic fundamentally changed consumer needs, how they plan to increase their financial security, and what insurers can do to seize the opportunity.