Insurance

Zurich Insurance Group agreed to sell its Italian life and pensions back book to Portuguese insurer GamaLife, the first step in a plan by the Swiss company to improve capital allocations.

Many of the opportunities that exist now and in the coming year are being shaped by the world around us and the uncertainty created by the pandemic.

Based on more than 700 billion miles of historical driving data, most recently from more than 32 million active mobile telematics connections and more than a decade of data directly from cars, we’ve predicted three major trends to keep an eye out for as we head into 2022 and beyond.

Having raised nearly 20 billion yen ($175 million) in an offering that was priced at the top of its advertised range, got off to a bad start -- the biggest first-day decline in more than two decades for a company that raised at least $150 million. Daiwa Securities Co. and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. were the lead managers for the listing.

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.

Forty-six percent of consumers are open to pay-per-mile and 45% are interested in a program that rewards safe driving with discounts, according to a Nationwide survey. Yet only 45% of agents offer telematics to a quarter or fewer of customers.

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.

Two of the honorees, Lindsay Hanson, vice president, head of behavioral insurance, global strategy and delivery at John Hancock and Emily Hartman, chief of business teams at Allianz Partners spoke during the “Women in Insurance Leadership Honorees Panel” about leadership and lessons learned.

By facilitating access to rich, unstructured data in real-time, technology is paving the way for insurers to employ greater personalization and become customer-centric. It can drive tremendous growth opportunities as well as cost and operational efficiencies by promoting wellbeing and prevention services.

As the effects of the pandemic continue to play out, market activity indicates commercial lines insurers are reprioritizing their tech-oriented projects, with some plans continuing to move forward while others have slowed down.