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Farmers announces chief people, diversity officer

Mark David Welch has been appointed the chief people and diversity officer at Farmers Insurance. In the role, Welch will lead human resources and drive diversity, equity and inclusion strategies related to people, culture and corporate structure. Welch previously held leadership roles at Northern Trust. "I am honored and excited to have joined Farmers and to have the opportunity to contribute to the organization's esteemed legacy of industry leadership and customer innovation," said Welch, in a statement. "I look forward to joining this team of exceptionally talented leaders to continue to build on the clear focus of executing the organization's strategy, being an employer of choice, and fostering a deep culture of diversity, equity and inclusion."

Lemonade launches new pet insurance package

Lemonade, an AI-powered insurance company, has launched a new addition to its pet insurance, a preventive care package for puppies and kittens under two years old. The new offering includes coverage for spay and neuter procedures, microchipping, flea medication and up to six vaccines or boosters. The package is available for new Lemonade Pet customers in 33 states across the U.S. “In the year since we launched Lemonade Pet, we continued to expand our product, and today, we’re bringing it to pet parents of young cats and dogs,” said Shai Wininger, Lemonade CEO and co-founder, in a statement. “With the pandemic-driven surge in pet adoption, it became even more obvious Lemonade should offer these pet parents peace of mind around the healthcare of their puppies and kittens.”

Hippo partners with U.S. home builders

Hippo, the home insurance group, announced the launch of its Builders Program. The program delivers home insurance to buyers of newly built homes. It was first piloted in 2019 with Lennar, a U.S. homebuilder, and now about 50% of Lennar homebuyers use Hippo. “The process of buying a home is one of the most exciting and overwhelming times in a person’s life, and we’re closely aligned with the home builders who are on the front lines with today’s buyers to deliver a delightfully simple home purchase experience with modern coverage tailor-made for every home,” said Yuval Harry, chief revenue officer at Hippo, in a press release. “We look forward to providing our builder partners with an innovative solution through the Hippo Builders Program that simplifies the home buying process for buyers across the country.”

ACORD Insurtech Innovation Challenge announces winner

Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development or ACORD, a nonprofit insurance organization, announced handdii as the winner of its 2021 ACORD Insurtech Innovation Challenge New York. Intelligent AI, a digital insurer, was the winner of the AIIC London. The two winners will receive $10,000 in cash and both companies and the runners-up of both the events will have a chance to present their pitch at a showcase event at a 2021 ACORD virtual conference. "The ACORD InsurTech Innovation Challenge has been supporting start-ups and innovators in the insurance technology space since 2015, and we were proud to continue that tradition today," said Bijesh Jacob, SVP, technology and standards at ACORD Solutions Group, in a statement. "The innovations presented by the participants in this year's event showed great ingenuity, creativity, and promise as part of a larger effort in insurance to modernize the industry and transform it for the better."

Bestow acquires Centurion Life Insurance

Bestow, a life insurance platform, announced the acquisition of Centurion Life Insurance Company, an insurer with licenses in 47 states and Washington D.C. "Meeting the regulatory and seasoning requirements to be a nationally licensed life insurance company is incredibly challenging but worth the effort required to continue pioneering new solutions," said Melbourne O'Banion, CEO and co-founder of Bestow, in a press release. "We're leaders in building digital life insurance infrastructure that solves highly complex industry pain points, so creating innovative products is a natural next step for us. As the first full-stack challenger carrier, we are excited to continue reimagining product design from the ground up as we expand the life insurance market to new customers and partners."

Blockchain-backed title insurance launches in five states

Radian Group, a mortgage insurance company, launched its titlegenius product, a title insurance and closing services platform. Titlegenius provides a blockchain-enabled online portal to order title insurance and services online. The platform launched in Arizona, California, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Radian plans to expand to other states in the coming months. “Titlegenius is a significant leap forward in what consumers can expect from a title insurance experience,” said Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Franchise Officer and Co-Head of Real Estate, Brien McMahon, in a statement. “Title insurance has long been a ‘black box’ for homebuyers, but titlegenius provides a smart way for them to save on closing costs with the help of our innovative, patent-pending technology.”

PIA asks FEMA to delay new flood insurance risk rating

The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reschedule the implementation of the National Flood Insurance Program’s Risk Rating 2.0. The methodology would take effect on Oct. 1. While the PIA said they support the Risk Rating 2.0, the rollout has been confusing and there hasn’t been adequate training for agents. "PIA firmly believes that RR 2.0 will ultimately better serve current and prospective policyholders," said Lauren G. Pachman, counsel and director of regulatory affairs for PIA National, in a statement. "We want RR 2.0 to succeed. That has led us to conclude that RR 2.0 must be postponed until Apr. 1, 2022, for all policies, both new and renewing, so that these issues can be properly addressed. Policyholders (along with agents, vendors, WYOs, and other stakeholders) deserve an implementation experience that matches the quality of the RR 2.0 methodology itself."

Foresters Financial president to step down

James Boyle, the president and chief executive officer of Foresters Financial, a financial services provider of life insurance and other products in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., intends to retire in February 2022. Boyle has held the position since 2018. Louis Gagnon, the current chief operating officer, will succeed Boyle on Jan. 1, 2022. Gagnon joined Foresters this year after over 30 years with Mercer.

Branch partners with Safekeep

Branch Insurance, a provider of bundled home and auto insurance, announced a partnership with Safekeep, an insurtech that uses artificial intelligence for its Claims Profitability Platform. The partnership will allow Branch members to enhance their claims experience by identifying recovery opportunities. "Safekeep is excited about driving tangible results for Branch's recoveries, profitability, and ultimately their member satisfaction," says Jeff To, Safekeep's chief executive officer, in a press release. "Unlike traditional recovery solutions that rely on manual human effort to handle subrogation, Safekeep is an open platform that leverages AI to find profit potential and automates recovery end-to-end."

Resolution Life enters reinsurance agreement with Lincoln Financial Group

Resolution Life US Holdings, a subsidiary of Resolution Life Group Holdings, a manager of life insurance businesses, announced a $9.4 billion reinsurance transaction between Security Life of Denver Insurance and The Lincoln National Life Insurance company. The transaction is effective Oct. 1. “Executing this transaction with Lincoln shows the strength of Resolution Life’s reinsurance offering in the U.S.,” said Matthew Grove, Resolution Life US and SLD chief executive officer, in a statement. “It is a great example of our holistic approach to managing diversified insurance risks at scale, and it will contribute meaningfully to the momentum of our US business after the completion of our acquisition of Security Life of Denver earlier this year.”

Old Mutual Insure selects Sapiens to automate reinsurance

Sapiens International Corporation, a provider of insurance industry software, was selected by Old Mutual Insure, South Africa’s oldest insurer, to integrate Sapiens ReinsuranceMaster for its non-life reinsurance business. "Sapiens' long history, global presence and vast expertise in the reinsurance ecosystem raised the bar and made Sapiens our top choice," said Ludwyn Lortan, chief information officer of Old Mutual Insure, in a press release. "Our reinsurance contracts are complex by nature, and Sapiens proved their ability to empower us to streamline and simplify while providing automation and enhanced efficiencies."

Sun Life appoints sustainability officer

Sun Life Financial Inc. announced Alanna Boyd as senior vice president and chief sustainability officer. In the new role, Boyd will build on economic, environmental and social commitments to lead sustainability efforts within the company. Boyd joined Sun Life in 2016 and was most recently the vice president of government, regulatory affairs and sustainability. "As a global industry leader, Sun Life has a responsibility and ability to advance meaningful sustainability outcomes and it is a key strategic priority for us," said Kevin Strain, president and CEO, Sun Life, in a statement. "Creating a dedicated Chief Sustainability Officer role is important to me to advance our priorities and I see it as the critical next step in Sun Life's sustainability commitment.

Moody’s invests $250M in BitSight

Moody’s Corporation, a risk assessment firm, and BitSight, a cybersecurity and risk platform, announced a partnership to expand BitSight’s cybersecurity risk platform. Moody’s will invest $250 million in BitSight, and BitSight will acquire VisibleRisk, a cyber risk rating venture between Moody’s and Team8, a venture group. “As organizations invest in cyber defense and resilience, another critical need has emerged: the ability to accurately measure and quantify cyber risk and exposure,” said Rob Fauber, president and Chief Executive Officer of Moody’s, in a statement. “Creating transparency and enabling trust is at the core of Moody’s mission – to help organizations assess complex, interconnected risks and make more informed decisions. BitSight is the leader in the cybersecurity ratings space, and together we will help market participants across disciplines better understand, measure, and manage their cyber risks and translate that to the risk of financial loss.”

Embroker launches cyber, crime products

Embroker, a business insurance platform, launched cyber insurance and commercial crime insurance. The products are designed for small to medium-sized businesses. The cyber insurance product covers financial losses from first and third parties. Emrboker also recently hired a new chief insurance officer, Steve Prymas who previously worked at Gen Re and The Hartford. “As digital transformation creates an even larger footprint of vital data, applications and operations for companies, and as remote workforces decentralize companies’ network infrastructures, businesses are experiencing new and continually increasing risks,” said Matt Miller, Embroker CEO, in a statement. “Further exacerbating the situation is the rise of ransomware attacks. This is why it is critical for Embroker to provide new insurance products that deliver strong coverage for cyber and other crimes.”

Kaitlyn Mattson
Managing Editor
Kaitlyn Mattson (she/they) is the managing editor of Digital Insurance. Kaitlyn covers a variety of topics related to insurance including risk,... Read full bio
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