Roundup: Ford teams up with LexisNexis; J.P. Morgan to acquire majority in Volkswagen payment business

Published September 13, 2021 7:15 AM

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Updated September 13, 2021 7:15 AM

1 Min Read

A Ford Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle (EV) at the IAA Munich Motor Show in Munich, Germany, on Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. The IAA, taking place in Munich for the first time, is the first in-person major European car show since the Coronavirus pandemic started. — A Ford Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle at the IAA Munich Motor Show in Munich, Germany, on Sept. 6, 2021. The IAA is the first in-person major European car show since the Coronavirus pandemic started.

The following news stories were curated and condensed by the Digital Insurance team.

Ford Motor Company teams up with LexisNexis Risk Solutions

LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Ford Motor Company announced that Ford vehicle data will now be available to auto insurers in the U.S. using the LexisNexis Telematics Exchange. Customers who have a 2020 or newer vehicle can opt-in and participate in usage-based insurance programs through the agreement. "Ford owners who opt-in to usage-based insurance have the potential to reduce their total cost of vehicle ownership through more personalized insurance offerings and be rewarded for good driving habits," said Kari Novatney, general manager, connectivity strategy & partnerships at Ford Motor Company, in a press release. "LexisNexis Risk Solutions is helping Ford customers more easily pursue the advantages of their vehicle's connectivity for potential insurance benefits."

J.P. Morgan to acquire majority in Volkswagen payment business

J.P. Morgan announced that it had entered into a deal with Volkswagen Financial Services, which would remain a shareholder, to acquire about 75% of the payment platform. Volkswagen Payments S.A. operates in 32 markets and offers services across the auto buying process including initial purchase, parking and subscription-based insurance. Customers are increasingly expecting a connected and seamless auto buying and payments experience. “We plan to build on Volkswagen Financial Services’ innovative groundwork on the existing platform and apply the global scale of our payments expertise to meet evolving customer expectations in the auto space and beyond,” said EMEA Head of Wholesale Payments at J.P. Morgan, Shahrokh Moinian, in a press release.

Ethos adds board members, hires c-suite executives

Ethos, an insurtech providing life insurance, has added three new board members including John Kunze, the senior vice president of customer experiences at Paypal, Priscilla Hung, the president and chief operating officer at Guidewire and Khozema Shipchandler, the chief financial officer at Twilio. The expansion comes weeks after a $100 million funding round. The company also recently announced a promotion and several new executives. Jennifer Liu joined as chief product officer, Liu was previously with Google for 17 years. Anan Kashyap, who has worked at Kayak, GrubHub, and Poshmark, joined as chief financial officer. Troy Thompson is Ethos's first chief actuary, bringing experience from Genworth, USAA, and Legal & General America. David Zhang, who joined Ethos in 2018, has been named chief strategy officer. "Scale is what will enable us to meet our goal of insuring the next million families, and the next million after that," said Peter Colis, CEO, in a statement.

One Inc partners with Mastercard on insurance payments

One Inc, an insurance digital payment network, has partnered with Mastercard to disburse claims through the company’s virtual cards with One’s ClaimsPay product. "This partnership with Mastercard empowers insurers to offer greater peace of mind to claimants in the face of unexpected accidents or disaster," said Ian Drysdale, One Inc CEO, in a statement. "Together, we have the ability to transform and facilitate the delivery of funds in near real-time via Mastercard's virtual cards, providing unique benefits to our vendor network and ever-growing roster of insurance customers. It is another sign of the fast-moving digital evolution in the insurance industry."

Global Aerospace appoints group CEO

Global Aerospace, a provider of aerospace insurance, announced the board of directors had appointed Rachel Barrier as its group chief executive officer. Barrier, who will start in the position on Jan. 1, 2022, will succeed Nick Brown, who is retiring after 17 years at the company. "Rachel is the right choice to lead Global through its next phase of continued growth and drive the future strategy for the company," said John Wilkinson, chair of the Board of Global Aerospace Underwriting Managers Ltd, in a press release. "Her deep market knowledge and expertise give the board full confidence that she will continue to provide dynamic leadership for our customers, employees, pool members, and shareholders."

Insurtechs join NVIDIA Inception

Snapsheet, a virtual appraisal and claim management software insurtech, and Vesttoo, an AI risk modeling marketplace insurtech, joined Nvidia Inception, a deep learning and AI startup incubator. "We are thrilled to be part of Nvidia Inception and join a network of market leaders that are reshaping entire industries. We look forward to collaborating with Nvidia and taking advantage of their in-depth knowledge in AI and machine learning to further grow our ILP program," said Yaniv Bertele, Vesttoo's chief executive officer, in a statement. CJ Przybyl, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Snapsheet said in a separate statement: "Since our founding 10 years ago, Snapsheet has captured and structured billions of data points that are relevant to automating the entire claims management process. We have enabled our carriers to automate the full claim lifecycle, from FNOL to settlement. For this reason, Snapsheet is in a truly unique position to leverage a combination of data, Nvidia hardware and software to intelligently automate the claims experience. We are excited to put the tools that Nvidia Inception offers to good use, further advancing and accelerating our AI R&D efforts."

Insurity launches Regulatory Competency Center

Insurity, an insurance software provider, announced its Regulatory Competency Center to help customers adopt compliance requirements, implement new rates and generate premium increases faster. “There is a tidal wave of changes coming from ISO in the next 18 to 24 months,” said Roy Wood, chief customer officer at Insurity, in a press release. “The RCC addresses these changes head-on with a simplified approach. As the market continues to evolve, Insurity is investing in our customers’ success so they can quickly capitalize on new opportunities in the marketplace while ensuring compliance.”
Insurity, an insurance software provider, announced its Regulatory Competency Center to help customers adopt compliance requirements, implement new rates and generate premium increases faster. “There is a tidal wave of changes coming from ISO in the next 18 to 24 months,” said Roy Wood, chief customer officer at Insurity, in a press release. “The RCC addresses these changes head-on with a simplified approach. As the market continues to evolve, Insurity is investing in our customers’ success so they can quickly capitalize on new opportunities in the marketplace while ensuring compliance.”

New AI tech inspects vehicles in minutes

Tractable, a company with AI visual assessment and disaster tools, launched an AI Inspection solution to assess the condition of a vehicle in minutes. The tool allows anyone with a smartphone to use the Tractable platform app to assess auto damage. "With AI Inspection, we have created a powerful AI tool that is not only capable of accurately assessing the exterior condition of a vehicle's body, but can be carried around in your smartphone. This is an immense technical achievement, putting expert-level assessment in the hands of anyone - meaning understanding a vehicle's condition is not only more efficient but also more transparent,” said Jimmy Spears, head of automotive at Tractable. "We already work with U.S. insurers to improve auto claims. AI Inspection will unlock efficiencies for the broader vehicle ecosystem, where there are huge gains to be made with faster ways of performing manual tasks, with cutting-edge technology."

American International Group announces new board chair

Peter Zaffino, president and chief executive officer at American International Group, will assume an additional role as chair of the board of directors on Jan. 1, 2022. Brian Duperreault, the current executive chair, will retire at the end of the year. “The AIG Board of Directors has great confidence in Peter’s ability to continue executing on AIG’s transformation and growth strategy designed to create long-term, sustainable value,” said Doug Steenland, lead independent director, in a press release. “Peter’s transition into the CEO role in March 2021 was seamless and the company is performing exceptionally well. His leadership is highly respected by the Board, the insurance industry and across the company’s many stakeholders.”

PEMCO launches pet insurance

Pemco Mutual Insurance announced the company will offer pet insurance through a partnership with Pets Best Insurance Services, a Synchrony company. Customers will be able to select from several plans and have access to digital options like a 24/7 emergency pet health line. “At PEMCO, our long-standing mission has been to protect the people and things that matter most in life. Pets are part of that equation; they’re integral parts of many families,” said Stan McNaughton, CEO of PEMCO Insurance, in a statement. “Through our new partnership with Pets Best, our customers with pets will have one less worry in their lives.”

Notion partners with Honey Insurance

Notion, a Comcast company that offers smart home monitoring, is partnering with Honey Insurance, a smart technology insurtech, in Australia to help homeowners monitor risk using smart home sensors. The agreement will provide new Honey Insurance customers with a Smart Home Sensor Kit that will monitor for leaks and temperature changes, amongst other potential issues within the home. The deal is the first international one for Notion. “Notion smart sensors are changing the way property owners and insurers monitor risk. In fact, 84% of Notion users didn’t monitor water leaks prior to using Notion,” said Brett Jurgens, Notion’s CEO and co-founder, in a press release. “We’re excited for Honey to bring our DIY solution into Australian homes as we expand across the globe to help reduce the complexities and risks of property ownership.”

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