DI-ZurichHQ_01022018
A company logo sits on a Zurich Insurance Group AG building in Zurich, Switzerland on August 6, 2015.

Zurich picks North American reps for innovation contest

Zurich North America Insurance has selected Jupiter Intelligence and Safekeep to represent North America for the global company's second Innovation Championship. They join six other regional finalists for the final competition in October; last years winners were Canada's Chisel and the U.S.'s Zesty.ai. Jupiter Intelligence provides catastrophic risk modeling for the climate-change era. Safekeep's ClaimFlo rules-driven, straight-through processing platform for property and casualty claims applies machine learning to regulatory and special handling rules.

Brewer Lane leads Series A for Fraudscope

FraudScope, an AI insurtech that aims to help health insurers address fraud, waste, and abuse, has completed a $7 million Series A funding round including large participation from QED Investors, Brewer Lane Ventures, and the GRA Venture Fund. The additional capital will be used to scale the team and expand product offerings. "Fraudscope is a leader in AI driven health fraud detection," said John Kim, founder and managing partner of Brewer Lane Ventures, which was launched at the beginning of this year to focus on insurtech. "We are delighted to leverage our operating experience in the insurance industry to assist the company with its strategy and marketing efforts." Existing investors that also participated in the round include Spider Capital, Mosley Ventures, and TechSquare Labs.

Insurtech Skywatch.ai gets boost from Google

SkyWatch.AI, a telematics-based insurtech for drone enthusiasts, has revamped its platform while working with Google for Startups Growth Program. With guidance from Google’s experts, SkyWatch.AI’s R&D team developed the new management system. “This platform reflects our desire to keep drone insurance simple and flexible, while also allowing us to scale our operation together with our partners,” says Lior Geller, SkyWatch.AI’s Head of Product. “We want our pilots to have a painless experience when it comes to managing their insurance, which is why many of the new features were inspired and tested by our pilot community.”

Foxquilt gets funding

Small business insurance startup Foxquilt, based in Toronto, has announced a $3.5 million seed round. Currently refining a full-stack underwriting platform, the company's goal is becoming a full-service insurance provider with a self-service platform for buying and amending policies. It plans to introduce proprietary small business products in the coming months, as well as new distribution channels including direct-to-consumer, B2B integrations and open APIs with select partners. Foxquilt's underwriting partners include Aviva, Chubb, Beazley, Economical and Wawanesa.