Bold Penguin acquires RiskGenius, Nationwide taps Cambridge: Roundup

October 6, 2020 1:59 PM

Bold Penguin, an insurtech focusing on commercial insurance distribution, has acquired RiskGenius, whick provides data and analytics software for insurance policies. The companies say that adding RiskGenius's capabilities to the Bold Penguin platform will help optimize offers and better match coverages to customers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “As the policy life cycle continues and policies renew, it’s critical to understand policy language and clearly present coverage updates," says Chris Cheatham, CEO and founder of Riskgenius. "Their policy level data approach helps our Exchange grow and ultimately has a significant impact in the quoting process for our customers," adds Ilya Bodner, founder of Bold Penguin.

Nationwide Plaza One in Columbus, Ohio.

Nationwide has announced that its SmartRide mobile app will be powered by technology from Cambridge Mobile Telematics, with an additional angle of reducing distracted driving. CMT’s smartphone telematics platform infers distraction from sensor data, user engagement and behavioral science, then provides feedback to users. However, this will not be a safe-driving factor used in discount eligibility, the company says. "The goal of providing distracted driving feedback is to inform drivers on the frequency of this behavior and hopefully reduce phone distractions behind the wheel,” said Nationwide’s Teresa Scharn, vice president of personal lines product development.

CSAA Insurance Group has launched Mobilitas Insurance, a wholly-owned subsidiary targeting ride-sharing, in 11 states. Mobilitas' first product is a blanket policy for Lyft drivers in olorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. It can be accessed and managed via a mobile app. “As rideshare continues to play a critical role in modern transportation across the country, Lyft is excited to broaden its rideshare insurance partnerships, resulting in a panel of highly trusted auto carriers,” said Curtis Scott, Vice President of Risk at Lyft. “This allows us to leverage the regional expertise of these large insurers as our business continues to evolve, ensuring we have claims handling specifically built for ridesharing as well as data driven risk mitigation and reliable security for riders and drivers on the Lyft platform. Additionally, we look forward to further integrating our cutting-edge risk management solutions with these partners and partnering to bring innovative insurance products to market.”

Buckle has hired Kristi Matus as CFO and COO. She last was CFO for USAA. During nearly a decade there, she also was President of Life Insurance and Investment Services and as President of the Life Insurance Company. She was also Executive VP and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at athenahealth. and Executive VP and Head of the Government Services Segment at Aetna. Buckle also announced Munich Re's Andrew Rear has been named Chairman of its board.

LexisNexis and ExamOne, a Quest Diagnostics company, have partnered to develop a life-insurance mortality model to underwrite new policies. The new offering marries LexisNexis' public records, credit attributes and driving behavior data with historical laboratory testing and prescription information from ExamOne. "We are pleased with the preliminary results illustrating how our extensive data assets, including clinical laboratory history databases and prescription history, can be used in combination with LexisNexis Risk Classifier data to help life insurers offer consumers the protection they need for their families," said Joey Grant, president of ExamOne.