Reinsurance startup targets wildfires: Roundup

November 2, 2020 4:30 AM

SmartThings, smart home automation company, announces aconnective technology partnership with Mercedes-Benz Drivers and passengers can use remote connectivity to thousands of intelligent devices made by hundreds of brands supported by SmartThings’ open IoT ecosystem in Mercedes-Benz S-Class in-car voice assistant system. These include lights, locks, thermostats, electric outlets, garage door openers, sensors, and home security systems, all through Mercedes-Benz’s integrated voice assistant by saying “Hey Mercedes.”

Firefighters stand together during a controlled burn during the Glass Fire near Calistoga, California, U.S., on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. Even as firefighters in Northern Californias wine country battle a blaze that forced the evacuation of entire towns, a forecast of extreme heat and dry winds threatens to breath new life into the inferno.

Philip Pacheco/Bloomberg

Kettle, reinsurance startup company, announces seed financing round of $4.71 million round from True Ventures, with participation from Acrew Capital, Homebrew Ventures, Anthemis, and Inspired Capital. Kettle’s mission is to build resiliency against climate change. Its technology and proprietary algorithms use data from public and private data sources, such as NOAA weather data and NASA's MODIS and LIDAR satellites, to calculate probabilities of fire damage in California "I've spent years building software to enable people to get help in the aftermath of a crisis," said Nathaniel Manning, Kettle co-founder. "But I noticed it was the insurance companies who were providing the financial safety nets to help these communities rebuild. That's why we founded Kettle, to make an impact.”

One Inc, digital payment platform for the insurance industry, announces a partnership agreement with Majesco, global provider core insurance software. The company's payments platform will be available on the Majesco Digital1^stEcoExchange. Insurers gain the ability to accept payments via multiple methods and channels, while communicating with policyholders through mobile, SMS text, email, phone, IVR, web, and social media channels. “We’ve had great success integrating with the Majesco CloudInsurer platform in live insurer environments and look forward to helping our mutual customers future-proof their businesses with powerful digital payment solutions moving forward,” says Christopher W. Ewing, President and CEO of One Inc.