Risk

Global warming was ranked as the biggest risk to society over the next five to 10 years in a report released Tuesday by French insurance giant AXA SA. While that also topped the ranking in 2018 and 2019, it was outstripped by diseases and pandemics last year as the virus spread across the globe.

As many as 2.4 million homes are at risk of losing protection in 2021 as year-long grace periods expire – though new disasters may extend their shields. In all, 18% of the state’s households could effectively lose protection, the largest single group since the moratorium law took effect three years ago.

In other news: Hippo launches Builders Program; handdii wins the 2021 ACORD Insurtech Innovation Challenge New York; Blockchain-backed title insurance launches in five states.

Many insurers are focused on ransomware risk protection even though other new vulnerabilities are emerging from remote work. Recent statistics point to a troubling increase in ransomware and phishing, web application attacks and other emerging cybercrime tactics.

Carriers, pressed by lower expense insurtech models that emphasize direct-to-consumer engagement and new, rich data sources, are beginning to encounter a bifurcation of risk and client characteristics.

Over half or 62%, of insurers, say they will invest in risk management over the next year, with 55% saying they’ll invest in customer and employee data protection, according to the FIS’ 2021 Readiness Report.

Several companies are using artificial intelligence and data analytics to better map properties for coverage in potential high-risk wildfire areas.

Climate change is exacerbating extreme and freak weather events so rapidly that even the insurance industry is struggling to keep up.

The risk models insurers had previously relied on need to be adapted for today’s challenge.

Continuity and speed are just two benefits of payment automation, says VPay's Elisa Logan.

With the growing vulnerabilities and uncertainty of our highly globalized and connected world, actions in one place can spread rapidly to have global effects.

Amid record low travel and vehicle miles traveled, speeding and crashes in cities around the United States have increased.

Ruth Foxe Blader, managing director with venture-capital company Anthemis, is responsible for identifying insurtechs that are helping carriers minimize risk.

CHIME, a professional association for chief information officers, and AEHiS, which represents chief information security officers, seek tighter control of devices for security purposes.

So-called 'black box' pricing makes insurance products more competitive and efficient for lenders, practitioners say.

Whether self-driving cars can correctly identify and avoid pedestrians has become a burning issue since an Uber driverless vehicle killed an Arizona woman.

Insurance group says Volvo collision avoidance tech that was turned off could've prevented or mitigated a crash that killed an Arizona woman.

Effectively securing this valuable data requires a high level of diligence on behalf of carriers and their partners.

Gary Sullivan will help aspiring insurance professionals navigate the risks of rewards of an increasingly connected world at Mercyhurst University.

Cybersecurity regulation will not be one size fits all, meaning insurers will need to proactively respond to new laws as they emerge.