InsurTech/M&A/Financeđź’°/Collaboration
Black Knight partners with ZestyAI to deliver property risk and value insights – Top Startups 2023
AI has been getting a lot of attention for generating original artwork, drafting essays, and even spitting out images for dating profiles, thanks to the popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. However, while everyone is talking about AI-powered chatbots, what’s often neglected is how AI is disrupting the $12 trillion U.S. mortgage market.
One of the leading companies in this space is ZestyAI, an AI tech startup that is currently using AI and computer vision, to build a digital twin for every building across the country, encompassing 200 billion property insights accounting for all details that could impact a property’s value and associated risk.
Today, ZestyAI announced one of the largest and most important roll-outs of AI to date as part of its partnership with mortgage industry leader, Black Knight. ZestyAI said it has reached an agreement with mortgage data company Black Knight to make its AI technology available to its mortgage, real estate, and capital markets clients to provide timely property-condition reports and risk insights. Black Knight currently has approximately 65 percent market share of the $12 trillion U.S. market.
Climate Tech Startup Aims to Narrow Insurance Protection Gap for Flood Risks
Flooding is the most common weather hazard globally and 83% of the damage it causes isn’t covered by insurance. A startup technology company on Thursday launched a new global flood-risk data service that its founders say will help narrow this “protection gap” — and quickly. Floodbase says its near-real-time flood monitoring can help insurers underwrite policies in time for the start of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1.
The company, which was founded in 2016 and operated under the name Cloud to Street until rebranding on Thursday, combines satellite imagery, water gauge data, machine learning and other sources in a tool that tracks water levels before, during and after floods. The data provide an empirical foundation for insurance policies that automatically pay out when policyholders experience flooding beyond a defined level.
Getsafe expands to France starting with home insurance
German insurtech startup Getsafe is adding a fourth market with today’s product launch. In addition to Germany, Austria and the U.K., Getsafe is now going to offer insurance products in France. The company will first offer a home insurance product.
Getsafe is trying to disrupt the insurance market with a focus on digital-first insurance products. It sells its products directly to end customers through its website and app unlike its German rival Wefox.
In its home market, Getsafe originally started with a home contents insurance product. But it has greatly diversified its lineup of products with the addition of private health insurance, drone liability insurance, pet health insurance and even some financial products like private pension plans.
In October 2021, when the company announced a Series B extension of $63 million, Getsafe had 250,000 customers. It now has 400,000 clients as it is about to accept new customers in France. Getsafe has its own insurance license from Germany’s financial regulator, BaFin.
Augusta Mutual selects InsurTech Betterview
Augusta Mutual Insurance Company, a mutual insurance company, has selected InsurTech Betterview to improve risk selection and to provide better insight into property condition.
Betterview is a provider of actionable intelligence to property and casualty (P&C) insurance companies.
Founded in 1870 as the East Augusta Mutual Fire Insurance Company, Augusta Mutual has established a reputation as a reliable provider of coverage for all Virginians.
The company also places a strong emphasis on innovation, which led them to the Betterview Property Intelligence & Risk Management Platform.
David Johnson, president and chief executive officer at Augusta Mutual, said, “The Betterview platform is exactly what we were looking for to improve our oversight on property condition.
“We need to be able to analyze and manage risk for properties across the state – many of them in isolated rural areas. The Betterview combination of high-quality aerial imagery and computer vision insights allows us to do so without overly relying on in-person inspections. The platform will make our underwriting process easier, faster, and less expensive.”
iLife, All-In-One OS for Insurance Distribution, Announces $17M Series A from Top Insurtech Investors
iLife Technologies, the all-in-one front end "Operating System'' (OS) for insurance carriers and agencies, today announced $17M in new funding to continue helping insurance distributors consolidate previously fragmented workflows. With iLife's industry leading OS, agents can instantly generate quotes & e-apps, communicate and market to clients directly from the CRM, and build insurance websites code-free.
The rapidly growing platform built for insurance distributors now has over 11,000 agent users in just over a year,
The round was led by Foundation Capital, Brewer Lane Ventures, and SCOR Ventures, with participation from GTMFund and OpenView Partners. With iLife's rapid industry adoption, notable former insurance carrier executives joined the Board at iLife, including John Kim, former President at New York Life, and Deanna Mulligan, former CEO at Guardian Life.
"Over the last two decades, I've led and advised some of the largest life insurance companies in the world, and I've seldom seen a company as innovative and game-changing for this industry as iLife," said John Kim, now Founder and Managing Partner of Brewer Lane Ventures. "Nelson and his team are arming agents and carriers at all levels with everything they need to excel at their jobs. We are delighted to support iLife on this next phase of their journey."
News
Wanted: startups looking to collaborate with Zurich on the future of insurance
- Zurich launches the fourth edition of its global startup competition, the Zurich Innovation Championship
- Startups can sign up here until Feb. 27 in five categories expected to shape the future of insurance
- First three editions have resulted in 30 ongoing collaborations globally
Innovation through collaboration remains the name of the game as Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) launches the fourth edition of the Zurich Innovation Championship – the largest global open innovation contest with startups in the insurance sector. Following past successes, Zurich is inviting startups once again to compete for the opportunity to collaborate on solutions tailored to the needs of customers and the insurance industry.
“The Innovation Championship fosters a new way of thinking and allows us to get access to ideas and solutions we may not yet have ourselves,” said Ericson Chan, Group Chief Information & Digital Officer. “For the participants, it is an opportunity to grow their business and pitch technology-driven solutions that can help meet emerging and evolving customer needs."
Talking claims with AmFam, Plymouth Rock and Pie.
Digital Insurance spoke with three claims leaders about their plans to meet a challenging 2023 head-on.
Study: Social inflation causes up to 11% of medical malpractice losses
Social inflation accounted for between $2.4 billion and $3.5 billion of all medical malpractice losses between 2011 and 2021, according to new research released by The Doctors Company, the largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer in the U.S.
“Our research shows that the pace of settlements larger than $1 million has accelerated, and large settlements are a significant driver of social inflation,” Robert E. White, Jr., president of The Doctors Company parent corporation TDC Group said in a prepared statement. The research further indicated that the amount of medical malpractice losses attributed to social inflation during the study period accounted for between 8% and 11% of all losses in that vertical.
Social inflation “is a reason malpractice premiums are rising for many physicians,” White said.
The Doctors Company defined social inflation as something that occurs when an insurer’s average claim amount grows faster than the overall inflation rate. “When that happens, insurers are forced to increase their rates and/or decrease coverage to keep up,” according to The Doctors Company.
The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) notes that the factors driving social inflation can be difficult to pinpoint but are likely to include:
A New Approach to Embedded Insurance
The real opportunity requires introducing insurance at the point-of-design, rather than making it a bolt-on at the point-of-sale.
Embedded insurance is one of the most frequently explored topics in insurance today, yet its potential remains largely untapped. We are limited so long as we consider the concept purely with an insurance industry lens. Unlocking the potential of embedded insurance involves a mindset shift from "point-of-sale" to "point-of-design."
The embedded insurance model is not at all new. We define "embedded insurance" as any instance in which an insurance product is sold in conjunction with a non-insurance product. Examples include bancassurance, point-of-sale warranty products, life insurance sold prior to an airline trip and, increasingly, insurance products bundled with vehicles or higher-risk pastimes (such as insurance bundled with ski passes). The emergence of application programming interface (API) platforms has made it possible to bring insurance products closer to their non-insurance vehicles. In these cases, insurance is typically positioned as a "bolt-on" at a point-of-sale (either as an "opt in" or "opt out" choice).
Chris Bassett, senior director, Capgemini Invent.
What’s ahead in 2023—partnerships, consolidation, and disruptive technologies - Insider Intelligence Trends, Forecasts & Statistics
The news: The tough economic environment in 2022 didn’t spare the insurance industry, which saw dried-up funding, tighter budgets, and competitive pressures. This year’s economic outlook isn’t much brighter, but insurance firms are set to disrupt the scene with new partnerships and technological advances. Here are the top four trends we are watching in this space in 2023.
Trend 1: Partnerships form between startups and incumbents.
Competition between legacy insurers and new entrants is fierce, and each faces unique challenges from a tough economic environment and intense consumer demand.
Incumbents struggling with a digital transformation will look to startups that base their operations on new technologies to bring them up to speed. Meanwhile, the startups that are trying to get their feet on solid ground and reach profitability will turn to incumbents for an increased budget allowance and built-in customers.
Incumbents also bring their brand names with them, especially in very competitive markets like the UK. Startups that link up with these established incumbents have a head start at gaining consumer loyalty. One example is Lemonade’s partnership with UK-based incumbent Aviva. While Aviva is well-known in the UK, Lemonade’s popularity in the US hasn’t yet translated to the UK market.
'Out Front Ideas': 20 issues to watch in 2023
Out Front Ideas with Kimberly and Mark kicks off yearly with our popular 20 Issues to Watch webinar.
While there are certainly more than 20 issues to discuss, we focused on the high-impact matters relating to workers’ compensation, health care and risk management that need more attention. These are essential issues for every risk manager and insurance professional to monitor in 2023.
Out Front Ideas with Kimberly and Mark will host two live sessions in 2023, at the Executives in Workers’ Compensation Conference on April 25 in Anaheim, California and the WCI Conference on August 21 in Orlando, Florida.
3 insurance customer experience must-haves
The pandemic drove the insurance industry to undergo digital transformation at an unprecedented rate, as customers adapted to a fully digital experience. However, consumer research reveals that customer satisfaction has remained the same, if not declined. While companies are now more equipped than ever to serve customers, service still falls short, and the difference between the leaders and the laggards in customer experience is becoming even more apparent.
The health of a business depends on its customers. In an economic downturn, customer experience becomes even more important. Customers will still demand quality customer service, even if a company might struggle with declining revenue, budget cuts, and limited resources behind the scenes.
The key to success is to fuse operations with customer experience strategies — and approach it as a long-term strategy versus a short-term goal. Following, I share a few core lessons that I view as critical for businesses to apply to improving customer experiences in a digital world.