News
Return-to-Office Is $1.3 Trillion Problem Few Have Figured Out
In the emerging post-pandemic era, most aspects of life have returned to normal. Moviegoers are flocking to cinemas, vacationers jammed airports for summer travel and kids are returning to classrooms.
The one thing that has remained stubbornly fraught: the world of work.
Three and a half years after millions of office-goers were sent home en masse, companies, employees and governments are still figuring out how to adapt to lasting changes to corporate life. But stark differences have emerged across continents and cultures, with Asian and European workers largely returning to offices at a faster pace than their counterparts in the Americas.
Asian nations did a better job keeping COVID-19 under wraps in the pandemic’s first year, so people there didn’t get as accustomed to working from home, making it easier to transition back to office life, researchers found. Europe’s habits vary widely — the UK has one of the highest rates of remote work, and France one of the lowest — but several of its countries also are leading the way with laws enshrining flexible schedules.
Then there are places such as the US, where policymakers have stayed largely silent, leaving bosses and employees to navigate the changes on their own. As the post-Labor Day period marks a time of resuming normal schedules after summer vacations, companies including Amazon.com Inc. and even Zoom Video Communications Inc. are cracking down on getting workers back to offices for at least part of the week.
But even then, workers are facing vastly different policies depending on their companies, managers or location. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. wants staff in five days a week. At Walt Disney Co., it’s four days; for Amazon, Google and many others, it’s three. Hybrid schedules are now the norm for office goers in the world’s largest economy.
Matthew Boyle
Zillow Group unveils tool to help renters buy insurance – GeekWire
Zillow Group introduced a new tool to help renters purchase insurance online. The Seattle-based company teamed up with tech-focused insurance company Homesite to offer the new service.
- Zillow said more than 1,500 renters have already bought insurance policies, providing coverage for personal property, increased living expenses due to unlivable conditions, personal liability, and medical payments for injuries on the rental property.
- The offering, available in 49 states and Washington, D.C., is part of the real estate tech giant’s broader goal of creating an “all-in-one” platform for the rental process.
- Boston-based Homesite, founded in 1997, says it was one of the first companies to offer insurance online. It was acquired by American Family Insurance in 2014.
The renters insurance market is expected to reach $4.5 billion in 2023.
Tesla Braces For Its First Trial Involving Autopilot Fatality
Tesla Inc. is set to defend itself for the first time at trial against allegations that failure of its Autopilot driver assistant feature led to death, in what will likely be a major test of Chief Executive Elon Musk’s assertions about the technology.
Self-driving capability is central to Tesla’s financial future, according to Musk, whose own reputation as an engineering leader is being challenged with allegations by plaintiffs in one of two lawsuits that he personally leads the group behind technology that failed. Wins by Tesla could raise confidence and sales for the software, which costs up to $15,000 per vehicle.
Tesla faces two trials in quick succession, with more to follow.
The first, scheduled for mid-September in a California state court, is a civil lawsuit containing allegations that the Autopilot system caused owner Micah Lee’s Model 3 to suddenly veer off a highway east of Los Angeles at 65 miles per hour, strike a palm tree and burst into flames, all in the span of seconds.
The 2019 crash, which has not been previously reported, killed Lee and seriously injured his two passengers, including a then-8-year old boy who was disemboweled. The lawsuit, filed against Tesla by the passengers and Lee’s estate, accuses Tesla of knowing that Autopilot and other safety systems were defective when it sold the car.
MUSK ‘DE FACTO LEADER’ OF AUTOPILOT TEAM
The second trial, set for early October in a Florida state court, arose out of a 2019 crash north of Miami where owner Stephen Banner’s Model 3 drove under the trailer of an 18-wheeler big rig truck that had pulled into the road, shearing off the Tesla’s roof and killing Banner. Autopilot failed to brake, steer or do anything to avoid the collision, according to the lawsuit filed by Banner’s wife.
Tesla denied liability for both accidents, blamed driver error and said Autopilot is safe when monitored by humans. Tesla said in court documents that drivers must pay attention to the road and keep their hands on the steering wheel.
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
Insurtech Innovator Akur8 Secures $25M Funding, Welcomes FinTLV as New Investor | Insurtech Insights
Akur8, the trailblazing insurance pricing solution powered by Transparent AI, has successfully concluded a new funding round, securing an impressive $25 million in investment.
This latest injection of capital brings Akur8’s total funding to a remarkable $60 million, reaffirming its status as a dynamic force in the industry.
This latest funding round marks a milestone for Akur8, occurring four years after the company initially introduced its platform to the commercial market. Notably, it introduces a new strategic investor into Akur8’s ecosystem, namely FinTLV. Hailing from Tel Aviv, FinTLV is a globally recognized venture capital fund with a specialized focus on both insurtech and fintech innovations. This collaboration signifies the emergence of a potent partnership poised to further propel Akur8’s innovative offerings within the insurance sector.
CLARA Analytics raises $24 million
Claims intelligence platform CLARA Analytics announced its $24 million Series C funding, bringing its total funding to $60 million. The round was led by Spring Lake Equity Partners, with participation from existing investors including Aspen Capital Group, Oak HC/FT and QBE Ventures.
Founded in 2016, CLARA’s product suite applies image recognition, natural language processing, and other AI-based techniques to unlock insights from medical notes, bills and other documents surrounding a claim. Some of its clients include Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies, AmTrust, Amerisure, QBE, and Amazon.
“Insurers are facing increased pressure to manage losses and expenses, and they have awakened to the value that AI can generate in claims management. We have witnessed this first-hand, having experienced significant growth in our customer base and more than doubling our annual recurring revenue. We have continued to increase our penetration of the workers’ comp industry while also expanding into auto liability and general liability. We’re excited to have Spring Lake Equity Partners as our new lead investor. We see this funding as a tremendous vote of confidence, especially in light of the very tight funding environment.” – CLARA Analytics CEO Heather H. Wilson.
Mylo agency brokerage addresses application fatigue
Insurance agents have gotten fatigued trying to find applications that effectively find coverage products, provide quotes and interact with carriers, according to Belen Tokarski, president and chief operating officer of Mylo, an independent broker insurtech that says it has a solution for their needs.
"Everyone's trying to create some kind of application that fits nicely in someone else's experience but they're missing the boat," she said. "At the end of the day, the agencies are still complaining about placing the wrong coverage or not writing with the carrier that has the best service center. Their ease of doing business is shot."
Mylo was founded in 2014 by David Embry, its CEO, whose prior experience includes executive roles in investments and retirement solutions at JPMorgan and American Century, plus leadership of SelectQuote Benefit Solutions. He launched the company with backing from insurer ))Lockton, and in 2018, he began raising outside capital from Guggenheim Partners**, buying out Lockton's interest in 2022.
Vesttoo alleges ‘systemic misconduct’ by former CEO, execs
Insurtech Vesttoo, which has faced turbulence since it emerged that alleged fraudulent letters of credit (LOCs) had been used via its platform, has alleged that its CEO, other former executives and third parties engaged in “pervasive and systemic misconduct” and has claimed to have uncovered “conspiracy”.
The allegations came as Vesttoo filed its first interim bankruptcy report in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
In the report, it was alleged that former Vesttoo executives Yaniv Bertele (former CEO), Alon Lifshitz (former CFE), Udi Ginati (former senior director, capital markets) and Josh Rurka (former senior director, Asian markets) were “directly involved” in creating fake documents and forging identities.
Employees of China Construction Bank, as well as other banks and individuals associated with the Company’s largest investor, Yu Po Finance, were also alleged to have engaged in wrongdoings, according to a news update shared by Vesttoo.
AI in Insurance
NAIC: 70% of homeowner insurers are using AI, or are interested - Insurance News
Seventy percent of home insurers are either using or have an interest in using artificial intelligence in their businesses, the NAIC found.
That data was part of the second in a series of surveys state insurance regulators are conducting across the insurance world. Regulators discussed the findings during the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' summer meeting in Seattle. It is part of a wide ranging effort on the part of several NAIC groups to get a better grasp on artificial intelligence and big data usage in insurance. While analysts point to AI as a big part of the future of insurance, humans will not be going anywhere.
An initial survey of auto insurers found that 88% of insurers currently use, plan to use or plan to explore using artificial intelligence or machine learning as part of their everyday operations. Those survey results were released earlier this year.
"These surveys were conducted to accomplish three primary goals," Vermont Insurance Commissioner Kevin Gaffney said. "To better understand the insurance industry's use and governance of big data and AL/ML. To seek information that could aid in the development of guidance or potential regulatory framework to support the insurance industry's use of big data and AL/ML. And to inform regulators as to the current and planned business practices of companies."
Gaffney is vice chairman of the Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Working Group, which heard a report on the survey Aug. 13.
The survey of 194 homeowners' insurers found that they are using AI in the following ways:
54% for claims;
47% for underwriting and marketing;
42% for fraud detection;
35% for rating;
14% for loss prevention.
Buyers lean on insurtech tools
Technology continues to gain traction in the commercial insurance sector after revolutionizing personal lines insurance by allowing consumers to bind auto and home coverages online with no broker assistance.
Risk managers, brokers and insurers are increasingly using technological tools in insurance procurement and risk transfer, binding contracts, exchanging information more freely, saving time and reducing manual labor.
While the cost and time involved with technology adoption can be challenging, they can be seen as investments that will pay dividends going forward, sources said.
Christie Weinstein, Morris Plains, New Jersey-based director of risk management and insurance for Honeywell Inc. and a Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc. board director, said, “The use of technology in the risk management department at Honeywell has grown significantly over the past four years.”
Risk managers, though, must sometimes cobble together different technologies and tools to achieve a solution, often using application programming interfaces, or APIs, said Audrey Rampinelli, New York-based senior vice president of risk management and insurance services at Mastercard Inc., who has consulted on insurtech projects. APIs essentially allow different software applications to communicate.
“There are so many tools and so many platforms you can leverage,” so APIs are useful and sometimes necessary to consolidate and use the different platforms to meet the specific needs of an organization, Ms. Rampinelli said.
Vetting the myriad systems available requires time and self-education for risk managers, Ms. Rampinelli said. “You have to invest time in the process, you have to do your due diligence. That investment is well worth the time,” she said.
Commentary/Opinion
Insurance for the TikTok generation
Gen Z isn't just any generation. They bring unique qualities, values and expectations that demand your attention.
While millennials have been the subject of much discussion and analysis in recent years, their successors, Generation Z, are making their mark on the world. They are the largest generation in history and comprise 25% of the U.S. population. They’re more technologically savvy and socially conscious than previous generations, and they’re poised to significantly impact the economy and workforce.
They also need insurance.
Insurance, however, is another cost for which Gen Z may not be prepared. They’re paying nearly 100% more for their homes and have 86% less purchasing power compared to the economic environment that boomers encountered in their twenties.
It follows that 70% of Gen Z believe that home ownership is out of reach. This means there will likely be a surge in rent-associated insurance needs. Adopting technology, like digital security deposit insurance, is crucial for property managers to appeal to today’s young-adult renters.
An industry at a crossroads
Insurance has been slower to embrace digital change than other sectors. But now is the time for this industry to tap into the Gen Z consumer base that’s exploring insurance options for the first time. This tech-savvy generation came of age in an era of smartphones, instant communication and on-demand services. They expect insurance to be as accessible and user-friendly as any other app they use on a daily basis.
The insurance industry must transform its approach to align with Gen Z’s digital expectations. This strategic shift isn’t just a passing trend to adapt to a new demographic. Adapting is necessary to stay relevant in a world where innovation and consumer-centricity drive success.
Andrew Delbridge is the Chief Revenue Officer at Rhino,
Carmakers Failing Privacy Test. Owners Have Little or No Control over Data Collected
Most major car manufacturers admit they may be selling your personal information — though they are vague on the buyers, a new study finds, and half say they would share it with the government or law enforcement without a court order.
The proliferation of sensors in automobiles — from telematics to fully digitized control consoles — has made them prodigious data-collection hubs.
But drivers are given little or no control over the personal data their vehicles collect, researchers for the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation said Wednesday in their latest “Privacy Not Included” survey. Security standards are also vague, a big concern given automakers’ track record of susceptibility to hacking.
. “Cars seem to have really flown under the privacy radar and I’m really hoping that we can help remedy that because they are truly awful,” said Jen Caltrider, the study’s research lead. “Cars have microphones and people have all kinds of sensitive conversations in them. Cars have cameras that face inward and outward. ”
Unless they opt for a used, pre-digital model, car buyers “just don’t have a lot of options,” Caltrider said.
Cars scored worst for privacy among more than a dozen product categories — including fitness trackers, reproductive-health apps, smart speakers and other connected home appliances — that Mozilla has studied since 2017.
Not one of the 25 car brands whose privacy notices were reviewed — chosen for their popularity in Europe and North America — met the minimum privacy standards of Mozilla, which promotes open-source, public interest technologies and maintains the Firefox browser. By contrast, 37% of the mental health apps the non-profit reviewed this year did.
Nineteen automakers say they can sell your personal data, their notices reveal. Half will share your information with government or law enforcement in response to a “request” — as opposed to requiring a court order. Only two — Renault and Dacia, which are not sold in North America — offer drivers the option to have their data deleted.
Frank Bajak, Investigations, Cybersecurity - Associated Press
People
"Stay authentic, energized, focused and consistent" – advice for DE&I advocates
In much the same way that everybody finds their own route into the insurance market, everybody has a unique path to recognising the role they have to play in becoming part of the diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I) solution. For Jhan D. Doughty (pictured), global head of DE&I at Everest, the journey started when she began her career almost 20 years ago, working as a clinical mental health counsellor serving individuals with mental and physical disabilities.
“This was an honour as I valued the opportunity to support individuals through counselling to achieve their personal and professional goals,” she said. “After I graduated with my doctorate, I completed a research post-doctoral fellowship and conducted HIV/AIDS education with persons of colour in New York and Connecticut. I learned the value of engaging individuals through that research and loved working in the communities I served.”
From there, Doughty transitioned to an “amazing” career in higher education working in roles supporting student recruitment, professional development, and retention at public research universities. It was during this time that that she also worked as a professor teaching and conducting DE&I research and developed skills in grant-writing.
“I entered the non-profit and corporate sector working on a national contract aimed at DE&I for students in K-12 in the US,” she said. “There, I learned the joy and value of creating opportunities for underserved individuals as I developed national internship programs for undergraduate and graduate students and established research institutes at minority-serving institutions. Now, over 10 years later, I am thrilled to witness more than 100 former students thriving in their professional careers.”
Today, working at Everest, Doughty said she is pursuing “the work of [her] dreams” — developing and implementing DE&I initiatives on a global scale. She highlighted that working with her insurance industry colleagues in multiple countries and learning what DE&I means in various cultural contexts is what keeps her energised and inspired each day.
Looking back on her DE&I journey, she pinpointed some of the stand-out inspirational moments afforded by her career to date. These include such highlights as presenting her research and work at the International HIV/AIDS conference in Barcelona; launching research institutes at two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States; presenting strategies on recruiting and retaining diverse employees at the White House HBCU Conference; being named one of the Top 25 Women in Higher Education by Diverse Issues in Higher Education – and now serving as the inaugural global head of DE&I for Everest where she is, “fortunate to engage in work that underwrites opportunity each day.”
Recommended Events
Webinar: Generative AI in Insurance.. Join us on September 13th at 11am {EDT}
Join us for a live discussion on effectively adopting and deploying Generative AI across your insurance operation.
Effectively adopt and deploy Generative AI across your insurance operation - register for our webinar to find out how. REGISTER HERE
Join us for this live 60 min roundtable discussion, where we will:
- Share perspectives on the current and future state of Generative AI In Insurance
- Provide examples of Insurance organizations successfully adopting Generative AI
- Offer use-cases and areas to consider deploying Generative AI
- Demonstrate InsurGPTTM (Roots' proprietary Generative AI model) dealing with various structured and unstructured documents