News
![Using Personal Cloud to Create Value for Insurance Customers, Part II](https://dxj7eshgz03ln.cloudfront.net/production/link/image/829638/twenty_by_nine_extra_large_b8bd2890-e404-45ec-b2d6-5c888ab0eb3e.jpeg)
Using Personal Cloud to Create Value for Insurance Customers, Part II
With the rapid growth of devices in the home—smart phones, tablets, laptops and more—insurance companies can benefit by offering a total home digital protection package that protects consumer devices in addition to the content stored on the device.
In August of last year, I wrote an article about how insurers can integrate the personal cloud into existing insurance offerings to serve as an opportunity to strengthen customer relationships, reduce churn, increase renewals, and increase their bottom line. In this article, I will explore why insurance companies offering a total home digital protection package can benefit consumers by protecting their devices in addition to the content stored on consumer devices.
Consumers are looking for a trusted partner that can securely protect their digital content. Also, consumers need to know they have the flexibility to upgrade their device and their content will not be affected during the process. This is where insurers can step in and prove themselves to be extremely valuable as the trusted steward for their customers.
According to Statista, consumer spending on smart home products is forecasted to grow to more than $170 billion dollars by 2025. According to Deloitte’s 2022 Connectivity & Mobile Trends, the average household has a total of 22 connected devices. Insurance companies have a golden opportunity to offer a total home digital protection package that covers not only the devices against failures, but also protects content that is created and captured on these devices.
Jeff Miller, President and CEO of Synchronoss Technologies
![Customers are ready for telematics motor insurance products: Swiss Re](https://dxj7eshgz03ln.cloudfront.net/production/link/image/831268/twenty_by_nine_extra_large_f25bd20c-8da3-4254-85eb-3b30d1bf8032.png)
Customers are ready for telematics motor insurance products: Swiss Re
There is a significant target market for telematics motor insurance products, a recent survey by IoT Insurance Observatory and the Automotive and Mobility Solutions team at Swiss Re has confirmed.
Telematic insurance products have been going through years of development and refinement, despite this they are not mainstream yet, Swiss Re explained.
But the survey, conducted in August 2022, revealed that the outlook of the current telematics market looks positive and shows clear directions in regards of customers’ needs and wants.
It also shows concerns around tracking and data usage. Feeling that data is shared safely and knowing how it is used, who can access it and for how long is a must for customers, analysts stated.
The survey was carried out in nine countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, UK and the US; with a total of 10 000 policyholders, 2, 000 in the US and 1,000 in each of the other countries.
It found that, in all countries, younger individuals – mostly millennials (23–41 years old) and people in Generation X (42–57 years old) – are more attracted to telematic solutions, as well as more likely to recommend a telematics motor insurance app to a friend.
![Distribution technology: Where personal lines insurers are investing today](https://dxj7eshgz03ln.cloudfront.net/production/link/image/831123/twenty_by_nine_extra_large_4b19fa0a-30a3-4215-b877-a4c2f223be6d.jpeg)
Distribution technology: Where personal lines insurers are investing today
We say it often here at SMA – the personal lines segment frequently leads the insurance industry with deploying new innovations, particularly within distribution.
Over the next five years, insurers focused on personal lines will likely continue to spearhead the distribution revolution through new technologies and channel strategies. Where insurers invest today to support distributors will set the stage for their channel partnerships in the future, either building solid bonds with agents/brokers and others or deemphasizing some channel partners.
SMA's new research report, "Distribution Technologies for Personal Lines: Carrier Plans in 2023 and Beyond," details findings from a survey of executives on the current state of digital capabilities offered to distribution partners, an assessment of the challenges and barriers to deploying new capabilities, and carriers' plans to put new digital sales and servicing capabilities into the market.
Mark Breading, Partner, Carrier Transformation
Insights: Four Tests For Insurers in 2023 -
Some insights from René Schoenauer, director product marketing, EMEA, Guidewire Software;
Being better prepared for instability
Becoming a Climate Change Risk Star
Big Tech Frenemies Now?
We have got to get cyber insurance right
And finally … Unpredictability is the prevailing theme of our current situation, and in these difficult times insurers can be a reliable and valuable partner to both businesses and consumers. Most insurers have the courage and ambition to step up to today’s challenges and will navigate stormy conditions because of their operational and strategic agility enabled by increased and smarter use of technology.
![Average premium renewal rates up in most major commercial lines](https://dxj7eshgz03ln.cloudfront.net/production/link/image/830934/twenty_by_nine_extra_large_8d366540-9b5e-44f1-aebc-a9dcda247b3b.jpg)
Average premium renewal rates up in most major commercial lines
Most major lines of commercial insurance saw quarter-over-quarter increases in average premium renewal rate change for the fourth quarter, Tampa, Florida-based Ivans Insurance Services reported Friday.
An exception was workers compensation, which remained negative.
In commercial property lines, the fourth-quarter premium renewal rate change averaged 7.95%, compared with 6.95% in the third quarter. The average premium renewal rate change reached its high for the quarter in December at 8.38%, with the quarter low in October at 7.55%.
![Tesla EVs, Even Mildly Damaged, Being Written Off by Insurers](https://dxj7eshgz03ln.cloudfront.net/production/link/image/831269/twenty_by_nine_extra_large_8d47978f-d868-48c3-b969-ed9093428a05.jpg)
Tesla EVs, Even Mildly Damaged, Being Written Off by Insurers
There were 120 Tesla Model Y electric vehicles listed in two large salvage auction houses recently, and the "vast majority" had under 10,000 miles on them, according to a report from the Reuters news service.
The insurance companies that covered these vehicles decided that even with so few miles on them, these Teslas aren't worth the $50,000 or so they sometimes cost to repair.
The cost to fix a car has gone up as the ease has decreased over the years, which has prompted a discussion over so-called Right to Repair laws, which would give owners more rights to fix the things they buy.
Right-to-repair laws are starting to get some traction, giving customers more rights to fix the products they buy. But just because you can fix something doesn't mean that it will be easy or affordable. Repairing your own car has become less and less common over the years, but at least local mechanics can come to the rescue . . . usually. When it comes to Tesla electric vehicles, though, some insurance companies are reportedly deciding that even low-mileage vehicles aren't worth the hassle.
![Challenge-plagued repair industry reaches ‘breaking point’: consultant](https://dxj7eshgz03ln.cloudfront.net/production/link/image/830874/twenty_by_nine_extra_large_672ebae6-6b3c-44fa-aa07-42ae0a7af2ad.jpg)
Challenge-plagued repair industry reaches ‘breaking point’: consultant
The auto repair industry has reached an inflection point as it struggles to remain profitable amid tech shortages and supply chain backlogs, a consultant says.
“Make no mistake: the industry has reached an economic breaking point,” Sean Carey, president of SCG Management Consultants, said during a Jan. 26 webinar. “For many years market forces have suppressed the true economics of this. It’s just a fact that these shops have absorbed large cost burdens.
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
The Reynolds and Reynolds Company announced the acquisition of American Guardian Warranty Services
The Reynolds and Reynolds Company announced the acquisition of American Guardian Warranty Services, a premier provider of vehicle service contracts, limited warranties, and other F&I products and services.
The acquisition will provide a clear path for dealers looking to streamline selling aftermarket products no matter where the customer is – online, in-store, or a combination of the two.
Waller Helms Advisors served as exclusive financial advisor to AGWS in connection with this transaction.
![Eberl Claims Service Announces Acquisition of Transcynd](https://dxj7eshgz03ln.cloudfront.net/production/link/image/830948/twenty_by_nine_extra_large_45a0aeb7-62b9-4c92-84c9-78cf77423376.jpeg)
Eberl Claims Service Announces Acquisition of Transcynd
Eberl Claims Service, a leading provider of claims management solutions, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Transcynd Claim Partners, with both businesses now operating together as a unified force in the industry.
Founded in 2006, legacy companies, Winkler Treger and Associates and Strategic Cat Solutions, later rebranded under the name Transcynd Claim Partners. Today, Transcynd provides a full range of claims adjusting, TPA, SIU & subrogation, and catastrophe support services to the insurance marketplace. With company headquarters and deployment center located in Clearwater Florida, the Transcynd team brings Florida market leadership, expertise, and capacity to the Eberl team. Also serving clients in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Gulf Coast states, coming together enables both organizations to better service clients in those targeted regions and beyond.
![SLK Software and V-Labs join With CNA to Deploy AI Technologies for Intelligent Automation of Insurance Business Processes](https://dxj7eshgz03ln.cloudfront.net/production/link/image/831266/twenty_by_nine_extra_large_9103ac83-f2ff-4b24-9705-ae6a8adc7625.jpg)
SLK Software and V-Labs join With CNA to Deploy AI Technologies for Intelligent Automation of Insurance Business Processes
SLK Software, a global technology services firm, and V-Labs, an AI company, aligned with CNA Insurance, a leading U.S.-based insurance provider, to deploy an enterprise-wide AI-led intelligent automation solution to accelerate and transform CNA’s intake automation for new business submissions, claims, and other critical business processes.
“CNA embarked on several initiatives to help take important steps towards AI-augmented underwriting, endorsement, and claim processing”
As insurance companies accelerate their adoption of next generation technologies around AI and Machine Learning, the challenge of rapid intake and processing of structured and unstructured data and documents has taken center stage.
![HeyAuto Enters into Multi-Year, Exclusive Distribution Deal with American Vehicle Data Privacy Trailblazer Privacy4Cars](https://dxj7eshgz03ln.cloudfront.net/production/link/image/830851/twenty_by_nine_extra_large_4ca0c6d8-7e74-44ba-a9d0-bde77d2c191f.jpg)
HeyAuto Enters into Multi-Year, Exclusive Distribution Deal with American Vehicle Data Privacy Trailblazer Privacy4Cars
HeyAuto announced today an exclusive, multi-year distribution agreement with Privacy4Cars, a privacy-tech company focused on identifying the challenges posed by vehicle data and creating solutions to better protect consumers.
Through this partnership, HeyAuto and Privacy4Cars have committed to providing ongoing software solutions dedicated to personal data privacy for vehicle owners.
HeyAuto is an automotive ecosystem made up of a suite of products and services to help dealers stay better connected to their customers and help car owners take control of their automotive ownership experience. It will leverage Privacy4Cars' proprietary data deletion solution, regarded in the automotive channels as the most simple, efficient, effective, and auditable solution to meet increasing regulatory requirements and protect consumers, to offer dealerships in its network new tools to clear consumer Personal Information often left behind in vehicles. Powered by Privacy4Cars' platform and patented technologies, HeyAuto will facilitate this service exclusively for all dealer rooftops across Canada.
Events
Payments Webinar - CCC Intelligent Solutions
TOMORROW! 1 PM ET
Don’t miss CCC Intelligent Solutions VP of Payments Kelli Svymbersky, MBA and Forrester's Principal Analyst Ellen Carney in The Check-less Future of Insurance Claims webinar, moderated by Stephen Applebaum on Feb 1, 2023. Register now!
A critical moment of truth for insurance claims is the orchestration and automation of payments within the claims ecosystem. These important steps and tasks provide resolution for policyholders and service providers that repair, restore, and rehab a loss. As the nature of payments transforms to meet growing customer demand for richer digital experiences - from click-and-collect to mobile payments - the legacy check-based or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)-based options for insurance claims disbursement models alone are no longer sufficient.
Join CCC Intelligent Solutions and Guest Speaker Ellen Carney of Forrester Research for their take on why and how claims payments are changing, and what it means for insurers, claimants, and the entire claims ecosystem.