News
Opening Connected Claims USA 2023 | Fireside Chat | Mike Fiato, EVP & Chief Claims Officer of Liberty Mutual Insurance
Opening Connected Claims USA 2023 we had a Fireside Chat with Mike Fiato, EVP & Chief Claims Officer of Liberty Mutual Insurance and Lisa Wardlaw, President of 360 Digital Immersion, discussing driving transformation in claims operations and empowering lasting change. A great way to kick us off! #CCUSA
Panel Report from Connected Claims USA 2023, Austin, TX
Bill Brower, MBA joined Lisa Wardlaw and other industry experts on the Digitize Claims Strategies with AI Application panel.
Other panelists included Aaron Wheaton, SVP Chief Claims Officer at Clearcover, and Greg Elsass, AVP Claims Auto Material Damage at Grange Insurance. #CCUSA
Networking Report from Connected Claims USA 2023, Austin, TX
The insurance industry is full of amazing people. 🙌
Catching up with friendly faces and creating solutions for client partners has been the highlight of Connected Claims in ATX.
CCUSA #insurance Snapsheet Inc Reuters Events Insurance DONAN itel Bryan Falchuk Lyle Donan Andrew Cohen Eberl Claims Service
Robin Roberson, Head of Platform Partnerships, Eberl Claims Service as posted on LinkedIn
[Ed. note: Recommended] Best's Review - Private Flood Insurance Supplement
Rising Tides: Best’s Review Looks at the Evolving World of Flood Insurance
Best’s Review has released a new supplemental issue that provides coverage of catastrophic flooding around the world and developments in the private flood sector. The supplement also includes a list of insurers writing U.S. private flood coverage.
Homeowners Market Faces Upheaval as Outlook Worsens
An estimated 39 million U.S. homes are underinsured compared to the risk they actually face from weather events, such as hurricanes, wildfires and floods, according to “The 9th National Risk Assessment: The Climate Insurance Bubble," a new report by First Street Foundation.
The report warned that homeowners rates are being “suppressed" by state regulation, which is stifling rate adequacy, forcing carriers to leave markets and pushing more consumers into state-backed programs.
Among those at risk from underinsurance, “12 million properties have significant flood risk outside of the public facing FEMA flood zones, 23.9 million properties are in areas with a high likelihood of destructive 3 second wind gusts, and 4.4 million properties are concentrated in zip codes where wildfire risk is so great that an average of at least 10 structures are expected to burn down every year," the report said.
“All of these properties are in addition to the 6.76 million properties that have such great risk that no insurance company will provide them coverage, driving them to the state run insurer of last resort."
Natural disasters, such as hurricanes and flooding, as well as inflationary pressures, have all sent claims spiraling, leading many insurers to increase premiums sharply and reduce capacity. Yet, as state regulations cap increases in insurance premiums, “the retreat of many insurance companies from areas of significant risk will continue to drive more property owners to these types of insurers of last resort," the report said.
For example, after several insurers left the Florida market or went insolvent, Florida's publicly backed insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., is now the state's largest.
“The over-reliance of property owners on the state-run insurers of last resort is a big flashing sign that standard practices in the insurance market cannot keep up with our current climate reality," said Matthew Eby, First Street's executive director.
As a result, many homeowners and renters across the country have been receiving letters from their insurance providers notifying them of a non-renewal, a rate increase, or that their insurer of choice is pulling out of the market.
Nationwide will not renew thousands of homeowners' policies in North Carolina
Nationwide has chosen not to renew 10,525 homeowners’ insurance policies in North Carolina, citing concerns primarily related to hurricane risks.
The move is expected to impact 4.4% of the insurer’s 237,652 policies in the state and 1.7% of its 621,705 policies nationwide, as noted in a report by local newspaper The Virginian Pilot.
The majority of the non-renewals are concentrated in the eastern part of the state, with over 1,000 of them affecting policyholders on the Outer Banks.
According to Jason Tyson, communications director for the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI), 5,781 policies were not renewed based on a “hurricane hazard assessment tool,” while 4,744 policies will be referred to the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association, commonly known as the Beach Plan.
InsurTech/M&A/Financeđź’°/Collaboration
CCC and Google Collaborate to Make It Easier for Consumers to Schedule Online Appointments with Collision Repairers
CCC Intelligent Solutions Inc. (CCC), a leading cloud platform powering the P&C insurance economy, announces today that it has teamed up with Google to streamline the online appointment booking process for repair shops that use CCC® Engage.
The collaboration introduces a user-friendly “Book Online” button added to Google Business Profiles, Search and Maps, helping participating repair shops stand out in search results and making it easier for consumers to schedule repair appointments.
The new “Book Online” button is now live on the Google Business Profiles of repair shops with subscriptions to CCC Engage, a CCC ONE® solution that drives digital traffic to repair shops. The button seamlessly directs consumers to schedule appointments through Carwise, CCC’s online platform that helps consumers find local collision repairers. Carwise integrates with CCC Engage to provide real-time access to repairers’ calendars.
“Today's customers expect convenience and simplicity when booking appointments online, and Google often plays a key role in facilitating that journey,“ said Mark Fincher, vice president, product management, automotive services at CCC Intelligent Solutions.
“Through our collaboration, we're helping to raise the profile of our CCC Engage shops among consumers searching for collision repair services. Our focus is on providing a practical solution that allows repair facilities to enhance their consumer experience, making appointment scheduling easier for both the consumer and the repair facility.”
Coinnect joins Plug and Play's portfolio companies
Cyber Insurtech Coinnect has announced its inclusion in the portfolio of Plug and Play, “the world’s largest startup accelerator.”
According to Coinnect, Plug and Play, known for its investments in more than 30 unicorns and notable companies such as PayPal, Google, Dropbox, and Trulioo, has invested in its equity.
“Plug and Play is a globally leading corporate innovation platform connecting the most promising and innovative startups with corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies,” the Insurtech explained.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Plug and Play also operates acceleration programs globally and has created an in-house venture capital structure to promote innovation across various sectors.
Coinnect added that this strategic move offers it not just an endorsement of its cutting-edge Cyber Insurtech solutions, but also strengthens its unique positioning in the Cyber Insurtech sector.
USAA Expands Relationship with Resideo
USAA (San Antonio, Texas) has added has added Resideo Technologies (Scottsdale, Ariz.) to its PERKS program to help its members protect against water damage and optimize home efficiency.
USAA members can purchase Resideo’s Honeywell Home smart thermostat and its First Alert WiFi Water Leak & Freeze Detector at a discounted price through the PERKS program and eligible Homeowner policy holders can enroll those devices for a connected home discount.
In the U.S., water-damage claims are among the most filed residential property insurance claims and represent an estimated $26 Billion in damages for single-family homeowners, according to the Insurance Information Institute (iii).
“USAA is committed to providing industry-leading connected home devices to help our members in their everyday lives,” comments Ryan Rist, AVP, Innovation, USAA. “We have worked closely with Resideo Technologies to help launch USAA’s Connected Home Program so our members can adopt new protective technologies, like the First Alert WiFi Water Leak & Freeze Detector, to help secure their homes against water damage.”
As alluded to by USAA’s Rist above, the company offered Resideo’s WiFi Water Leak and Freeze Detectors to its Homeowners policy holders in select markets through its Connected Home Platform, a technology-enabled loss prevention program. The Water Leak and Freeze Detector is installed near appliances and if a leak is detected, the user is alerted, according to a statement from Resideo. In light of the success of the initial program, USAA has extended the offerings to all USAA members, who can then control the comfort of their home and be informed of water leaks through the Resideo app.
ZestyAI to Integrate IBHS's Fast-Growing FORTIFIED Construction Standard Into Its Predictive Property and Climate Risk Platform
Today, ZestyAI, the leading provider of climate and property risk analytics solutions powered by artificial intelligence, announced it has integrated the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety's (IBHS) resilient construction standard, FORTIFIED, into Z-PROPERTY™, its AI-powered predictive property and climate risk platform. Z-PROPERTY uses computer vision and machine learning to extract insights from aerial and satellite imagery, among other unique data sources, for over 150 million residential and commercial properties.
ZestyAI, the leading provider of climate and property risk analytics solutions powered by artificial intelligence, announced it has integrated the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety’s (IBHS) resilient construction standard, FORTIFIED, into its AI-powered predictive property and climate risk platform.
The FORTIFIED Home™ standard goes beyond typical building codes to deliver superior performance during severe weather, such as high winds, hailstorms, severe thunderstorms, hurricanes, and even tornadoes. An independent study of FORTIFIED homes following four separate hurricanes showed homeowners were 35 percent less likely to file an insurance claim and suffered 22 percent less damage than owners of traditionally built homes.
Based on more than 20 years of scientific research and real-world testing by IBHS, FORTIFIED is a nationally recognized resilient building method. Interest in FORTIFIED homes has grown rapidly as severe weather continues to ravage communities across the U.S. and, as a result, the number of designated homes has more than doubled in the last three years.
"FORTIFIED has already helped more than 50,000 families in 26 states better protect their homes from severe weather," said IBHS CEO Roy Wright. "It takes only one storm to cause devastating loss and significantly change the trajectory of people's lives. Strengthening homes and communities with the FORTIFIED program can help reduce the devastating losses caused by Mother Nature."
Commentary/Opinion
From Analysis Paralysis to AI Triumph: A Guide to Picking the Right Vendor
Frank Huang, FCAS, MAAA is Managing Director and P&C Actuarial Practice Leader at Davies, formerly Merlinos & Associates. Frank has over 20 years of actuarial experience supporting insurers, self-insureds, private equity, agencies, and governmental entities in various risk and insurance issues. Frank resides in Atlanta, GA, and can be reached at frank.huang@us.davies-group.com.
In my early 20s, I’d often find myself standing for minutes in my nearby Publix trying to figure out which item to buy.
Did I want the $2 name brand product, or the $1.50 Publix generic product? Did I want the less tasty Gala apples at $1/lb or the tastier Honeycrisp apples at $2/lb? I would stand paralyzed by the decision.
Thankfully, at some point, stomach pain kicks in and forces you to make a decision.
But in real life, there are many people who are staring blankly, maybe even petrified and anxious, in the aisle of predictive models trying to figure out how to decide between different companies. If you can withhold judgment at the horrible intro you just read, I’ll do my best to present to you things you should consider to help move you from trepidation to triumph.
First, two caveats.
The first is that this is not comprehensive. Writing a thorough treatise on this would take too long and the editor already thinks I have wasted 150 words of my 900 word limit. Second caveat is that this article is focused on analytics firms providing underwriting, pricing, loss control, or claims-level solutions that are commonly marketed as AI.
So, how does one select an AI vendor in claims, loss control, underwriting, or pricing?
Frank Huang, FCAS, MAAA is Managing Director and P&C Actuarial Practice Leader at Davies,
Insurers' Flawed Understanding of ROI
I’m fortunate to be constantly engaging with established insurance carriers that are seeking to incorporate technology into their product offerings. Rightly, most carriers seek to understand the potential return on investment (ROI), or the cost-benefit, of new technologies such as our platform, prior to signing contracts and implementing. This is where conversations can get really exciting. However, as a former investment banker and CFO, I can confidently say that the industry’s traditional assessments of “returns” are not suited to the insurance company of the future.
We need to redefine ROI for insurance companies.
Historically, the entire ROI discussion has revolved around reduction of loss – i.e., frequency or severity. This makes sense because insurance companies are broadly run by actuaries, and this is their foundation. I am not here to poke holes in actuarial analytics, nor am I suggesting these concepts get pushed aside. What I am saying, however, is that this is far too narrow -- and there is much more to it.
When GE considered the ROI of a new jet engine factory, they didn’t try to justify the ROI of the loading dock out back. They understood that a loading dock (with a certain throughput) is needed to accept delivery of all the components of the engines that are to be built inside and sold to airlines for a profit. Similarly, the ROI for front-end data gathering or customer engagement tools that enable an improved customer relationship and increased interactions with insureds are necessary to deliver preventative devices, or provide advice, or drive awareness, etc. So, carriers must ask whether this is a stand-alone capability to be evaluated separately or an enabler of the larger prevention program that is better analyzed holistically.
If I were CFO of an insurance carrier today, I would be looking at the following:
First off: I would fully load my costs. I need to completely understand my denominator for my ROI (“I” = Investment). There is the obvious contracted cost of the solution, device or service. Then there might be technology implementation and integration costs. (Our upfront integration is de minimis, so that one is easy for us.) Next, the new service or solution needs to be deployed -- properly and effectively. This requires marketing and communication with insureds and prospects.
Geoff Martin is president & co-founder at vipHomeLink
People
Howden Tiger names Tim Ronda as new CEO
Global broker Howden’s reinsurance arm, Howden Tiger, has announced that its current President, Tim Ronda, will take over as the firm’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), reporting to David Howden, CEO of Howden.
Effective January 1st, 2024, Ronda will assume the role from current CEO Rob Bredahl, who will become Executive Chair of Howden Tiger Capital Markets, where he will have more time to dedicate to both clients and the broker’s capital markets business.
Ronda will work closely with Bredahl and Elliot Richardson, who will both be co-Vice Chair, and also Rod Fox, who remains Executive Chairman of Howden Tiger.
Ronda joined TigerRisk Partners in October 2021 from global re/insurance broker Aon, where he latterly served as Global Geographic Leader of Reinsurance Solutions. Previously, he served as President of Reinsurance Solutions for the U.S and was a member of Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions global executive committee.
Earlier in his career, Ronda was Senior Vice President at Guy Carpenter, the reinsurance broking arm of Marsh McLennan.