News
February is Insurance Careers Month
The federal government reports 2.8 million people in the U.S. are employed by the insurance industry and February’s annual celebration of Insurance Careers Month is a reminder of the opportunities it offers, according to the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I).
“Insurance is the backbone of the global economy, providing security, recovery, and sustainability. Whether just starting out in the workforce or thinking about a career enhancement, there are a wealth of opportunities across a broad spectrum of pursuits. Insurance Careers Month is a great reminder for people to look at risk management and insurance — you’ll find what you’re looking for,” said Sean Kevelighan, CEO, Triple-I.
2023 insurance industry hiring trends
As those from the baby boomer generation begin to retire from the insurance industry, insurers is looking at what could be a significant employment gap. A host of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing worker expectations, the popularity of gig and freelance work and a turbulent economy will affect how insurers approach the recruitment of new and retention of existing talent in 2023 and beyond. In the slideshow above, we’ll look at seven major talent trends facing insurers in 2023 according to Jacobson.
P&C leverage ratios remain elevated due to capital declines: AM Best
A new report from AM Best has stated that a combination of factors which includes rising interest rates, increased unrealized losses, and declines in capital, has led to leverage ratios ticking up among US property & casualty (P&C) insurers.
The report, titled ‘U.S. P/C Insurers’ Leverage Ratios Remain Elevated Due to Declines in Capital’, highlights how the P&C industry’s aggregate leverage ratio increased from 19.5% to 23% in the third quarter of 2022, from year-end 2021.
According to the report, nearly every firm witnessed an increase in their debt to capital ratios in 2022 from year-end 2021, despite the majority reducing their long-term debt obligations.
42 publicly traded P&C companies were followed for the report. Most of the companies kept their appetites for long-term debt in check in 2022, and instead are focused on strengthening and making enterprise risk management (ERM), strong corporate governance, and stress testing capabilities integral to their operations.
“The rising interest rate environment is not only impacting the investing and operating environments for U.S. insurers, but it is also leading to a more cautious approach to capital-raising via debt issuance,” said Helen Andersen, financial analyst, AM Best.
VIU by HUB Expands Its Digital Brokerage Platform with Renters and Condo Insurance
VIU by HUB (VIU), a digital insurance brokerage platform, announced today the launch of renters and condo insurance. The expansion not only provides new areas of coverage to consumers but enables VIU to partner with businesses in the property management industry to offer their clients the opportunity to digitally purchase insurance through a licensed independent insurance broker.
Powered by HUB International, a leading global insurance brokerage and financial services firm, VIU is rapidly innovating the personal insurance space with its embedded broker platform and omnichannel approach featuring a digital-first experience, supported by human interaction and trusted advice.
"Embedded insurance isn't new but delivering it through a true broker that is digitally enabled is," said Bryan Davis, EVP and Head of VIU by HUB. "As an independent broker, we offer our partners more than just the ability to help protect their clients. We deliver added value through choice and unbiased advice – offerings that can help set a business apart in a growing rental market and contribute to increased customer satisfaction and business growth."
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
Top insurtech funding rounds, Jan. 2023
There were more than 20 funding events in the insurtech sector between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31, 2023, according to a review by Digital Insurance. What follows is a selection of these, focusing on those in the P&C and life insurance sectors that are part of the venture-capital financing model. (Other funding events, such as private-equity infusions, are included in the overall count.)
This includes one round of $25 million and two rounds over $15 million.
A portion of the data was sourced from Crunchbase. Other information, including quotes from investing VCs, comes from company announcements. These updates will continue monthly.
Alacrity Solutions Announces Strategic Investment from BlackRock Alternatives’ Long Term Private Capital
Alacrity Solutions Group, LLC (“Alacrity Solutions” or the “Company”), a recognized leader in providing insurance claims management services in North America, today announced that BlackRock Alternatives, through its Long Term Private Capital (“LTPC”) strategy, has acquired a majority interest in the Company. Alacrity’s prior majority investor, Kohlberg & Company (“Kohlberg”), and management team will retain a significant minority interest in the Company.
Alacrity Solutions is a market-leading, technology-enabled diversified provider of outsourced solutions to U.S. insurance carriers, providing essential services across the claims lifecycle, including field and desk adjusting, temporary housing, specialty and auto solutions, managed repair services and desktop review. The Company has a national presence in all 50 states and processes over 2.8 million claims annually on behalf of more than 300 carrier clients.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with BlackRock LTPC, and continuing our partnership with Kohlberg, for our next chapter of growth,” said Jim Pearl, CEO of Alacrity Solutions. “BlackRock LTPC has an exceptional reputation as a collaborative partner to the management teams of its portfolio companies, and I am looking forward to working with them to expand the capabilities we provide to our valued clients. BlackRock LTPC is the ideal partner to accelerate Alacrity’s position as the preeminent platform for outsourced insurance claims solutions in North America given our shared vision and alignment. Likewise, Kohlberg has been a terrific partner for Alacrity over the last four years, having helped us execute on a number of strategic initiatives, including the expansion of our services across North America and continued technology innovation, and I am pleased to have Kohlberg’s continuing support.”
Waller Helms acted as financial advisor to Alacrity Solutions in connection with this transaction
Arbol more than doubles parametric premiums written to $170m in 2022
Arbol, a technology-led underwriter of parametric risk transfer, climate and weather insurance or reinsurance business, has reported a more than doubling of its gross premiums underwritten for 2022, with the total rising to $170 million for the year.
The impressive growth represents a more than doubling of the $70 million in parametric GWP the firm transacted in all of 2021.
As we reported earlier this year, Arbol had already written over $100 million in gross written premium (GWP) in the first half of 2022.
The company has also reported that it ended 2022 cash-flow positive, for the second year in its history, while profitable underwriting was also delivered.
“The end-to-end ecosystem Arbol has built to address climate risk across balance sheets, supply chains, and operations has experienced tremendous growth and scale over the past few years,” explained Sid Jha, Founder and CEO of Arbol.
Trucking insurer Cover Whale in Nexar dash cam partnership
Commercial trucking insurer Cover Whale is teaming up with Nexar, a video telematics company, to provide the firm’s AI-powered dash cameras for its insured customers.
Nexar’s dual-facing cameras can detect behavioural risks behind the wheel including hard braking, sharp cornering, and rapid acceleration and deceleration. It can also use artificial intelligence (AI) to provide context to each event.
Cover Whale says the new technology will help to reduce the need for insurance claims and reduce fleet operators’ exposure to risk. The average long-haul truck driver in the US covers around 125,000 miles per year, and as a result 12% of fatal crashes involve at least one large truck or bus. Statistics also show that the trucking industry faces more ‘nuclear verdicts’ as a result of civil litigation than other industries – defined as a jury verdict worth at least US$10mn – meaning a single accident can bring down an entire fleet.
High Definition Vehicle Insurance Launches Second Generation of its Proprietary Telematics-Based Shift™ Product
High Definition Vehicle Insurance (HDVI), a technology-first commercial auto insurance provider, will launch the next generation of HDVI Shift™, the first usage-based, dynamically priced insurance product for commercial truck fleets in select states for policies effective Feb. 1 or later. The next evolution of Shift gives fleets more control over their insurance costs, including an opportunity to increase monthly premium savings.
"During the first 18 months of Shift, customers had 40% fewer predicted crashes than industry averages, affirming that incorporating telematics data into our insurance product successfully drove safety improvements and reduced risk," said HDVI Chief Insurance Product Officer Todd Witte. "After talking with fleet operators and assessing months of data, we've enhanced Shift to be more responsive to factors fleets can control, and deliver customers greater immediate savings and deeper discounts for safety improvements in 2023."
Hippo Expands its Fastest-Growing Channel with Launch of Hippo Builder Insurance Agency
New agency leverages Hippo’s proprietary tech, allowing small and medium-sized builders to partner with leading insurtech at no cost
Hippo (NYSE: HIPO), the home insurance group focused on proactive home protection, today announced the expansion of its fastest-growing channel with the launch of the Hippo Builder Insurance Agency (HBIA). The new agency leverages Hippo's proprietary technology to allow builders of any size to partner with HBIA and generate a predictable revenue stream.
Builder participation by sending leads to HBIA does not require significant allocation of resources or any investment, and eliminates the cost and risk often associated with insurance agency operations. HBIA pays for each lead regardless of whether the homeowner closes on the property or purchases a policy through HBIA.
“Lennar customers benefit from exceptional service and coverage tailored specifically to their new homes.”
Distribution tech personal lines insurance investment
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.
Appian Releases Connected Underwriting to Equip Insurers with Speed and Precision
Appian (Nasdaq: APPN) today announced the availability of Appian Connected Underwriting. Built on the Appian Platform, Connected Underwriting empowers insurers to accelerate the underwriting process and improve customer experience. The solution uses Appian's process automation, data fabric, and low-code architecture to rapidly unify data from disparate sources, optimize workflow, and reduce the time to quote new policies.
"Carefully leveraging data and technology supports underwriters in making better, more intuitive decisions. Appian Connected Underwriting provides insurers with a cohesive solution that enhances speed and precision. We're excited to be working with Appian to bring Connected Underwriting and its automation technology to the firm's insurance clients," said Michael Cook, Partner, PwC UK. "For those moving into digital distribution, establishing a careful balance between speed and accuracy is vital. The process of receiving an inquiry, assigning it to an underwriter, assessing the risk, and delivering a quote back to the potential customer relies on a wide array of data and technology."
People
Marsh McLennan Names Tomlinson CEO for U.S. and Canada
Marsh McLennan said it has named Pat Tomlinson CEO of U.S. and Canada.
He, along with Flavio Piccolomini, who was appointed International CEO, will report to Mercer President and CEO Martine Ferland and Marsh President and CEO Martin South as they lead “a new collaborative effort to better serve clients and deliver innovative solutions” across Marsh McLennan’s Marsh, Mercer, Guy Carpenter, and Oliver Wyman business.