News
MLK Holiday
[Ed. note: In observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 'Connected' is providing a quick read version today and will resume normal publication tomorrow, January 16,2024. Join us in celebration of Dr. King's life, legacy and advocacy for peaceful change.
King Holiday 2024
The annual King Holiday Observance is a time that we celebrate, commemorate and honor the life, legacy and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Global citizens will have unique opportunities to learn and unite in celebration of Dr. King’s groundbreaking work and Mrs. Coretta Scott King’s powerful continuation and formal institutionalization of that work through a variety of engaging events hosted by The King Center leading up to The King Holiday on January 15th, 2024.
As we witness nations around the world continue to struggle under the weight of violence, hate and poverty, today’s social, political and economic landscape reveals the urgent necessity of Dr. King’s philosophy and methodology of Nonviolence (Nonviolence365™). The King Center leads the charge to provide education and training in Nonviolence365; while serving as the vital living memorial of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Our strategic theme for 2024 is ‘Shifting the Cultural Climate through the Study and Practice of Kingian Nonviolence’. This theme defines the 2024 King Holiday Observance events and programming while serving as a compass for all the work we will do this upcoming calendar year and beyond. The pioneering work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. demonstrated that Kingian Nonviolence (Nonviolence365™) is the sustainable solution to injustice and violence in our world, ultimately leading to the creation of the Beloved Community, where injustice ceases and love prevails.
The King Center welcomes and invites you to join this movement for a new future as we strive to cultivate a Beloved Community Mindset, and ultimately transform unjust systems.
Commentary/Opinion
CES 2024: Big Themes for Insurance and How They’ve Changed
Among the themes of CES 2024 were the blurring of virtual and real worlds, the struggle between AI for good or evil, and the continued evolution of mobility.
I’ve been attending CES for many years, always looking at the advancements in technology through an insurance lens. As might be expected, the insurance lens is very broad, given that P&C insurers cover every industry. New technologies are reshaping segments like manufacturing, retail, construction, and many more—understanding these changes will help to ensure the industry is properly addressing evolving risks and customer needs.
At each CES, I try to distill the event into big themes. This year, I’m looking back at the themes I identified in 2019 to see what has changed and evolved in the last five years. Granted, it has been a momentous five years for the insurance industry and the world at large. COVID-19, wars, inflation, and supply chain issues are driving fundamental changes in traditional patterns of work, travel, and commerce.
Here, I share my themes from CES 2019 and how they have morphed into new themes for 2024.
Mark Breading is a Senior Partner at Resource Pro
Research
Connected Car Disconnect: 65% of U.S. Drivers Don't Understand 'Connected Cars' but Many Will Trade Data for Personalization
A Salesforce survey of over 2,000 car owners and lessors in the United States found that while drivers are generally willing to trade personal data for connected car benefits — like advanced personalization and cheaper insurance — few drivers actually understand what a ‘connected car’ is and what data is actually being collected. This indicates an opportunity for automakers to better define and communicate both their branded connected car experiences and their data policies for consumers.
Why it matters: The automotive industry is undergoing a massive revolution as it transitions to an era that will be defined by electric vehicles and connected cars, that can seamlessly communicate with one another, their manufacturers, and their surrounding infrastructure to enhance safety, efficiency, and the overall driving experience. Connected cars are forecasted to make up 95% of all vehicles on the road by 2030, with each one generating an estimated 25 gigabytes of data per hour — as much data as it would take someone to stream 578 hours of music.
- Low familiarity and use of connected car benefits conflicts with consumers’ steady appetite for premium driving experiences
- Drivers willing to trade data for personalization, but seek opt-in autonomy
- Drivers give green light to vehicle data, pump the breaks on more invasive data collection
The Salesforce perspective: “As cars become more connected, evolving into computers on wheels, they’re not just becoming safer and more personalized, but more sustainable and enjoyable to drive. However, it’s crucial for automakers to effectively communicate the value of these new, smart vehicles and their advanced, connected features to bring customers into the future of transportation,” said Achyut Jajoo, SVP & GM of Manufacturing and Automotive, Salesforce.
InsurTech/M&A/Finance/Collaboration
Korr Secures $3.2 Million in Seed Funding to Modernize Insurance with Cloud-Native Technology
Korr, an insurtech startup based in New York City, announces the closing of a $3.2 million seed funding round. The round was led by Motive Ventures along with Tokio Marine Future Fund, marking a significant step in Korr's journey to modernize insurance technology. Early investors include Plug and Play Ventures. Founded in 2021, Korr's cloud-native core operating system migrates on-premise legacy systems to the cloud, improving customer experience and slashing operational expenditure. Korr's platform is specifically crafted to reduce switching costs and enable carriers to effortlessly convert their historical data to the cloud. The company is designed to address the challenges faced by insurance carriers, offering a flexible and efficient solution to modernize their existing infrastructure. Currently Korr is undertaking a large transformation initiative including system replacement using Korr's proprietary technology for a TPA in the US insurance market
Gregory Ritchie, CEO and Founder of Korr, stated, "We started Korr two years ago with the thesis that cloud-native architecture and innovation will drive positive change in insurance, particularly in the post-COVID workplace and marketplace. We have invented a forward-thinking product that drives competitive advantage, cutting legacy costs and constraints, and converting decades of historical data out-of-the-box. We continue to execute on our vision, building Korr on AWS along with our early corporate design partners." .
2024 PREDICTIONS
When Higher Pricing <> Underwriting Profit or Double-Digit Returns
In spite of premium increases that primary insurance carriers will record for 2023, the U.S. property/casualty industry as a whole won’t report an underwriting profit or a double-digit return for the year, Fitch Ratings forecasts.
James Auden, managing director for North American insurance at Fitch Ratings, revealed the rating agency’s projections of a 103 combined ratio and a 15 percent drop in net earnings for the year during a webinar late last week.
The webinar centered on the rationale for Fitch’s neutral sector outlook for the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry and improving outlook for the global reinsurance sector.
Unlike ratings outlooks, sector outlooks “consider how underlying business fundamentals will impact financial performance in the coming year relative to results in 2023,” Auden said. “Our outlooks also consider that the industry broadly maintains capital strength to support obligations and withstand significant adverse loss events.”
According to Auden, “Despite continued strong premium growth, industry earned premiums are up over 9 percent through nine months 2023, statutory underwriting results and profits will deteriorate in 2023…with deterioration largely tied to a second year of weak personal lines results.”
What will happen in the insurance market in 2024?
Experts offer their predictionsAs we arrive in 2024, the insurance landscape looks set to evolve again. From inflationary concerns, to a talent pipeline crisis, to the rising importance of cyber, insurers can expect to have a lot on their plates in the coming months.
A recent report from Deloitte shed light on a few concerns – including the rise of commercial property premiums by 20.4%, climbing expenses impacting personal lines insurers and even a hit on motor repair costs in the auto carrier space.
But is it all doom and gloom? Or are there certain changes insurers can look forward to in the new year? In that vein, Insurance Business asked a collection of the sector’s biggest names and leaders to shed light on their predictions for the market in 2024 and beyond.
Early 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Forecast Predicts Highly Active Season
An early forecast of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season by Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) suggests it will be an intensely active season with “activity about 30 percent above the 1991-2020 30-year norm and around 50 percent above the long-term 1950-2023 norm.”
The authors of the Extended Range Forecast, Dr. Adam Lea and Nick Wood of EutoTempest Ltd, London, UK, indicate the full outlook is still uncertain.
The forecast spans from the start of the Atlantic hurricane season on June 1 and runs through to the end of November 2024.
Warmer sea surface temperatures are expected to enhance hurricane activity, the authors stated.
Because of uncertainty centering on the Caribbean trade winds, the forecast is susceptible to change.
The statistical seasonal hurricane forecast model used by TSR divides the North Atlantic into three regions and uses separate forecast models for each “before summing the regional hurricane forecasts to obtain an overall forecast.”