News
The Hartford Announces Strong First Quarter 2024 Financial Performance
The Hartford (NYSE: HIG) today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.
"The Hartford’s first quarter 2024 financial results were excellent with a trailing 12-month core earnings ROE of 16.6 percent,” said The Hartford’s Chairman and CEO Christopher Swift. “Commercial Lines continues to generate strong top-line growth at highly profitable margins. Personal Lines results demonstrate progress towards restoring target profitability in auto and Group Benefits margins remained solid.”
The Hartford's Chief Financial Officer Beth Costello said, “Commercial Lines had an exceptional quarter with an underlying combined ratio of 88.4. Pricing, excluding workers’ compensation, accelerated to 9 percent in the quarter and remains above loss cost trends. Personal Lines achieved written price increases in auto of nearly 26 percent. Group Benefits continues to deliver solid results with a core earnings margin of 6.1 percent. We are actively managing our capital and returned $491 million through repurchases and dividends."
Swift continued, “We are off to a strong start in 2024. First quarter results reflect the consistency of our performance and stability of our margins, which give me great confidence in our ability to grow our franchise and deliver enhanced value for shareholders with an industry-leading ROE."
Research
The Future of Small Business Insurance | Deloitte
What do customers want?
Small business insurance has been one of the most talked about areas of insurance over the past five years.
While talk has been high, action has been low from most incumbent insurers. Small businesses are changing their business models (e.g., ghost kitchens, digitally enabled operations, etc.) to align with evolving consumer behaviors and heightened risk awareness caused by the pandemic.
This report from Deloitte Global was developed from a global survey which found that the need has never been greater for insurers to invest and differentiate in the market for small-to-medium enterprise (SME) insurance.
To help answer how insurers can explore the small business insurance market, Deloitte surveyed 5,300 SMEs from 14 countries to understand their views about insurance.
The survey revealed six key findings:
Verisk ClaimSearch Trends Report for year-end 2023!
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Our latest edition reveals dynamic shifts in insurance claims for 2023:
🚗 Personal auto claims rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
🏡 Homeowners claims surged past 2020's highs.
🌀 Wind damage claims rose despite a milder hurricane season.
Explore the comprehensive insights in the full ClaimSearch Trends Report for year-end 2023!
Auto insurance shoppers – what's their motivation?
New report points to key considerations for motorists
A new report by J.D. Power Insurance Intelligence, produced in collaboration with TransUnion, has revealed consumers’ reasons for shopping around for auto insurance.
In its latest loyalty indicator and shopping trends report, J.D. Power noted: “As the current hard market cycle began, the leading reason for shopping auto insurance cited by consumers was they were ‘just browsing rates’. This indicates a ‘passive’ shopping experience and is consistent with results prior to the onset of the hard market.
“Over the next eight quarters, the share of consumers citing this as their primary reason for shopping dropped from 24.8% to 17.1%. At the same time, the percentage of shoppers saying ‘my rate was too high’ increased from 16.9% to 21.3% and those saying ‘my rate recently increased (not claim-related)’ increased from 7.9% to 14.6%, almost doubling.
Insurance Business America
Commentary/Opinion
Insurance industry must prepare for demise of non-competes, despite legal challenges to FTC rule
It didn’t take long for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to try to block a sweeping regulation that prohibits the use of employment clauses that prevent workers from leaving and taking jobs with competing firms.
The large business trade association filed a lawsuit on Wednesday – the day after the Federal Trade Commission approved a final rule that would eliminate the use of non-compete agreements for almost every U.S. employee.
But insurers and insurance brokerages should not be lulled to sleep by the Chamber’s and other legal challenges that are certain to emerge, said Matt Prewitt , a partner at ArentFox Schiff. They need to start preparing for the profound changes in business practices that the rule will usher in.
“They may take their eye off the ball and think ‘problem solved’” by the legal action to scuttle the regulation, Prewitt said. “That’s probably the worst thing they can do in this climate.”
Prewitt points to the split FTC vote, 3-2, on the 570-page final rule. The three Democratic commissioners were in favor, saying it’s needed to protect workers and promote competition. The Republican commissioners asserted the FTC exceeded its authority in issuing the rule.
But there was no praise for non-competes at the FTC open meeting on Tuesday.
Insurance Business America
An Insurance Score is to Personal Auto as (BLANK) is to Homeowners’ | Insurance Innovation Reporter
If credit scores do play a statistically/actuarially valid role in determining the risk of a given driver, is there some other behavioral indicator that would play a similarly valid role for assessing the risk of insuring a specific homeowner’s home?
For many years, personal auto insurers have been using credit-based insurance scores as inputs to pricing algorithms. The insurers state that the resulting premiums are more accurate, and are thus more fair, than premiums calculated without insurance scores. In 2007 the FTC agreed.
Nonetheless, there is something very puzzling about the use of insurance scores in auto pricing algorithms, namely the lack of any obvious or intuitive relationship between
- On the one hand, having a good credit-based insurance score
- And on the other hand, and having fewer claims
Why should this relationship exist?
Donald Light is a Director in Celent’s North America Property/Casualty Insurance Practice
Favourable P&C reinsurance environment to persist at mid-year renewals: Munich Re CEO
Joachim Wenning, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Munich Re, is confident that the favourable market environment for property and casualty (P&C) reinsurers will continue throughout 2024, after a positive January 1st reinsurance renewal period.
Addressing shareholders at Munich Re’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), CEO and Chair of the Board, Wenning, described the firm’s 2023 performance as “the latest pinnacle in a winning streak of good years.”
He noted that since the reinsurance giant announced its Ambition 2025 five-year strategic plan, it has consistently surpassed its annual profit guidance.
In 2023, the firm generated a net result of €4.6 billion, which is above its revised €4.5 billion profit target announced in October, driven in part by a reinsurance result of €3.9 billion.
Munich Re is scheduled to release its full Q1 2024 results on May 8th, but earlier this week released some preliminary figures, including a net profit of €2.1 billion and a P&C reinsurance combined ratio of 75%.
Events
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The insurance industry, no stranger to gauging risk, is facing its most profound disruptions in decades. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things, blockchain, data analytics and other emerging technologies are rising to prominence. Are you ready to transform your business?
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AI in Insurance
P&C underwriters sceptical of AI despite trailblazer benefits: Capgemini
Findings from the recent report by the Capgemini Research Institute highlight that although 62% of insurance executives recognize the positive impact of AI/ML on underwriting quality and fraud reduction, many P&C underwriters remain sceptical about automated recommendations from predictive analytics tools.
The report underscores the increasing demands from policyholders for affordability, simplicity, and transparency as inflation rises.
However, underwriting practices have encountered challenges, with combined ratios surpassing 100% due to factors such as natural disasters, emerging risks like cyber threats and generative AI, and regulatory complexities.
In response, Adam Denninger, Global Insurance Industry Leader at Capgemini, emphasises the need for insurers to adapt to this volatile environment by rethinking traditional underwriting approaches.
Denninger states, “It requires shifting away from legacy models by modernising core systems and deploying advanced technologies that drive better outcomes and transparency. Embracing AI-driven insights and automation is crucial for the industry to drive a competitive path towards underwriting profitability that adapts to evolving risk dynamics and policyholder behaviours.”
InsurTech/M&A/Finance/Collaboration
OneShield Announces Partnership with One Inc to Enhance Digital Payment Solution Offering
OneShield, a leader in insurance technology solutions, is pleased to announce its partnership with One Inc, a leading provider of digital payment solutions for the insurance industry.
One Inc's payment products integrations will now be accessible through OneShield's extensive customer-facing marketplace of products. This will empower insurance carriers to harness more solutions, enhance capabilities, and provide added value to their policyholders.
As the insurance landscape continues to evolve, carriers are increasingly seeking solutions that streamline processes, create efficiencies, and improve the overall customer experience. Through this partnership, OneShield and One Inc will leverage their expertise to address these challenges and empower insurers to thrive in today's digital age.
OneShield and One Inc's partners
"We are excited to formalize this partnership with One Inc," said Cameron Parker, CEO of OneShield. "With One Inc's industry-leading payment solutions now available in the OneShield marketplace, we can provide insurers with a more comprehensive suite of tools to optimize operations, reduce costs, and deliver superior service to their policyholders."
Innovation
Smart Eyes on the Road: Advancing Anomaly Detection in Traffic Surveillance | Tech Times
Every day, millions of vehicles navigate a complex network of roads. Traffic congestions, accidents, and stalled vehicles can quickly disrupt this flow, causing delays, frustrations, and even danger.
Fortunately, surveillance cameras watch our roadways, providing valuable data for traffic management and public safety. But what if these systems could do more? What if they could identify unusual events and potential dangers lurking within the ordinary traffic flow?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash statistics, over 19,000 people are estimated to have died in motor vehicle traffic crashes across the United States in just the first half of 2023. This data stresses the urgent need for improved road safety measures.
Traditional surveillance systems, while helpful, can only capture events after they unfold. Shining Yu, a software engineer with a background in computer vision, recognizes the limitations of traditional surveillance and is leading the development of a better, smarter system. At Panasonic R&D Center Singapore, Yu and his team developed an AI-driven solution by integrating anomaly detection in traffic surveillance videos. The AI algorithms can analyze traffic patterns and quickly identify unusual road events. Better identification allows authorities to be rapidly notified for quicker response. A monitoring that not only sees but also understands significantly transforming the roads to make every journey safer.
The Call for a Better Road Monitoring
Traditional surveillance systems were initially designed as a deterrent to criminal activity and a tool for post-event analysis. Video footage captured by these systems can be reviewed to investigate accidents, identify perpetrators of crime, and provide evidence for legal proceedings. While this purpose remains valuable, the limitations of these surveillance systems become apparent when considering a proactive response. These systems function primarily as recording devices, passively capturing footage without the inherent capability to analyze it in real-time and only providing information about incidents after they have already occurred. For instance, a monitoring device capturing footage of a car swerving erratically may have lost time responding to the situation when a human reviews the footage and identifies the danger.
Webinars/Podcasts/Interviews
Interview: Bill Brower, SVP Global Industry Relations & North America Claims Sales at Solera - CollisionWeek
Brower details how artificial intelligence use in collision repair and claims is evolving along with its growing role supporting sustainability goals.
For several years, collision repair facility operators and auto claims staff have been increasing using artificial intelligence (AI) enabled estimating tools to improve productivity and the claim process.
In our video interview embedded below, Bill Brower, SVP Global Industry Relations & North America Claims Sales at Solera, details how AI usage is evolving in the industry and how it can benefit shops looking to achieve sustainability goals.
“AI is really a game changer out there across the insurance industry, including collision shops,” said Brower. “Now, I’ll be the first to say all shops haven’t adopted AI yet, but those that are adopting it are seeing phenomenal results.”
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