News
Southeast U.S. College to Offer Collision Engineering Program
[Editor's note: Kudos to Enterprise Mobility for leading the way in addressing widespread collision repair technician shortages, upgrading training and education with the overall profile of the profession - "Collision Engineering"]
Sandhills Community College is the first college in the Southeast to offer this program
Enterprise Mobility, through the Enterprise Mobility Foundation, has announced that Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, North Carolina, will offer the innovative Collision Engineering program as part of its existing collision repair and refinishing technology program, according to a news release.
Sandhills is the first college in the Southeast to offer this program, which is also available at several other colleges across the country. “We always strive for the best for our students, and the opportunities the Collision Engineering program offers are unmatched,” said Brian Garner, chair and instructor of the Sandhills transportation department. “The program’s unique model offers eight weeks in class, followed by eight weeks at a paid apprenticeship with a local employer. This approach can significantly impact students’ lives by providing a strong start to a rewarding career in the automotive collision industry.”
John Helterbrand, national program director of Collision Engineering, expressed his anticipation for expanding the program’s reach in North Carolina. The goal is to streamline industry advancements within local communities across the U.S. The approach addresses the talent shortage regionally, starting with the colleges they serve, aiming to improve training methods by fostering a collaborative partnership between the industry and educational institutions.
The Collision Engineering program, founded by the Enterprise Mobility Foundation and Ranken Technical College in St. Louis, partners with schools across the country. It aims to help fill the more than 110,000 collision technician job openings expected through 2027. The program is designed in collaboration with the automotive industry and educational institutions to facilitate lifelong learning for future leaders of collision repair. article
Sompo Intl. reports stronger P&C combined ratio in FY'23 results -
Bermuda-based specialty re/insurer Sompo International Holdings has reported that the financial year 2023 combined ratio for commercial property & casualty (P&C) improved to 91.8% from 92.5%, driven by improved accident year loss ratios and lower catastrophe losses.
The stronger combined ratio is reflected in a rise in underwriting income from $667.3 million in 2022 to $750.2 million in 2023, as growth in Reinsurance and North America more than offset declines in both Global Markets and AgriSompo.
In North America, the firm highlights improved accident year margins and lower catastrophe losses, while the Reinsurance business also benefited from lower nat cat losses.
In fact, across the company, natural disaster losses fell from $553 million in 2022 to $324 million in 2023, driven by U.S. tornados, Cyclone Gabrielle, Hawaii wildfires, European hailstorms, the Turkey earthquake, Hurricane Idalia, and other events.
In terms of top line growth, Sompo International Commercial P&C generated gross written premiums of more than $14.3 billion, which is down slightly on 2022’s $14.5 billion, as growth in Reinsurance, North America, and Global Markets was offset by a decline in AgriSompo.
Lawsuit alleges mother’s death caused by improper repairs on totaled vehicle
A lawsuit has been filed against a rental company, auto auction company, used car retailer, manufacturer, and body shop in the death of a Florida woman.
The complaint, filed in Broward County Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court May 16, alleges Destiny Byassee was killed in a June 12, 2023 collision when a counterfeit front driver-side air bag “detonated like a grenade and shot metal and plastic shrapnel throughout the vehicle cabin.”
“Ms. Byassee was a mother of two young children and had her entire life ahead of her. What should have been a minor collision turned deadly because of the alleged negligence of multiple companies,” John Morgan, an attorney with the firm representing Byassee’s estate, told NBC2 in Florida.
“She believed she was buying a safe and reliable vehicle, but our lawsuit alleges that several automotive companies worked to skirt the system by repairing what should’ve been a totaled vehicle, all just to make money. Because of that, Ms. Byassee lost her life, and her children will grow up without their mother.”
Chinese company Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology Co. allegedly designs, manufactures, sells, distributes, and ships counterfeit air bags to the U.S. One of the air bags was put in Byassee’s 2020 Chevrolet Malibu by Jumbo Automotive and Haim Levy, the owner of the shop, according to the suit.
“In 2022, the vehicle was involved in a collision that caused the front driver-side air bag and front driver-side seatbelt pretensioner to deploy,” the suit states. “The damage to the subject Chevy Malibu from the crash was so significant that the vehicle should have been classified as a total loss, issued a salvage title, and removed from service.
“After being involved in a crash that caused the subject Chevy Malibu’s front driver-side air bag and seatbelt pretensioner to deploy, the front driver-side air bag module and the front driver-side seatbelt pretensioner must be removed and replaced with new components that comply with federal standards and the manufacturer’s designed specifications for the vehicle.”
Instead, the Malibu was sold to Drivetime through Manheim Auto Auction, Jumbo Automotive was hired to repair the vehicle before it was resold to Byassee, according to the complaint.
“In their effort to repair and replace the subject Chevy Malibu’s deployed front driver-side air bag, Jumbo and Levy purchased counterfeit and non-compliant air bag components that were designed, manufactured, and sold by Jilin and proceeded to install these components into the subject Chevy Malibu,” the suit states.
NHTSA investigates Tesla recall remedy, reports 13 fatal crashes since firmware update
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into the remedy Tesla used to fix concerns with its “Autopilot” or “Autosteer” that resulted in more than 2 million vehicles being recalled late last year.
Soon after the recall, Tesla said it released a firmware update that incorporates additional controls and alerts to drivers reminding them to continuously supervise the vehicle when Autosteer is engaged.
The December recall stemmed from an NHTSA investigation that started in 2021 into the Autosteer feature which Tesla says can provide steering, braking, and acceleration support to the driver on controlled-access highways. The feature is not fully autonomous and drivers must keep their hands on the wheel, according to Tesla.
On April 25, NHTSA announced the opening of an investigation into the recall remedy after identifying 13 fatal crashes, in which “foreseeable driver misuse of the system played an apparent role.”
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) determined the crashes happened after the deployment of the remedy, NHTSA documents say. The documents say an investigation was reopened because of the crashes along with results from a preliminary NHTSA test of the vehicles.
“Also, Tesla has stated that a portion of the remedy both requires the owner to opt in and allows a driver to readily reverse it,” the documents say.
NHTSA reported that an analysis found the vehicles were involved in 956 crashes while Autopilot was in use between January 2018 and August 2023. Of the 956 crashes, 29 were fatal.
The document says during the analysis, ODI observed “a trend of avoidable crashes involving hazards that would have been visible to an attentive driver.”
In one example, NHTSA says a 2022 Model Y was traveling at highway speed when it struck a minor pedestrian exiting a school bus in North Carolina.
“The pedestrian was evacuated by air to a hospital for treatment of serious injuries,” the document says. “Based on publicly available information, both the bus and the pedestrian would have been visible to an attentive driver and allowed the driver to avoid or minimize the severity of this crash.”
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
Cover Whale Announces $27.5 Million Investment by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital
Cover Whale Insurance Solutions, Inc., a leading insurtech specializing in connected insurance for commercial auto, today announced funding of $27.5 million in debt and equity from investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital. The funding round, which also had existing debt investors convert into the Series A preferred, will support Cover Whale's continued growth and accelerate its progress toward transforming trucking insurance and improving safety on America's roads.
The funding will provide for a strong balance sheet supporting Cover Whale's profitable, growing business. Known for its ability to provide agents and their trucking clients with lightning-fast policy quotes and bound coverage, Cover Whale is actively investing in its technology and operating platform to further improve speed to quote and improve service quality.
"Cover Whale was built from the ground up to transform commercial auto insurance with technology at our core," said Dan Abrahamsen, CEO of Cover Whale. "We believe this investment from Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital will support our continuing mission to deliver the industry's leading trucking insurance experience, building on the positive impact we've already made for our agents, drivers, and the general motoring public."
Fraud
20 States Join NICB to Combat Contractor Fraud
Twenty states across the nation are joining together with the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the insurance industry's association dedicated to preventing and prosecuting insurance crime, to fight contractor fraud that often occurs after a natural disaster. NICB works to educate homeowners and business owners about how to avoid becoming a victim of deceptive contractors as part of its annual Contractor Fraud Awareness Week (CFAW), which runs from May 20 to May 24, 2024.
"Contractor fraud, especially after a natural catastrophe, not only affects individual homeowners, but also impacts insurance premiums and costs Americans billions of dollars every year," said David J. Glawe, President and CEO of NICB. "This type of fraud not only undermines trust within communities but also inflicts significant financial and emotional harm on families across the nation."
Last year was a historic year for billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in the U.S. with 28 separate events costing at least $1 billion and totaling more than $93 billion in catastrophe losses. Upwards of 10 percent or $9.3 billion is lost to post-disaster fraud. 20 states
Commentary/Opinion
Lessons From Florida's Hurricane 'Mean Season' | Insurance Thought Leadership
Florida is one of America’s most disaster-prone states, especially vulnerable to hurricanes due to its location between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, so it should come as no surprise that Florida ranks fifth in major disasters since 1953. 160 events have hit the Sunshine State in this 71-year period.
With the notable exception of 1992’s Category 5 Hurricane Andrew, the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged or destroyed, the state was spared major hurricane-driven losses across several decades in the 20th century. This was even as it became the country’s third-most-populated state and exposure increased year-on-year as population centers expanded.
However, in 2004, what is remembered today as the “mean season,” four hurricanes – Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne – struck the state in a single year, one after the other.
This was the first such season in the U.S. since 1886. In just six weeks, those four hurricanes caused 125 deaths, damaged hundreds of thousands of properties, left millions without power for weeks and resulted in around $40 billion in property damages in Florida alone.
While the sheer destruction of Hurricane Katrina might exert a stronger pull on our collective imaginations, given that it’s now 20 years since those terrible storms in Florida, it’s worth asking what the industry has learned since then. full article
Dan Grimwood-Bird is head of sales and marketing at McKenzie Intelligence Services
AI in Insurance
One80 Intermediaries Launches Artificial Intelligence Warranty Coverage
In partnership with Armilla AI, the first of its kind warranty product protects enterprises and third-party AI vendors against losses related to unreliable AI models.
One80 Intermediaries (One80), a specialty insurance broker headquartered in Boston, today announced the launch of artificial intelligence (AI) warranty coverage.
Experts predict that third-party AI tools will increase workforce productivity by as much as 40% and add $14 trillion to the global economy by 2035. Despite the benefits of this rapidly evolving technology, it is estimated that third-party AI tools are responsible for over 55% of AI-related failures in organizations. In response, One80 now offers an AI Product Warranty coverage, protecting enterprises and third-party AI vendors against the loss of revenue or expense related to unreliable AI models.
In partnership with Armilla AI, the coverage verifies open source and proprietary AI models, providing enterprises with confidence in the technology procured from third-party AI vendors.
“Innovation is core to One80’s culture,” said Matthew F. Power, President, One80 Intermediaries. “We consistently demonstrate our ability to pioneer insurance solutions - and take pride in our history of being the first movers in the market with new insurance products such as One80’s AI Product Warranty Coverage,” he continued.
“We are thrilled to partner with our brokers and clients in assessing and mitigating AI-related risks and believe that this solution will revolutionize AI risk management,” said Jonathan Legge, Senior Managing Director, One80 Intermediaries.
“Insurance will play a significant role in addressing AI risk, and Armilla is at the forefront of developing warranty and insurance products that will allow companies to deploy AI solutions safely,” said Karthik Ramakrishnan, CEO and Co-Founder, Armilla AI. “We are confident that partnering with One80 will enable us to continue to deliver market leading AI insurance solutions at scale,” he continued.
Awards
Expert.ai Wins Silver Stevie® Award for Innovation in Insurance
Expert.ai announced today that its Platform for Insurance has won a Silver Stevie® Award in the Insurance Solution Category in the American Business Awards®, the USA's premier business awards program. The accolade recognizes the company's commitment to innovation and product excellence in transforming strategic and complex Insurance processes with advanced AI solutions.
Michael Gallagher, founder and Executive Chairman of the Stevie Awards, commented: "We are delighted to acknowledge the wide range of American organizations in The 2024 American Business Awards. This year, we witnessed a surge in nominations in categories like Product Innovation, Innovation of the Year across diverse industries, and Technology Categories, mirroring the influence of new and emerging technologies shaping our nation. We look forward to honoring the achievements of Stevie winners on June 11th in New York City."
More than 300 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year's Stevie Award winners from more than 3,700 nominations across a wide range of categories. The expert.ai Platform for Insurance automates the review of documents across claims, underwriting and risk management using a combination of semantic AI, machine learning and generative AI. This enables the categorization, extraction and summarization of data for faster decisions at scale to reduce risks and costs while driving better outcomes.
According to the judging panel, the platform "is catering to all the stakeholders—Risk Engineers, Underwriters, and Claim Handlers—well. In an industry where there is a lot of documentation, both standard and non-standard formats, the solution offers a great opportunity for automation, thereby increasing the efficiency and throughput." The expert.ai solution was also lauded for the "exceptional innovation, expertise and effectiveness in leveraging AI to transform insurance workflows."
Insurance Luminaries program counters industry talent gap
P&C insurance companies, firms and vendors can submit an unlimited number of nominations for the Insurance Luminaries 2024 recognitions.
It's no secret that today's insurance companies and organizations struggle to find and keep great talent.
Those that are actively engaged in closing the talent gap often include staff recognitions as part of their strategy.
This recognition is rooted squarely in the P&C insurance sector. It is intended to highlight individuals, teams, organizations, programs, practices and products that are modernizing and humanizing insurance.
Nominations are now being accepted here
This year's nomination deadline is June 14, 2024. There is no limit to the number of nominations each P&C insurance firm, company or vendor can submit. Nominations are being accepted in the following categories:
Technology Innovation— Honorees in this category are pacesetters who push insurance carriers, organizations, vendors, agencies and brokerages forward in terms of digitalization, modernization, and client and customer experiences.
Risk Management Innovation— Honorees in this category find fresh and inventive ways to address insurer and insured risks while fostering advanced thinking and action when it comes to risk-related communication and mitigation.
Coverage Innovation— Insurance reflects the world. As societies shift, so too should insurance options. Honorees in this category are furthering fresh approaches to protecting today's diverse policyholders.
Claims Innovation— Honorees in this category thoroughly understand the impact that a single claim can have on policyholder satisfaction. They foster progressive tools and practices to manage claims, and further fraud and claims mitigation.
Innovation in Workplace Culture— Honorees in this category know how to promote the insurance industry as a great place to build a career. They actively support current insurance professionals and are engaged in finding and training new insurance stars. They are invested in fostering satisfied employees through diversity and inclusion initiatives, health and wellness programming, Environmental Social and Governance (ESB) initiatives, community service and more.