News
Your driving could be monitored by popular apps
GasBuddy, MyRadar, and Life360 might send your telematics to auto insurance companies.
Third-party app privacy policies can allow insurance companies to amass driving habit data.
Millions of people rely on smartphone apps to keep an eye on their children, locate the cheapest nearby gas station, learn the week’s weather forecast, or even simply listen to music—but before doing so, app makers generally require their users to agree to lengthy terms and conditions. And as a June 9 report from The New York Times details, these privacy policies can include stipulations that allow third-party data brokers to use your smartphone sensors to amass driving data that can be used to later influence auto insurance premiums.
Your tendency to slam on the brakes, your driving speeds, your commute schedule, and even your location down to the longitude and latitude coordinates are all collected as bulk remote vehicular behavior info, or telematics. This data is then sometimes utilized to potentially affect a customer’s little-known “driver score” that can affect insurance premiums and offers. Safer drivers theoretically can receive better premium rates while incentivizing others to operate vehicles more responsibly, but this only works if drivers are aware they are being monitored. And as The New York Times reports, people haven’t knowingly consented to this access in the first place.
Commentary/Opinion
Liability Reinsurance Crisis Could Be Looming, CEO Says
“There could be a liability crisis in reinsurance in a couple of years,” a reinsurance executive predicted this week.
Ken Brandt, chair, president and chief executive officer of TransRe, offered the assessment during a 30-minute chat with S&P Global Ratings Director Taoufik Gharib at the 40th Annual Insurance Conference. Brandt, who had more positive observations about the property reinsurance market, said liability losses emerging from past accident years, and already starting to show up for more recent years, could spell trouble.
“The U.S. casualty market is driving most of the conversations in the industry right now, without a doubt,” Brandt said, responding to an initial question about overall reinsurance market dynamics. “When I travel around the globe and talk to some of my counterparts of our European customers, [this] is the No. 1 issue that people talk to me about: It’s U.S. casualty—their exposure to the U.S.,” he said.
Is that market going to turn around at some point? FULL INTERVIEW
Trends in liability claims litigation: Sedgwick
Many of the legal challenges from the past few years persist, according to Sedgwick, a provider of claims management, loss adjusting and business solutions, which released a report analyzing the trends in liability claims litigation.
Industry data indicates a continued rise in liability litigation and the average cost of new litigated auto bodily injury claims has grown by 64% since 2019, according to Liability Litigation Observations and trends 2024.
New claim litigation in 2023 increased to 1.7% for general liability bodily injury claims (GL BI), a slight increase from the year before. The report suggests that litigation rates would have likely decreased at a national level if not for the increased filings in Florida, related to House Bill 837.
Steve Ellis, VP, Liability Practice at Sedgwick, said in a statement: "From a litigation management perspective, the best avoidance and mitigation strategies start on day one of a claim assignment with the completion of a high-quality investigation. The first two weeks after a claim is initiated represent a window of opportunity to impact the outcome by making timely contacts, taking detailed statements, and assessing damage and injuries as quickly as possible."
On the heels of RIMS, 7 predictions for the insurance industry - WTW
We’ve attended numerous annual RIMS events and we’ve often walked away inspired and excited about the future of the insurance industry. But after meeting brokers and carriers at this year’s event and discussing Neuron, our digital trading platform, we’re more excited than ever before about the future role technology will play in the insurance industry. The insurance sector is now poised for a digital transformation that will benefit brokers, insurers and insurance buyers alike.
A data-driven digital transformation of insurance
The insurance industry already has the ecosystem and data to enable digital trading. Brokers and carriers are using data and analytics and application programming interfaces (APIs) to connect with trading partners. Now, they’re also looking for ways to use data they already have to connect any broker to any insurer and drive better decision making, improve risk appetite and more effectively match risk to capital.
In this context, and after the conversations we had at RIMS, we foresee numerous changes that will propel the insurance industry into a digital future:
- New industry entrants will further transform the industry. New entrants to the industry, often backed by significant funding and staffed with talent from outside the sector, are already transforming the insurance industry. Their impact over time will be profound. SEE ALL 7 Predictions
InsurTech/M&A/Finance/Collaboration
Ondo InsurTech partners expand LeakBot solution
Ondo InsurTech PLC on Monday announced further advancements to the expansion of its US operations.
The London-based claims prevention technology firm for home insurers is in partnership with seventeen insurance carriers, including Admiral Group PLC. Ondo's patented LeakBot self-install solution connects to homes using wireless networks to detect leaks. If detected, customers are notified using a mobile app and given access to engineers to resolve the problem.
Both Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co and Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange under the name Pure, have expanded their LeakBot programmes into Washington state where Ondo has an existing engineer support structure.
In addition, on Monday last week, Wendi Leibovitz assumed the new role of director of customer success in North America. Leibovitz, who is a licenced insurance agent, joins the company from SimpliSafe Ltd, where she ran embedded partnerships for the smart home security company.
Chief Executive Officer Craig Foster said: "The customer success role is a key hire for Ondo, and we could not have found someone more ideally suited than Wendi with her expertise, experience and industry-specific knowledge.
"I am also encouraged to see both Pure and Nationwide expanding with us into a second state, supporting our strategy to roll out each partnership on a carefully managed state-by-state basis."
Fixle Acquires EasyHome, Expanding Home Management Solutions and Innovation
Fixle, Inc., a leading provider of home management solutions in the proptech and insurtech sectors, has announced the acquisition of EasyHome, Inc., a developer of software solutions designed to modernize property care and management for every homeowner. The terms of the deal were an all-equity transaction, including the acquisition of EasyHome's exceptional team.
Fixle is a pioneering force in the PropTech industry, dedicated to transforming how homeowners, home inspectors, service technicians, and property managers manage their living spaces. By leveraging innovative technology and a customer-centric approach, Fixle enhances home and property management by connecting essential data and system resources to service professionals, ensuring greater accessibility, security, and efficiency.
The integration of EasyHome's intellectual assets and expertise into Fixle's operations, combined with an upcoming collaboration with a national home service repair network, will significantly accelerate Fixle's innovation pipeline.
Integrating EasyHome's seamless user experience and innovative solutions further elevates Fixle's offerings and market position in the built world. This advancement benefits property managers, home inspectors, service technicians, warranty underwriters, insurance adjusters, as well as homeowners and residents, ultimately improving their overall home owning experience.
"Bringing EasyHome into the Fixle family is a move we're genuinely thrilled about." Dave Theus, CEO of Fixle, shared. "This is more than just combining two companies; it's about bringing together EasyHome's creative solutions and deep understanding of what homeowners need with Fixle's technological strength and broad reach across the many home service verticals."
Guidewire backs Indico Data
Indico Data has raised $19 million with backing from Guidewire, bringing its total funding to $49 million, including past investments from Nationwide Ventures.
Founded in 2013, Indico’s Intelligent Intake solution automates document-based workflows for unstructured content. Indico is also planning a new integration for Guidewire PolicyCenter. This will streamline the process for underwriters by connecting Indico Data’s intelligent intake solution with PolicyCenter, addressing the challenges of managing unstructured data in broker submissions.
The startup lost 7% of its workforce last year.
“We are thrilled to announce the successful closure of our latest funding round, which includes a strategic investment from Guidewire. This investment, along with the future launch of our Guidewire accelerator, represents a significant step forward in our mission to transform the underwriting and claims processes for P&C insurers. The integration with Guidewire PolicyCenter will enable our customers to automate the ingestion of unstructured data, enabling them to make better decisions around what risk to underwrite. This partnership not only validates our innovative approach but also accelerates our ability to drive growth and deliver cutting-edge solutions to the insurance industry.”- Tom Wilde, CEO of Indico Data.
People
Hiscox names Mary Boyd USA CEO - Reinsurance News
International specialist insurer Hiscox has announced the appointment of Mary Boyd as Chief Executive Officer of its USA business unit.
Joining the company on June 24, 2024, Boyd will be replacing existing USA CEO Kevin Kerridge, who is stepping down after almost 30 years in the business.
Boyd joins Hiscox from Plymouth Rock Assurance, a home and auto insurance provider in the northeast of the USA, where she has served as the CEO of its independent agency business since 2018.
The executive began her career in actuarial roles before moving into leadership positions at The Hartford Insurance Company, ACE, Explorer Insurance and Chubb.
Aki Hussain, Group CEO, commented: “Mary’s knowledge and expertise in the insurance industry are exceptional, and I am delighted to be welcoming her to the Hiscox business.
Predict & Prevent
IBHS research shows two critical ways to reduce risk of storm damage ahead of potentially active hurricane season
With an active hurricane season forecast for 2024, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)encourages homeowners to act now to reinforce their properties against severe weather. IBHS researchers have identified the roof and garage doors as the areas of homes particularly vulnerable and most important to strengthen to withstand storms. These two home improvements top the nonprofit's Hurricane Ready guidance which also includes DIY maintenance projects and tips to complete now and last-minute storm prep.
"The number one goal is to stop cascading damage," said IBHS Chief Engineer Dr. Anne Cope. "When rain, wind and storm pressure enter a home, damage that starts out as relatively minor escalates quickly and often forces families out of their homes for extensive home repairs. That's especially disheartening because we now know this is largely preventable."
IBHS testing shows asphalt shingles, particularly as they age, can dislodge in winds as low as 60 mph. Once the roof cover is lost, rain can pour into a house through the gaps in the wood roof decking.
"Our research estimates the equivalent of nine bathtubs of water can enter a home for every inch of rain that falls on a traditional roof deck where space between the boards is exposed," Cope explained. "The good news is there are four different ways to cover these gaps and reduce this risk by as much as 95%."
Events
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WHERE INNOVATORS CREATE NEW PARTNERSHIPS
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This environment will allow startups and high-growth companies to quickly connect with carriers, brokers and agents eager to hear new ideas and consider new partnerships.
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