Commentary/Opinion
Best’s Commentary: Hurricane Milton to Pose Severe Challenge for Florida Property Insurers and Reinsurers
Hurricane Milton poses a significant threat to the Florida property insurers concentrated in the state that lack diversification and therefore are acutely susceptible to significant catastrophic events.
According to a new AM Best commentary, the back-to-back punches from hurricanes Helene and Milton could prove too devastating for some of these Florida-concentrated carriers.
The Best’s Commentary, “Hurricane Milton to Pose Severe Challenge for Florida Property Insurers and Reinsurers,” states that economic and insured losses from Hurricane Milton are expected to be significant and amplified by damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
“Debris from Hurricane Helene that has not been secured or disposed up of could become airborne once Hurricane Milton makes landfall, exacerbating potential property losses,” said Christopher Graham, senior industry analyst, AM Best.
Diversified, large insurers and reinsurers should be able to absorb losses from Hurricane Milton, depending on the intensity, location and the magnitude of the hurricane; however, property insurers concentrated in Florida could experience a significant loss of surplus. Following hurricanes Irma, Michael and Ian in 2017, 2019 and 2022, respectively, insurers focused on Florida property lost more surplus on average than more-diversified companies, including 2022, when the Florida-concentrated group lost in aggregate 24% of its surplus post-Hurricane Ian in a year when a number of insurer insolvencies occurred in the state.
News
Hurricane Milton could cost insurers up to $100 billion: Analysts - Business Insurance
Hurricane Milton could result in losses of up $100 billion for the global insurance industry, creating a surge in 2025 reinsurance prices that could boost some insurance companies’ shares, analysts said on Wednesday.
It is potentially one of the most destructive yet to hit the region, which is recovering from devastation caused by Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago.
Insured losses from Milton could be from $60 billion to $100 billion if the hurricane makes direct landfall in the densely populated area of Tampa, analysts at Morningstar DBRS said.
Research
Moments of Truth Report | CCCIS
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InsurTech/M&A/Financeđź’°/Collaboration
Turo and CrashBay Partner on Collision Repair for the Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Industry - CollisionWeek
Turo, the peer-to-peer car-sharing marketplace, and CrashBay, the digital marketplace for collision and car repair solutions for fleets and carriers, announced a partnership aimed at streamlining the auto claims repair process for Turo hosts and guests across the U.S. and Canada.
This collaboration highlights both companies’ shared goal to simplify vehicle ownership and enhance the car-sharing experience. CrashBay’s easy-to-use platform allows Turo hosts seamless access to certified repair shops, ensuring fast, efficient, and high-quality vehicle repairs.
Pinpoint Predictive Announces the Close of Series A Raise
Pinpoint Predictive, Inc, the leading risk assessment platform for P&C Insurers, is delighted to announce the successful close of its highly anticipated Series A funding round led by prominent Insurtech VC Markd, along with esteemed investors Jazz Venture Partners, Guidewire Ventures, Verstra Ventures, Navigate Ventures and Seraph Group bringing the total capital raised by Pinpoint to over $23 million.
Pinpoint's technology, which leverages machine learning and new, unconventional behavioral insights to deliver unparalleled precision to underwriting and actuarial decision-making, is reshaping the P&C insurance landscape. Pinpoint's clients have seen improvement in loss ratios by an impressive 3 to 10 points with access to the earliest predictions available in the market.
Funding has been instrumental in accelerating the growth and development of Pinpoint's platform, expanding its customer base, and further penetrating into home, auto and commercial markets.
"We are thrilled by the overwhelming response and confidence shown by investors who share our vision of revolutionizing the insurance industry through innovative AI solutions," stated Scott Ham, CEO of Pinpoint Predictive.
"This milestone is a testament to the amazing team we have here at Pinpoint as well as a recognition that Pinpoint is providing a game-changing platform to empower our clients to improve profitability and better serve their stakeholders. With this new funding, we are not just forecasting trends; we are setting them."
Technology decisions driving insurtech startup profitability
Forward-focused startups are reshaping insurance, underwriting, and claims, challenging traditional players.
More consumers favor insurers with modern platforms and are opting away from older offerings.
The startup landscape has never been more dynamic and rapidly evolving as it is today — especially in the insurtech market, which is projected to hit nearly $340 billion by 2032.
Despite this positive future outlook and overall opportunity, immediate-term economic hurdles are putting pressure on the insurance startup world. The venture capital market is undergoing a correction due to diminishing expectations of Fed rate cuts (though quite likely in 2025 with the latest inflation data) and the high cost of public and private lending for investment funds.
Deepankar Mathur has been with Searce for eight years and leads Searce's North America Consulting business dedicated towards high growth venture backed Startups in the region.
Vouch Selects BriteCore as Technology Partner | Insurance Innovation Reporter
The business insurance distributor for innovative and high-growth companies partners with BriteCore to enhance scalability and streamline operations.
Vouch, a San Francisco-based business insurance distributor for innovative and high-growth companies, has chosen BriteCore (San Mateo, Calif.) as its technology partner to support expanded underwriting and distribution capabilities. The partnership enables Vouch to continue scaling its insurance solutions with the flexibility and efficiency of a cloud-native platform supporting multiple products and multi-channel distribution, according to a joint statement from the companies.
Vouch is Managing General Underwriter that offers exclusive products issued and backed by reputed insurance carriers in the industry, including State National Insurance Company and United Speciality Insurance Company. The firm also has its our own insurance carrier, giving it the ability to back its own policies and control how it builds and underwrites products.
Payments
With Back-to-Back Storms, Florida Now Facing Delays in Claims Adjusting
With Back-to-Back Storms, Florida Now Facing Delays in Claims Adjusting
With Hurricane Milton now expected to produce several hundred thousand wind-damage claims and with the storm coming so soon on the heels of Hurricane Helene, industry leaders are bracing for significant delays in claims adjusting.
“We’re competing with Helene,” said former deputy Florida insurance commissioner Lisa Miller.
William Rabb
Awards
Solera XpertCX Suite Receives AutoTech Breakthrough Award - CollisionWeek
Solera Corp. announced that its XpertCX solution has been honored as the Auto Repair Solution of the Year at the AutoTech Breakthrough Awards.
AutoTech Breakthrough, a market intelligence organization recognizes top companies, technologies and products innovating in the global automotive and transportation technology markets today.
The comprehensive XpertCX suite offers diverse capabilities, including a 24/7 First Notice of Loss (FNOL) Contact Center, Auto Glass Claims Management utilizing a vast network of service providers, and XpertEstimate, which combines AI with skilled adjusters to produce swift, precise estimates. Additional services include Desk Review, Audit and Negotiation, Managed Repair, Diminished Value Assessment and Negotiation, and more, all designed to offer seamless, no-IT integration solutions swiftly deployable across the industry.
Alberto Cairo, Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director, North America at Solera, shared his thoughts on the achievement: “With XpertCX, we set out to redefine what our automotive partners can expect from outsourcing. By integrating cutting-edge technology with our extensive market expertise, we aim to significantly elevate operational efficiencies and overall effectiveness while ensuring unparalleled customer experiences. We are deeply honored by the recognition from AutoTech Breakthrough, as it reinforces our resolve to lead and innovate at the global forefront of technology solutions.”
Insurance Digitalization
Transformation is pending for insurance digitalization
The P&C Insurance Industry has yet to materially make the shift from analog to digital.
To be clear, this article is not meant to insult the insurance industry; there is already more than enough of that.
In fact, we love the insurance industry. It has provided us with lucrative employment over our careers, allowed us to grow and learn, enabled us to forge many valued relationships and above all, actively assist the industry to serve customers and communities in times of need and stress. Its products and services are critical in managing risk for everyone and it is a pillar of all economic systems.
What we do hope to accomplish with this article is to spotlight the insurance industry's glaring digital gap, especially in contrast to other industries. Often closely compared to financial services, specifically banking, insurance seems far behind.
We consider what it may take to focus on and accelerate the shift from its legacy, analog-intense infrastructure to the digital world in which other segments successfully operate. Not only would such a shift improve business and operational results and elevate worker skillsets but it will help make insurance more visible to consumers, most of whom now live in a digital, virtual world.
Stephen Applebaum & Alan Demers
What makes digital an urgency for the insurance industry | EY - US
Digital transformation can help insurance companies meet new customer expectations in the new world of social distancing.
In brief
- Consumer expectations and demands are setting the pace of progress in consumer and commercial insurance.
- Digital technology can also improve operations, revenue, compliance, claims and underwriting efficiency, sales productivity and speed to market.
Chris Maiato Principal, EY Bermuda Ltd.; and Regional Consulting Leader, EY Region of the Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands