News
Insurtech Branch Lays Off More Employees Amid Economic Challenges | Insurtech Insights
Insurtech startup Branch has implemented another round of job cuts, affecting a reported 85 employees - a figure that is yet to be officially confirmed.
The company, which previously laid off 186 employees in mid 2023, declined to confirm the specific number of affected individuals.
In November 2023, Branch also announced its partnership with Root, Lemonade, ClearCover and others in the InsurTech Coalition initiative, that aims to shape the industryâs future by fostering responsible innovation, new regulatory frameworks and promoting accountability.
Significantly, despite earlier reports in late 2023 indicating Branchâs successful acquisition of additional funding, the startup has not issued an official statement confirming this progress. Concurrently, Branch Insurance Exchange, managed by Branch, disclosed a net underwriting loss of $70.6 million as of September 30, 2023.
According to a report by the media outlet Coverager, which received a statement from Branch regarding the layoffs, the insurtech acknowledged the difficulty of parting ways with valued team members and attributed the decision to the need for ensuring the resilience of Branchâs business in the face of ongoing economic turbulence.
The statement also outlined a comprehensive support package for affected employees, including severance benefits, two months of continued health insurance coverage through COBRA, career placement services with a dedicated coach, and an extended post-termination exercise period for vested options.
It said: âPersistent inflation has posed a significant challenge for home and auto insurance companies such as ours and as stewards of our membersâ capital, we need to meet the moment with a sound and responsible plan for our members, employees, and investors. Thatâs why today, weâve made the incredibly difficult decision to reduce the size of our team.â
Telematics, Driving & Insurance
Root partners with Arity
Root Insurance has filed in Montana to introduce its new usage-based insurance (UBI) model, Root UBI v5. As part of the update, Root is expanding its telematics data sources by partnering with Arityâs Drivesight technology.
Root plans to use Arityâs 1-999 driving score, integrating it into its proprietary scoring system to provide instant quotes for customers with an existing Arity score. The new model will apply to all new policies starting September 19, 2024, and renewal policies from November 6, 2024.
Root collaborates with Arity to access some third-party data, with explicit customer consent. However, the majority of the data used to determine rates is collected from the Root app. Data from Arity is used to offer personalized rates based on a customerâs previous driving behavior at the time of the insurance quote. This option is available to select customers, who can opt out of using existing data, choose to complete a traditional test drive, or skip the test drive and purchase coverage immediately.
Rootâs primary partner is Carvana, through which it offers insurance at the point of car sale.
Root joins other insurers, including American Family and CSAA, in utilizing Arityâs technology.
Toyota Insurance Management Solutions partners with Lemonade to expand insurance offerings - FinTech Global
Toyota Insurance Management Solutions (TIMS) has partnered with Lemonade to integrate home and renters insurance alongside Toyotaâs auto policies, in a bid to bolster its overall services.
Toyota is looking to position itself to cross-sell insurance products through this move, allowing customers to bundle their home and renters insurance with auto policies, according to the Coverager.
This strategy will be executed through Toyotaâs existing network of agents, offering customers a seamless experience when purchasing multiple types of insurance.
TIMS collaborates with several prominent carriers, including Hartford, Liberty Mutual, PURE, and Travelers, among others.
The company operates as an independent agency, providing insurance services tailored to the needs of Toyota customers. In addition to these partnerships, Toyota also offers a branded auto insurance product powered by Toggle, a subsidiary of Farmers Insurance.
An integral part of Toyotaâs insurance operations is the Insure Connect platform, which focuses on usage-based insurance (UBI).
This platform allows Toyota and Lexus drivers to share their driving data in exchange for personalised insurance quotes, encouraging safe driving habits that could result in cost savings.
Webinars/Podcasts/Interviews
RESHAPING THE ECOSYSTEM - Collision Repair Magazine
The automotive industry is smack-dab in the middle of some massive transformations. With challenges like vehicle electrification, rising repair complexity, diverse technologies facing the industry, Bill Brower, senior vice president of global industry relations and North American claims for Solera, believes the collision repair industry will experience more change in the next five years than itâs seen in the past 20 years.
As a global provider of claims technologies, Solera aims to lead the way in how the automotive industry navigates these factors. Two ways the company is forging new methods in the automotive industry: through its pursuit of sustainable collision claims and via the incorporation of advanced AI technologies in its Qapter estimating platform.
Collision Repair mag spoke to Brower to hear firsthand the various ways Solera is shaking things up for the benefit of bodyshops, insurance providers and consumers alike.
2024 In Review
Astronaut Scott Kelly focuses on teamwork at ITC.
Former astronaut Scott Kelly said, "Teamwork is a force multiplier," in his opening keynote at ITC..
The first day of Insurtech Connect (ITC) in Las Vegas featured a Q&A session between ITC President, Nicole Peck, and former astronaut Scott Kelly, who shared insights on the importance of teamwork and discussed how the space industry is continuing to evolve.
Kelly set a record for spending 340 days in space, a time he said was both exhilarating and difficult. His days comprised somewhat mundane activities, such as performing science experiments in space and making repairs to the space station, but these were balanced by more exciting opportunities, such as conducting space walks.
"Putting on a space suit is incredibly complicated," he said, explaining that they required days of preparation to execute and that it was a physically demanding activity.
He said reading the book The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe as a teenager inspired him to be an astronaut and allowed him to see the possibility of doing something impossible. His mother, who sought to become the first female police officer in their town and was eventually one of the first in the state, also taught him the importance of working hard to achieve his goals.
Kelly explained that he learned about the importance of leadership and teamwork from his time in space. "Teamwork is a force multiplier. Taking care of your people is incredibly important." NASA focuses on what he referred to as "expeditionary behavior," which translates to "how do you take care of yourself and crew members in a situation?" He stressed the importance of a balance between self-care and taking care of the crew. "We're all different and we need to elevate and support our team members the best we can and recognize that we all have different ways of operating."
LINK (may require subscription)
P. Harman/Digital Insurance
Reporter's notebook: ITC Vegas 2024 | Digital Insurance
Developments from ITC Vegas, October 15-17. The theme for this year's event is the universe of possibilities.
Matthew Murphy, VP, SIU Anti-Fraud Programs at The Hartford
Murphy spoke during the session, Data Foundations for End-to-End Fraud Detection â Presented by Carpe Data**.
Vince Tizzio, president and CEO at Axis Capital
Tizzio shared during, Driving Innovation at the Core of Specialty Insurance, that his dad worked for AIG and that's how he was exposed to the insurance industry.
Max Chee, partner and head of venture capital at Aquiline
In the Data Revolution in Claims: Unlocking Insights for Better Decision Making panel, Chee said that he's excited by how large language models and generative AI technologies are bringing new ways to extract data, which is transforming the claims process.Â
Andrew Robinson, CEO at Skyward Specialty Insurance
Robinson spoke during, Winning the Niche: Combining Old School Underwriting & Claims with New School Solutions for a Sustainable Future. He joined Skyward five years ago and it was, "a broken company." There was an opportunity to rebuild the company with data and advanced technology.Â
Richard James, SVP of insurtech and embedded solutions at HSB
James said during the panel session, Cybersecurity, Climate Change, and AI: Anticipating and Mitigating Emerging Risks in Commercial Insurance, that bringing expertise together is difficult outside and inside a company.
Debbie Brackeen, chief strategy and innovation officer at CSAA
During the session, Ethical Analytics: Guiding Principles for Responsible Innovation in Insurance Data, panelists shared how companies can find the balance between investing in the latest innovations while also ensuring that these new solutions leave no gaps in their ethical business practices.
Summaries written by Grace Crane, Patti Harman and Kaitlyn Mattson.
Arity Redefines the Future of Telematics at ITC Vegas 2024 | Business Wire
Arity, a mobility data and analytics company, is proud to showcase the next evolution of driving data with the introduction of âtelematics 3.0â at ITC Vegas 2024, the worldâs largest gathering of insurance innovation.
From early innovations in driving data, Arity has always been at the forefront of telematics. At ITC 2024, weâre taking it to the next level. Our cutting-edge technology, tested on a high-performance car during a high-speed race in France, was pushed to its limitsâand now weâre bringing that same adrenaline to ITC.
Discover Arityâs Evolution of Telematics at ITC 2024:
- On the show floor: Check out the high-performance car near the entrance for a close-up view of how our cutting-edge telematics tech was pushed to its limits in a high-speed race environment.
- At our panel: Join our panel on Thursday, October 17th at 11:10am PT, to hear how telematics data is revolutionizing the insurance industry, helping carriers optimize customer engagement from marketing to claims. Donât forget to add it to your agenda.
- At our booth (#2750): Experience telematics in action with immersive race footage overlaid with real-time data captured during the eventâshowcasing the speed and precision of our solutions.
- As a pioneer in mobility data, Arity empowers insurers to deliver personalized experiences and refine risk assessment through advanced telematics solutions. With âtelematics 3.0â, we continue to push the boundaries of whatâs possible in driving data, helping insurers make smarter decisions and build stronger connections with their customers. Visit us at ITC 2024 to experience the future of telematics firsthand.
RozieAI Unveils Early Access to the Future of Insurance Self-Service at ITC Vegas
RozieAI, a leader in smart customer experience solutions, is excited to announce early access to its innovative AI Insurance Concierge Team at ITC Vegas.
This launch represents a significant advancement over traditional and generative AI chatbots. Attendees had the opportunity to see a live demo of this solution during the event.
Vinay Sukumar, Head of Product, RozieAI commented, "Many organizations today utilize a variety of applications for different functions, such as chatbots for information and digital apps for transactions. This fragmentation creates challenges in delivering a unified and consistent experience, leading to substantial maintenance and management overhead. Early self-service approaches often prioritized functionality over user experience, allowing for task completion but missing the nuances of user motivations and context.
"At RozieAI, we designed our AI Insurance Concierge Team to emulate the best practices of top-performing human agents. It not only provides a seamless experience but also understands the motivations and context behind user actions, enabling it to proactively identify and address root causes."
InsurTech/M&A/Financeđ°/Collaboration
Marsh McLennanâs M&A activity surges, as revenue and profit climb - Business Insurance
Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. is on track for the largest mergers and acquisitions year in its history, buoyed by its proposed $7.75 billion acquisition of McGriff Insurance Services LLC, top executives at the brokerage said Thursday as it reported higher revenue and profit for the quarter.
Meanwhile, insurance prices fell in the third quarter in several major lines, but casualty rates were up, with U.S. excess casualty rates up 20%, the executives said.
Next yearâs property insurance and reinsurance pricing will be impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and property catastrophe rates could flatten, they said on an earnings call with analysts Thursday morning.
The ultimate insured loss from Hurricanes Helene and Milton wonât be known for some time, but âthe impact of these storms will be significant,â Marsh McLennan President and CEO John Doyle said on the call.
Marsh McLennan has committed nearly $10 billion to acquisitions year-to-date including the McGriff transaction, which will add about $1.3 billion in annual revenue and 3,500 employees, Mr. Doyle said.
OneClick Data Completes $7.2 Million Series A Financing Led by State Farm VenturesÂŽ
Leading provider of building code reports to the insurance and Construction Industries will use the funding for product and market expansion
OneClick Data, Inc. (OneClick), the leading provider of data, analytics, and tools serving the intersecting needs of property and casualty insurance providers and construction professionals, announced today it has closed a $7.2 million financing, bringing the total investment in the company to $10 million.
State Farm Ventures led the financing with participation from executives and investors specializing in insurance and claims management, construction cost estimation, construction operations, data acquisition and analytics, generative AI, and enterprise systems and infrastructure.
INSHUR wraps $19M to provide digital insurance solutions to rideshare drivers â TFN
Brighton-based on-demand insurance provider INSHUR (with its HQ in New York) has raised $19 million in funding. The round was led by Viola Growth, with the participation of MS&AD Ventures and existing investors. This brings the total funding raised by the company to $78.5 million, including the $26 million it secured last year. Â
The insurtech focuses on providing digital insurance solutions, particularly for rideshare drivers (such as those working with Uber), commercial vehicle operators, and on-demand economy workers.
RepairPal and CrashBay Announce Partnership to Integrate Repair Network with Digital Marketplace - CollisionWeek
RepairPal, the provider of automotive repair information and services, and CrashBay, a digital marketplace for collision repair solutions, have entered into a strategic partnership to provide consumers with an integrated platform that connects them to trusted auto and collision repair centers across all 50 US states and 10 Canadian provinces, streamlining vehicle maintenance and collision repair all over North America.
This collaboration capitalizes on RepairPalâs certified repair network and CrashBayâs extensive digital marketplace. The new integrated platform will include advanced diagnostics, repair tracking, and improved communication tools. These features offer real-time updates and transparency throughout the repair process, enhancing the customer experience.