News
Liberty Mutual partners with Jaguar Land Rover to offer premium auto insurance to US customers - FinTech Global
Liberty Mutual, a leading global insurer, has formed an exclusive partnership with Jaguar Land Rover North America (JLR) to provide tailored auto insurance solutions for JLR vehicle owners in the U.S. during the car buying process.
The collaboration aims to streamline the insurance experience for JLR customers by integrating auto insurance offerings into the vehicle purchasing journey, according to the Coverager.
The partnership will provide JLR owners with seamless access to premium insurance products, enhancing their overall ownership experience.
Liberty Mutual is a globally recognised insurance provider with a strong focus on innovation and digital capabilities.
The company provides a wide range of personal and commercial insurance solutions and is known for its advanced digital platforms that make it easy for customers to manage their insurance needs.
As part of the partnership, Liberty Mutual’s digital tools will allow JLR drivers to receive online insurance quotes or speak directly with an insurance advisor.
Customers will also have access to exclusive features, including the use of genuine original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts for repairs and referral to a JLR retailer for maintenance services, ensuring top-tier care for their vehicles.
Research
Enterprise: Length of rental continues decline in Q3 but challenges remain | Repairer Driven News
Enterprise Mobility reports that the overall collision-related length of rental (LOR) dropped to 16.3 days during Q3, a decline of 1.2 days compared to Q3 2023.
“During 2022 and 2023, many factors affected the collision repair industry, including supply chain issues, parts delays, shifting workforces, and driving patterns,” the LOR report states. “However, we have observed most traditional patterns of LOR return to those last seen in 2021, albeit with overall results higher; in Q3 2021, LOR was 15.2 days.”
While LOR and repair times are on a downward trajectory, supply chain challenges have softened, and nearly 2 in 5 shops (38%) report they’re fully staffed and not looking to hire (the highest percentage since Q4 2020) is encouraging, Enterprise says other challenges remain.
Climate/Change/Sustainability/ESG
Can Insurtech elevate nat cat preparedness?
AI could hold the key to speeding up disaster response
Still grappling with the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Milton, another named storm, Hurricane Oscar, is now swirling its way through the Bahamas. As the severity and frequency of natural disasters is only expected to rise, the insurance industry is faced with an urgent need to enhance its resilience.
A potential solution to this challenge lies in the opportunity to leverage cutting-edge insurance technology, which can play a critical role in both predicting and responding to natural disasters.
Robert Pick (pictured), EVP and CIO at Tokio Marine North America, spoke with Insurance Business about how digital tools can empower insurers and brokers to better manage these risks, while also maintaining the human connections that define the industry.
Transforming risk assessment through AI
Just a few years ago, many insurtechs lacked a deep understanding of the insurance industry, but Pick has noted a marked improvement in this area.
With the storm’s losses looking more favourable, questions over rates and gross/net strategies will arise
With less than a week since Hurricane Milton’s landfall on Florida, naturally the industry’s biggest question around the event is still what the insured losses will be.
As we reported, early expectations for industry losses late last week were coalescing around the $40bn-$50bn range.
However, this began to look overly cautious another day into the loss assessment process, with some sources now discussing $20bn-$30bn losses.
Questions over the loss will be heightened by early modelled loss scenarios from Moody’s RMS suggesting sub-$12bn mean projections for wind losses, though it is important to note that this is not their loss estimate in itself, and Aon’s $25bn-$40bn range given to clients.
This early into the loss assessment, the ranges for insured losses are still wide, reflecting the highly uncertain situation and sources interpreting limited information in different ways.
The favourable signs include lower levels of storm surge, the slowing of windspeeds over inland Florida, and greater resilience in Sarasota housing stock, along with legal changes brought in to restrict litigation fraud.
However, complicating factors include the potential for loss amplification from Hurricane Helene, for leakage of flood claims, general caution over Florida’s ability to manage loss creep, high pre-landfall tornado activity involving lower deductibles and the fact winds and rain did impact more highly populated areas, even at lower levels.
However, a wider range of, say, $30bn-$50bn would not significantly alter where the loss falls, although it would move the balance further towards the primary markets. At the low end, treaty reinsurers would be very little impacted, and Florida’s state reinsurer given more headroom to struggle on through 2025.
At the high end, minor reinsured losses would still be an earnings event that would not largely drive major retro/ILS recoveries, so while reinsurers would be impacted it would be in a manageable way.
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
Coterie teams up with Berkley Re to provide cyber insurance for evolving business risks - Reinsurance News
Coterie Insurance, a technology-driven managing general agent (MGA) focused on simplifying small business insurance, has introduced cyber insurance to its platform through a new collaboration with Berkley Re Solutions and TransUnion.
Leveraging coverage from Berkley Re Solutions and cyber services from TransUnion’s TruEmpower™ Cyberscout solutions, Coterie now integrates Berkley Re’s tailored turnkey solutions into its already smooth user experience.
“Our agents and brokers have been asking for expanded coverage options as small businesses are at risk for numerous perils, including increasingly becoming targets for cybercriminals,” added Bobbie Collies, Chief Insurance Officer at Coterie Insurance.
“Now Coterie users can easily add cyber insurance to new policies quickly and efficiently, further safeguarding their small business clients.”
Cyber insurance claims hit unprecedented levels in 2023, with more businesses reporting cyber incidents than ever before, as noted by the HIPAA Journal.
CompScience and Keystone Natural Foods Radically Improve Worker Safety
CompScience, a managing general agent (MGA) backed by Nationwide, has released a case study with Keystone Natural Holdings showing a dramatic reduction in the frequency of hazards in Keystone's manufacturing facilities. Under the CompScience workers' compensation policies, Keystone has received risk reduction recommendations generated by safety analytics provided as part of the coverage and implemented those workplace changes.
"We are required by law to buy workers' comp policies and we've always been focused on worker safety. When our insurance broker explained that CompScience bundles its safety program with coverage, we realized this approach not only made business sense but also significantly enhanced our company culture by prioritizing the well-being of our employees," explained Aaron Stamp, CEO, Keystone Natural Holdings.
Key statistics in the case study include:
43% reduction in ergonomic hazards in the Parsippany facility
9% reduction in ergonomic hazards in the Folcroft facility
An actionable roadmap to address "struck by" and "slip/trip/fall" hazards
"At Acrisure we are very excited to be offering CompScience to forward-thinking, safety-conscious clients like Keystone. What CEO would not want to reduce premiums and injury rates?" asked Bruce Ball, Partner, Acrisure.
Events
InsurTech Chicago | Hyper-Automation: Automation beyond the traditional | Wed, Nov 6, 2024 | 5:30 PM
Catch up with the rapidly maturing capabilities for process automation and AI tools. Be part of the discussion at 1871.
Wednesday, November 6 · 5:30 - 8:30pm CST 1871 Global Innovation Hub 222 West Merchandise Mart Plaza ##1212 Chicago, IL 60654
The next InsurTech Chicago event is coming on November 6. The theme for the night is Hyper-Automation beyond the traditional. The history of tools in this space started with business process mapping, then automation, then robotic process automation and low-code systems.
With AI catching on as broadly as it has, we are entering a new phase of efficiency tools - Hyper-Automation. Join us at the 1871 Innovation Lab to hear from leaders in the space and to network with industry experts from local insurers, brokers, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs.
Who Should Attend:
- Insurance Professionals (Carrier, Agency, Captive, Investor, Entrepreneur)
- Entrepreneurs & Investors
- Stakeholders in the local Startup and Innovation Community
- Anyone Interested in a great discussion on insurance and insurtech trends
TOP 5 OF 2024
Insurtechs seek to capitalize on AI deployment
LAS VEGAS – The insurance industry has been quietly deploying artificial intelligence, in some cases for years, and its use is increasing as the technology matures rapidly.
AI has been used nearly everywhere, from enhancing efficiency in routine processes to refining customer interactions and experiences, sources said in interviews at the 2024 InsureTech Connect conference in Las Vegas last week.
AI has been central to CoreLogic Inc.’s operations for a long time, said Jesse Herrera, San Diego-based executive vice president, global products and operations, insurance solutions, for the data analytics and catastrophe modeling company.
ACORD Solutions Group Modernizes Insurance DataExchange
ACORD Solutions Group, a subsidiary of the non-profit insurance standards organization ACORD (Pearl River, N.Y.), is making significant progress in modernizing insurance data exchange.Mark Bennett, SVP of Global Business Development at ACORD, recently shared insights into the organization’s role and ongoing efforts with Tom Benton at the InsureTech Connect 2024 Conference in Las Vegas, Nev.
Bennett emphasized ACORD’s continued focus on property and casualty insurance, noting that “those much-loved ACORD forms are still very much in circulation.” However, he pointed out that “fewer and fewer people are printing them off,” with many now exchanging them via email. Bennett noted, “If I’m a carrier and a broker’s providing me an ACORD form, historically, I have to re-key that into my core policy admin system.” ACORD has developed new technologies to help carriers deal with the challenges of data entry and forms submission intake, such as their ACORD Transcriber software.
Interoperability also remains a key focus for ACORD. Bennett noted that many organizations have different levels of messaging maturity, stating, “Some producing brokers can send digital data, which is fabulous,” he said. “However, some are still sending emails and some are still sending faxes.” ACORD’s ADEPT messaging gateway helps insurers to normalize data from these varied sources, and enables interoperability by providing a consistent data structure, regardless of their current digital capabilities. This lowers the barrier for the adoption of ACORD’s standards, including the growing community using ACORD’s Global Reinsurance and Large Commercial (GRLC) standards.
Announcements
Risk & Insurance Education Alliance and BrokerTech Ventures Launch New Insurtech Insurance Course
The Risk & Insurance Education Alliance, in collaboration with BrokerTech Ventures (BTV), is proud to introduce its latest educational initiative, the Introduction to Insurance for Insurtech Professionals module.
First announced in June 2024, the program is a self-paced course designed to equip Insurtech professionals with foundational insurance knowledge to improve communications and collaborations within the rapidly evolving insurance and technology sectors.
As the insurtech sector continues to push the boundaries of innovation, there is an increasing need for professionals within this space to understand the complexities of the insurance value chain. The Introduction to Insurance for Insurtech Professionals module aims to bridge this knowledge gap, empowering participants with a thorough understanding of insurance concepts, terminologies, regulations and the technological impacts shaping the industry.
Dan Keough, Chairman and CEO of Holmes Murphy and Co-Founder of BrokerTech Ventures, emphasized the significance of this new module for the future of the industry:
"Understanding the foundational aspects of insurance is critical for insurance professionals aiming to create meaningful solutions. This module is a key tool that will help innovators grasp the intricacies of the industry, making their solutions more effective and aligned with industry needs. It's a win for everyone involved."
The course is designed for both early-stage insurtech founders and more experienced professionals who are looking to deepen their understanding of the insurance industry. It is a fully online, 3-hour self-paced course, allowing participants to engage with the content at their own convenience. Participants will gain valuable insights into the core principles of insurance, enabling them to navigate the industry more effectively. The course curriculum combines educational content with real-world applications, offering professionals the tools to bridge their technological expertise with essential insurance knowledge. A Digital Certificate and Badge will be awarded upon completion.