InsurTech/M&A/Financeđ°/Collaboration
GoAuto Insurance Implements One Inc's ClaimsPayÂŽ and PremiumPayÂŽ to Modernize Processes
Unified Platform Simplifies Inbound and Outbound Payments for Greater Operational Efficiency
One Inc, the leading payments network for the insurance industry, announced today that GoAuto Insurance (GoAuto), has selected One Incâs ClaimsPayÂŽ and PremiumPayÂŽ products for a fully integrated and digitized policyholder payment experience. This integration enables GoAutoâs workflow by leveraging One Incâs comprehensive inbound and outbound payment capability, consolidating all activities into a single platform for greater efficiency. GoAutoâs adoption of One Incâs payment solutions mark a significant step toward providing their policyholders with seamless support throughout the entire insurance payment process.
âThe partnership ensures that GoAuto can offer policyholders a modern, streamlined payment experience while staying ahead of market trendsâ
GoAuto customers will now have access to popular consumer platforms like Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Venmo, in addition to direct payment options. This implementation will streamline both inbound and outbound payments, enabling faster, more efficient premium payments and claims disbursements for GoAuto policyholders.
Insurtech Sure Teams Up With CU Financial Group To Launch Digital Insurance Solution | Crowdfund Insider
Sure has announced a partnership with CU Financial Group, LLC to launch SimpleQuote, a digital insurance solution enabling credit unions to offer their members seamless access to insurance.
CUFG is a credit union service organization whose mission is to offer insurance products to credit union members at âcompetitive rates.â
Built on Sureâs digital insurance technology rails, SimpleQuote enables CUFG to offer its network of credit unions the ability to âextend insurance to their members through the first fully digital insurance experience ever available to them.â
Starting first with auto insurance, SimpleQuote removes barriers for credit union members while âenhancing their overall customer experience.â
While credit unions have been much slower than the rest of the banking world to adapt to digital, the Covid-19 pandemic âaccelerated this process for many credit unions.â
As Sure has experienced with all of its partners, once consumers begin to transact with âinsurance digitally, they report feeling highly satisfied.â
Credit unions have seen similar sentiments among their members, as many of them became âaccustomed to digital experiences once they could no longer visit a physical branch.â
These customers are not going backwards to the âanalog worldâ of the past, and with SimpleQuote, CUFG is claiming it is leading the way as credit unions âembrace this shift and innovate accordingly.â
Wayne Slavin, co-founder and CEO of Sure said:
âThe pandemic accelerated the shift to digital financial services that companies had long neglected, and credit unions are some of the last holdouts to adapt to changing consumer preferences for digital. The first mover advantage is real, and CUFG is helping to lead credit unions into the future of digital insurance with SimpleQuote.â By expanding services directly to credit union members, CUFG is eliminating the need for them to âseek options elsewhere.â
With Sureâs distribution tech and network of carriers combined with CUFGâs platform and base of credit unions, SimpleQuote creates a digital insurance experience that is supporting the ânext waveâ of digital insurance innovation for credit unions.
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Crowdfund Insider is the leading news website covering the emerging global industry of disruptive finance including investment crowdfunding, Blockchain, online lending, and other forms of Fintech.
Team Of Silicon Valley Veterans Launch Stand Insurance, Using Physics-Driven AI To Insure The World's Climate-Impacted Properties
Stand, the company reimagining insurance for climate-impacted properties, today announced the launch of its debut product: California homeowners insurance that insures and fortifies properties to be resilient to wildfire. Founded earlier this year, Stand is emerging from stealth with a world-class team, the backing of top-tier reinsurers, an AM Best A- Rating, and $30M in funding from Inspired Capital, Lowercarbon, Equal Ventures & Convective Capital. With this foundation, the company is poised to write over $2B in home coverage within its first year.
It is no secret that the insurance market is in a climate crisis. Amidst the 4th worst fire season in California history, insurers are leaving large geographies to avoid fire risk. Many homeowners are now under-insured, self-insured, or on government plans of last resort. The problem is not unique to wildfire: nearly half of all homes ($22 trillion worth) in the U.S. are at severe or extreme risk of damage from climate-driven events.
Stand has re-thought insurance for this new era, offering a solution that protects property while insuring it. By combining expertise in fire, fuel, land, and structures with advanced physics and AI modeling, Stand provides property owners with tailored risk-mitigation plans. These plans prioritize specific improvements, such as replacing mulch with gravel in a critical area, or replacing a Juniper tree with a Maple to effectively reduce risks. Quantifiable risk reductions translate into more accurate pricing, enabling Stand to offer policies in areas others can't or won't serveâa win for both homeowners and the company.
"We are able to build a digital twin of properties and use physics to simulate how extreme weather and disasters would impact them, an approach that has never been used before in the insurance industry," says Dan Preston, Co-Founder and CEO of Stand. "We believe the only viable path forward is to re-think how we approach risk itself. At Stand, we use advanced modeling and AI to make homes safer and to protect homeowners in the face of growing climate challenges."
Sure unveils vision for the future of insurance on its technology rails and network
Sure, the insurance technology leader that unlocks the potential of digital insurance, today unveiled its vision for the future of insurance on Sure's technology rails and network. Just as Visa and Mastercard paved the way for cashless payments, Sure is building the technology rails and network to enable digital insurance transactions between carriers, brands, and consumers.
The story of Sure was once squarely focused on building a software platform to enable digital insurance transactions. As Sure's technology and infrastructure capacity has rapidly evolved, the company now sees its leadership role in the industry more broadly. The complexity of insurance and its migration to digital has created an opportunity for Sure to showcase its unmatched technology and vision for the future of insurance. In doing so, Sure has created a new category altogether to power the transition of the insurance industry to digital through an ecosystem approach that connects a three-sided network (carriers, brands, and consumers).
"At Sure, we have a decades-long mindset and a very clear vision for the future of insurance. Through huge capital investment, we have built the technological infrastructure and the technology rails to unlock the first network of insurance distribution," said Wayne Slavin, CEO of Sure.
"In what we're building, we're enabling companies that have globally recognized brand loyalty to expand their value proposition by adding insurance to their products and customer experiences. We're already running billion dollar insurance programs through our technology rails, and we're excited about where the next decade will take us."
2025 PREDICTIONS
Finding profitable growth in personal lines insurance | McKinsey
The personal property and casualty insurance industry grew in 2023, fueled by rate increases in developed markets. The opportunity now is to expand coverage to new markets and sectors.
This article is an in-depth analysis of personal property and casualty insurers, one of three sections in the Global Insurance Report 2025.
The personal lines property and casualty (P&C) industry writes about a quarter of the worldâs insurance premiums. It protects people and their loved ones wherever they are, every day. Yet that means the disruption consumers have faced globally in recent yearsâfrom a global pandemic to rising costs, the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters, and the changing nature of how we live and workâis also shared by the industry. And that presents both challenges and opportunities.
Whatâs in store for the insurance industry in 2025?
Positive outlook for 2025 but risks remain
The insurance industryâs outlook is positive in 2025 but challenges remain, according to Alera Groupâs annual Property and Casualty Market Outlook report.
Looking ahead, the US property and casualty industry is expected to continue growing next year, after being on track for higher profits this year. Improved underwriting results, slowing inflation and higher investment yields are all contributing to this positive outlook, the report said.
Barring a major catastrophic event, insurers expect increased competition, softening rate increases and adequate capacity. Pricing competition will likely improve in 2025 and better reinsurance terms and conditions for insurers would likely lead to more favorable terms for insurance buyers.
Still, extreme weather and abuse of the legal system remain concerns, according to the report. The insurance industryâs return on investment (ROI) has also lagged behind the S&P 500 composite ROI by five points. This isnât the first time as in 2023, amid major rate hikes, insurance rate was at 13% ROI, compared with 18% for all industries.
Commentary/Opinion
BROKEN TRUST, INSURANCE INDUSTRY INCLUDED
by Stephen Applebaum and Alan Demers
It is a well-known adage that âtrust takes years to build, seconds to break and forever to repairâ.
The extensive and growing loss of trust in our most treasured institutions is responsible for the recent and rapid transformation of behavior and attitudes across the entire landscape.
Trust is created by the belief that institutions will uphold their stated values, follow established rules, and act with integrity, leading to a willingness to rely on them and respect their decisions. High levels of institutional trust are crucial for a well-functioning society, enabling cooperation, social stability, and citizen engagement.
When trust in institutions is low, it can lead to cynicism, social unrest, decreased participation in civic life, and difficulty implementing policies. The insurance industry ranks high on the list of vilified industries, including but not limited to healthcare. Unfortunately, the murder of Brian Thompson and the ensuing criticism of that industry from many quarters is likely to bring more scrutiny to all segments of the insurance industry, including P&C. And some of that negativity may be justified.
Assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Aftermath
The shocking number of sympathetic voices in support of the accused murderer of Brian Thompson appearing in social media and several insurance publications are the latest manifestation of this corrosive loss of trust. Pro-consumer activist, Senator Elizabeth Warren even stated that the killing served as a âwarningâ of sorts that âyou can only push people so far and then they take matters into their own handsâ. Other opportunists are jumping on the bandwagon and fanning the flames even before we know the reasons why the alleged killer acted and if and how it was truly motivated by insurance outrage.
S&P Global: P&C insurers spend more on lobbying than health and life insurance peers
Property and casualty (P&C) insurance companies have outspent health and life insurance peers in lobbying the U.S. government over the past 10 years, according to an S&P Global article.
In 2023, P&C insurers spent approximately $57.2 million on lobbying, while health insurance spent about $49.2 million and life insurance about $31.1 million, the article says.
Recent media reports also claim the P&C industry has seen a $4.1 billion net underwriting gain for the first nine months of 2024 after raising annual car insurance premiums by 26%, on average, nationally.
Secret Algorithms to Raise Home Insurance Rates, No Requirement for New Coverage, Under Lara Regulations Issued Today, Says Consumer Watchdog
Consumers should expect large rate hikes but not more insurance policies sold under new rules issued by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and finalized by the Office of Administrative Law today, said Consumer Watchdog. The rules gut the transparency at the heart of California's insurance consumer protection law, Proposition 103, by allowing insurers to use secret calculations from black box models to set rates.
The Insurance Commissioner claims that insurance companies will have to cover more homeowners in wildfire areas in exchange for the right to raise rates with secret algorithms. However, this requirement is not in the text of the regulation. Instead, insurance companies won the right to keep how they project wildfire losses secret, meaning the public and regulators will have no way to determine if wildfire insurance rates are fair.
"Full transparency is what keeps insurance rates honest but Commissioner Lara's rule does away with that protection. The rule will let insurance companies raise rates based on secret algorithms but not expand coverage as promised," said Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog.
The rules violate insurance consumer protections under Proposition 103 that allow regulators and the public to confirm rates are justified. Lara claimed the rule is exempt from review by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). Consumer Watchdog urged the OAL to reject that claim and to review the regulations for consistency with state insurance laws as required by the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). Read Consumer Watchdog's letter.
"Particularly now, when the insurance industry has fomented insurance shortages across the state and is threatening further widespread economic disruption unless Commissioner Lara rolls back current regulatory requirements, it is crucial that the APA's bedrock protections against arbitrary government action be respected," wrote Consumer Watchdog staff attorney Ryan Mellino in the letter.
Announcements
Lockton Unveils New Global Parametric Insurance Practice
Lockton, the world's largest independent insurance brokerage and people solutions consulting group, has announced the launch of its new Global Parametric Insurance Practice. This initiative brings together a team of experts, including data scientists and modelers, dedicated to developing efficient, customized parametric solutions to help clients protect against risks that traditional insurance often overlooks.
"Over the past three years, Lockton has invested significantly in parametric expertise and resources across the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and Singapore," said Diego Monsalve, Latin America and Caribbean Head of Risk Practices and International Head of Parametric Solutions. "This global team is uniquely positioned to address our clients' risk management challenges through innovation, delivering the high-caliber solutions they've come to expect from Lockton. We are excited to support our clients as we move forward with this initiative."
As natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires increase in frequency and severity, and as new risks arise, including cyber threats and supply chain disruptions, the need for supplementary insurance solutions is growing. The parametric insurance market is projected to reach $39.3 billion by 2032, according to Global Market Insights, underscoring the demand for alternative solutions to cover gaps in conventional commercial property insurance.
Amazon is officially in the online car sales business | TechCrunch
Amazon expanded Tuesday into online car sales with the launch of Amazon Autos, an e-commerce business that lets customers find, order, and buy new cars, trucks, and SUVs from dealerships.
Amazon is kicking off the new endeavor with Hyundai in 48 U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. The launch comes a little more than a year since the e-commerce giant announced plans to start selling vehicles on its website in the second half of 2024. Amazon said it will add more cities and additional auto manufacturers in 2025.
Amazon Autos will function, in many ways, like the rest of the broader Amazon e-commerce ecosystem. Shoppers will be able to search for available vehicles from participating dealers by model, trim, color, and features. Notably, customers will also be able to secure financing and e-sign paperwork via the Amazon Autos site. Once the payment is finalized, customers can schedule when to pick up their vehicle from that dealership.
When vehicles go on sale at Amazon, the local dealer (for now just Hyundai dealers) will be the seller of record. Amazon Autos will even handle trade ins. The online car sales market is crowded. However, most of companies in this business â a list that includes AutoTrader, Carvana, and Carmax â sell used vehicles. Customers browsing Amazon Autos will only be able to buy new cars. The company said it plans to add leasing and expanded financing options next year.
Amazon has the reach that automakers like Hyundai may find appealing. Consumers may also be won over by Amazon Autosâ promise to provide transparent pricing from local dealers, eliminating the need for negotiation. In other words, no haggling. The price customers see at check-out is the price they pay, inclusive of all taxes and fees, Amazon said.
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