TOP 5 OF 2024
Top 5 of 2024
We published over 2,500 ‘Connected' newsletters/podcasts in 2024 containing more than 30,000 curated articles. Readership and open rates have consistently been well above industry norms.
Below are the Top 5 most popular categories and article links for 2024.
Thanks for being such loyal and engaged readers. Happy and Safe Holidays ✨🪩. We will pause for the holidays and resume Jan. 2, 2025
Category / Headline
News
Commissioner Lara takes major step to increase insurance availability in wildfire-distressed areas
Commentary/Opinion
Broken Trust—Insurance Industry Included | Insurance Innovation Reporter
Research
2024 US Auto Insurance Market Report — S&P Global Market Intelligence
Climate/Change/Sustainability/ESG
Cat models scrutinized as storm losses rise
*InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration**
Commentary/Opinion
Chuck Grassley Asks Experts: Are Insurance Companies Failing Because Of Climate Change? - YouTube
[Ed. note: "Rampant legal abuse in Florida" included in Dr. Robert Hartwig's comprehensive testimony of what's affecting P&C insurance. Throughout 2024 we have highlighted legal abuse and inflationary pressure as leading causes of soaring rate increases and underwriting actions, including pull back from certain markets. The insurance crisis is not simplified to just one, rather the combination of sustained climate exposure, legal abuse and inflationary pressure.]
During Wednesday's Senate Budget Committee hearing, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) questioned experts on how climate change has affected insurance rates. LISTEN
Research
CCC Top 2024 trends: Perfect storm of softening economy, increasing repair costs and aging vehicle pool
The repair industry faced a perfect storm of challenges in 2024 including a softening economy, increasing repair costs, and an aging vehicle pool, according to CCC’s Top 2024 Trends Report.
“One of the biggest shifts this year was inflation, which drove the cost of motor vehicle insurance up by 51% (since 2022), causing consumers to become more selective about filing claims for minor damages,” the report says.
Repairable claims of $2,000 or less make up just 26% of the mix, down from 43% in 2019, according to the report.
The report notes the Insurance Research Council found that 14% of drivers are uninsured and J.D. Power reports that 5.7% of households have at least one vehicle that does not have insurance.
Driving trends for a smarter, safer 2024 holiday season - Arity
If you're planning to hit the road for Christmas or New Year’s, check out our driving insights around how to travel smarter and safer.
While the holidays are known as the happiest time of the year, it can also be one of the most stressful times with traveling being a top contributor to the “holiday blues.” Whether you’re driving to a different state, city, or zip code, it can be a hassle to pack up, load the car, onboard your family, and pick a hopefully safe, low-traffic route.
To help drivers travel smarter and safer, the Arity team looked at our massive driving behavior dataset, which consists of nearly 45M U.S. drivers. We looked at driving insights from 2021 – 2023 to uncover need-to-know trends for your Christmas and New Year’s travel plans.
2025 PREDICTIONS
Swiss Re leaders predict key reinsurance trends for 2025
Geopolitical risks, climate challenges, and market dynamics drive innovation and growth
Swiss Re's business unit CEOs have outlined key themes they expect to shape the re/insurance industry in 2025, with a focus on geopolitical instability, rising natural catastrophe losses, and evolving market dynamics.
According to Swiss Re Institute, 2024 marked the fifth consecutive year with insured natural catastrophe losses exceeding US$100 billion. This trend is expected to continue, driven by increasing climate risks.
Liability claims in the US have risen by 57% over the past decade, with "nuclear verdicts" – jury awards exceeding US$10 million – becoming more frequent. Additionally, global premium growth in 2025 and 2026 is forecasted to be led by life insurance, with a projected annual growth rate of 3%, supported by persistently high interest rates.
How AI and tech will impact insurers in 2025
Insurers will go into 2025 facing changes from emerging technologies and challenges from the aging company workforce.
It has been another interesting year for insurers. Profitability across U.S. property/casualty insurers improved in 2024, mainly driven by substantive rate increases and tighter risk appetite. What didn’t change from the prior year? The ongoing talent crisis across the industry, where the team member turnover rates averaged 13.5%, with voluntary turnover above that average.
A few key trends and developments are expected to define the insurance industry's future. Let’s examine how they will impact business models, customer experiences and employee satisfaction and loyalty.
Chaz Perera is CEO of Roots Automation. Contact him at chaz.perera@innfeedback.com.
News
Auto Insurer’s Online System Breach Tied to Unemployment Fraud
Noblr, a USAA Insurance subsidiary offering insurance through an online quoting application, will pay $500,000 following a data breach that New York officials say affected 80,000 people and led to fraudulent unemployment benefit claims.
New York Attorney General Letitia James described the Noblr data breach as part of an industry-wide campaign by scammers to steal consumers’ personal information, including driver’s license numbers and dates of birth. The scammers exploited online automobile insurance quoting applications with a feature that automatically fills in additional private information from third parties after some basic details have been entered.
Climate/Change/Sustainability/ESG
Insurers Are Dropping Homeowners as Climate Shocks Worsen - The New York Times
Without insurance, it’s impossible to get a mortgage; without a mortgage, most Americans can’t buy a home.
The insurance crisis spreading across the United States arrived at Richard D. Zimmel’s door last week in the form of a letter.
Mr. Zimmel, who lives in the increasingly fire-prone hills outside Silver City, N.M., had done everything right. He trimmed the trees away from his house, and covered his yard in gravel to stop flames rushing in from the forest near his property. In case that buffer zone failed, he sheathed his house in fire-resistant stucco, and topped it with a noncombustible steel roof.
None of it mattered. His insurance company, Homesite Insurance, dumped him. “Property is located in a brushfire or wildfire area that no longer meets Homesite’s minimum standard for wildfire risk,” the letter read. (Homesite did not respond to a request for comment.)
Mr. Zimmel has company. Since 2018, more than 1.9 million home insurance contracts nationwide have been dropped — “nonrenewed,” in the parlance of the industry. In more than 200 counties, the nonrenewal rate has tripled or more, according to the findings of a congressional investigation released Wednesday.
As a warming planet delivers more wildfires, hurricanes and other threats, America’s once reliably boring home insurance market has become the place where climate shocks collide with everyday life.
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
Cytora and Moody’s RMS Partner on Weather, Climate, NatCat Risk
Moody’s RMS Location Intelligence API provides catastrophe peril insights in over 100 countries and will be integrated directly into Cytora’s risk processing platform.
Cytora (London/New York), provider of a digital risk processing platform, has partnered , has partnered with global catastrophe risk modeling and solutions company Moody’s RMS (Newark, Calif.). Moody’s RMS Location Intelligence API provides catastrophe peril insights in over 100 countries and will be integrated directly into Cytora’s risk processing platform. The companies say will enable insurers to make much faster and more accurate assessments. The integration of the two companies’ solutions will enable property casualty underwriters to gain unprecedented insights into climate and natural disaster risk, according to a joint statement from Cytora and Moody’s RMS.
Insurance losses from natural catastrophes have topped $100 billion for each of the last four years, which the vendors’ statement says underscores the unprecedented urgency for insurers to have access to natural and manmade catastrophe and climate change risk insights. Cytora and Moody’s RMS say their partnership aims to empower underwriters with instant access to a host of critical model derived data points on climate and natural disaster risk.
Richard Hartley, CEO, Cytora
AI in Insurance
Reimagining the Role of the Claims Professional with GenAI
Today, GenAI is creating new opportunities to augment the capabilities of adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators, making them more efficient and effective, even in the face of increasing workloads.
The numbers do not lie. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over the next decade nearly 22,000 openings per year, on average, for claims professionals (adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators) will need to be filled. These job openings primarily will come from the need to replace workers who exit the insurance industry or retire.
Claims professionals are an integral part of a successful insurance business. Experienced claim handlers are critical to ensuring the claims process runs smoothly. Their experience helps maintain a strong bottom line by minimizing losses. Their expertise helps keep policyholders happy, thus reducing customer churn.
Jérémy Jawish, CEO of Shift Technology
Announcements
[Ed. Note: Notable, Innovative and Overdue] --- CollisionClassifieds.com Launches to Buy and Sell Collision Repair Shops and Equipment, Hire Workers - Autobody News
The new website aims to streamline and professionalize fragmented, funky social media-focused encounters in the industry.
CollisionClassifieds.com recently debuted after a year of planning and development on both coasts, and in the fabled and ubiquitous cloud. It’s a path that fits the stated aim of its founder to give body shoppers “a platform for all things collision.”
The venture is based in Florida, though Laura Gay, who started it, is usually on the road to somewhere else as a consultant to body shops and collision centers selling their shops, via her Consolidation Coach company. The new site is programmed, developed and marketed by Micki Woods and her eponymous firm to the industry, in Thousand Oaks, CA.
Awards
Hi Marley Wins Hottest Tech Startup at the 2024 NEVY Awards
On December 5, 2024, Hi Marley, an SMS-driven conversational platform built for P&C insurance, was named the winner of the Hottest Startup category at the 12th Annual NEVY Awards.*
The NEVY Awards, hosted by the New England Venture Capital Association (NEVCA), recognize the region’s most innovative and successful tech and life science companies. The Hottest Tech Startup Award is given to high-growth companies doing cutting-edge work in the region.
The NEVCA convenes leaders across the innovation community, builds sustainable solutions for workforce diversity, champions New England’s regional brand, and advocates for innovation-friendly public policy. Its member firms manage more than $80B in capital.
“We’re so excited to be this year’s Hottest Startup in the Tech category. This recognition is a true testament to our team’s hard work, passion, and innovation,” said Stefanie Bishop, Chief People Officer at Hi Marley.
“We’ve made significant strides in making the insurance industry more lovable over the past year, including groundbreaking product offerings like Total Loss Assist™ and Conversational FNOL™, which are changing the way carriers and policyholders interact while creating smarter, more efficient solutions to improve the overall claims experience.”