InsurTech/M&A/Financeđ°/Collaboration

WTW debuts new Insurance Pricing and Underwriting
WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), a leading global advisory, broking, and solutions company, today announced the latest advancement in its Radar rating and analytics engine with the launch of its Rating, Pricing, and Underwriting acceleratori for Guidewire.
Radar, WTWâs external rating engine, is an end-to-end solution designed specifically for the insurance sector. It provides cutting-edge analytics and decision-making guidance for pricing and underwriting, deployed to the market in real time. Radarâs new Guidewire accelerator will streamline the integration of Radar with PolicyCenter, Guidewireâs policy administration system, allowing carriers to realize the benefits of Radar more quickly. The accelerator uses a highly innovative approach that draws Guidewire product definitions directly into Radarâs pricing environment, massively expediting the integration process.
Gio Smyth, Managing Director and Americas Regional Leader, Insurance Consulting and Technology, WTW, commented, âWTWâs integration between Guidewire PolicyCenter and our Radar technology platform will enhance the operational efficiency of our shared clients by reducing implementation time and cost, enabling them to maximize the benefits of Radar. The addition of game-changing speed and accuracy to the pricing process makes it possible to update market pricing in minutes rather than days, weeks, or months, affording insurers a particular competitive edge.â
News

Winter weather alerts posted as several winter storms get set to barrel across US | Fox Weather
The FOX Forecast Center said at least three separate winter storms are expected to sweep across a large portion of the U.S. during the week ahead, bringing the threat of widespread snow and ice to tens, if not hundreds, of millions of Americans from coast to coast.

Florida budget includes over $600 million for home and condo risk mitigation programs
APCIA acknowledged Gov. DeSantis' role in addressing challenges
Floridaâs 2025 to 2026 budget includes more than $600 million for home and condominium risk-mitigation programs, in addition to funding requested by the Office of Insurance Regulation, according to a report from AM Best.
The funding would allow the My Safe Florida Home grant program to clear a waitlist of 45,000 property owners and add 10,000 new slots, Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky (pictured) said in a statement.
In 2024, state lawmakers established the My Safe Florida Condo pilot program to provide grants for condominium associations. The program offers up to $175,000 per association for mitigation projects.
The My Safe Florida Home program provides eligible homeowners with grants of up to $10,000 to cover mitigation project costs. Only wind-mitigation projects identified in inspection reports qualify for reimbursement, according to the programâs website.
Financial Results
Allstate to âLean Intoâ Turnaround in Auto Business, and Grow
Allstateâs plan to correct its auto insurance business has ârestored profitability back to target levels,â said the insurerâs head of personal insurance.
During an earnings call with analysts, Mario Rizzo, president of property-liability, said recent financial results reflect âsuccessful executionâ of actions Allstate took to turn around what not long ago was a business writing at a loss.
âAuto margins are back to where we would want them to be,â he said.
Allstateâs auto segment turned in an underwriting profit of $1.8 billion for full year 2024, reversing a loss of $1.1 billion the prior year. The business had been operating at a combined ratio above 100 for some time, dragging down the Northbrook, Illinois insurerâs overall results for multiple quarters. Allstate auto recorded combined ratios of 93.5 and 95.0 for the fourth quarter and full year 2024.
Commentary/Opinion

Best's Review Explores Latest Insurance Industry Innovations
The February issue of Bestâs Review examines progress and initiatives in an industry thatâs often viewed as resistant to change:
- âInsurers Discover Value in Innovation Cultureâ provides insight from several industry leaders on how innovation is now seen as necessary to a companyâs survival.
- âInnovation Hubs Attract Interest, Support From Insurance Companiesâ looks at several initiatives to foster insurtech startups, spur new product development and enhance data and digital capabilities.
- âLloydâs Chief Commercial Officer: Accelerator Nurturing More Than 100 New Insurance Startupsâ features an interview with Lloydâs executive Dawn Miller about innovationâs role in the industry.
- âLeading AI Platforms Delve Into Insurance Industry Innovations Across Product Linesâ presents responses from three artificial intelligence large language models about recent insurance industry innovations.
Also included:
- âTech Panel: AI Will Displace Jobs but Also Create Opportunities for Upskillingâ features a panel discussion about how artificial intelligence will impact the workforce.
- ââBuild vs. Buyâ in the Digital Ageâ covers both sides of the debate about whether it is better to develop proprietary applications or acquire third-party solutions.
CCC Intelligent Solutions Whitepaper on OEM Certification Programs
[ED. NOTE: This well written and informative whitepaper from CCC Intelligent Solutions on OEM collision repair shop certification leads US to three conclusions.]
- OEMs will increasingly control how and where damaged cars will get repaired.
- Auto insurers, who pay for these repairs need to forge alliancEs with OEMs or risk losing control over this critical area of their business.
The auto insurance and aftermarket supply chain needs to adapt and transform in order to take advantage of the associated opportunities.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Automotive manufacturers continue to drive innovation, making vehicles more complex than ever. Todayâs cars are like supercomputers with ADAS, electric propulsion, autonomous features, and more.â â In the last decade, the number of shops keeping up with OEM Certifications has remained stagnant. â â In our new white paper, we explore how a strong certification program benefits OEMs, collision repairers, and consumers.
Earning these certifications can: â
- đ„ Give a shop a competitive edgeâ
- đĄ Advance technician training â
- đ Drive business growthâ â Read all the insights in our white paper.
Tariffs Could Lead to Higher Insurance Prices for U.S. Consumers, Businesses - WSJ
Insurers are warning that tariffs could make their costs shoot up, especially those connected with auto insurance
Americans donât import insurance from Canada, Mexico or China, but it could nonetheless get more expensive for consumers and businesses amid U.S. tariff uncertainty.
Insurers are warning that tariffs on various goods could increase the overall costs that insurers pay, which could force them to pass on the costs in the form of higher premiums. Automobiles, whose manufacture involves complex international supply chains in which components crisscross borders, could go up in cost by $3,000 each per car on average, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, a trade group, said.
Insurers have to pay to replace or repair cars, businesses and homes, and higher prices because of inflationâwhether tariff-induced or otherwiseâoften lead them to pass the increased costs on to consumers. Personal auto insurance is most likely to be impacted, but commercial auto and other insurance lines could be impacted as well.
âThese costs could have a very negative impact on insurance consumers and insurance companies already challenged by inflation and other cost increases working their way through the system and by catastrophes,â APCIA said. âGiven the significant amount of imports from Canada, Mexico and China, most lines of insurance will likely experience increased cost impacts.â
Between 55% and 65% of U.S. car parts are sourced from either Mexico, Canada or China, according to Michael Zaremski, an analyst at investment banking firm BMO Capital Markets.
The White House on Saturday announced sweeping tariffs targeting China, Mexico and Canada. Mexico and Canada have won a 30-day reprieve on their implementation after both promising certain measures to tackle border issues and fentanyl smuggling. Still, significant uncertainty about the trade measures persists.
Climate-related hikes to insurance costs have become a high-profile issue across the country. But in recent years insurers have also contended with higher costs resulting from inflation, particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic stressed supply chains.
Analysts have so far focused their attention on the tariffsâ possible impacts on auto prices and the potential spillover to insurance, but economists have warned the tariffs could be broadly inflationary. During the pandemic, supply-chain difficulties reverberated in the construction industry, driving up costs to rebuild homes and businesses.
Despite the recent pause on tariffs against Canada and Mexico, insurance prices may still increase, said Marc Busch, a professor of international business diplomacy at Georgetown University.
âEven if the cease-fire holds with Canada and Mexico, the damage has been done,â Busch said. âWe are going to have tremendous uncertainty looming over the industry for the foreseeable futureâŠIf Iâm an insurance company, Iâm pretty dour at the moment, and certainly highly motivated to pass on my risk in the form of higher premiums to consumers.â

Trump's proposed FEMA revamp â how will it affect brokers and clients? | Insurance Business America
Could insurance fill the gap if FEMA is reformed?
Besides waging his ongoing war against illegal immigration, President Donald Trump has also recently criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for its handling of disaster relief efforts, particularly in response to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.
During a tour of the state, he suggested that FEMA has been ineffective and proposed either overhauling or eliminating the agency, favoring direct federal funding to state governments for disaster management.
These remarks have since sparked discussions about the future of federal disaster response, with some experts expressing concern over the potential impacts of dismantling FEMA.
While some critics have argued that it could undermine coordinated national efforts in managing large-scale emergencies, some insurance brokers are cautiously optimistic, viewing the potential changes as a chance for private insurers and companies to take on a greater role in disaster recovery.
"Changes to FEMA (and the NFIP) represent opportunity for the insurance industry," said Dana Sutton, AVP, personal risk, flood practice at NFP. "It could lead people to move from the NFIP into the private market, which is an overall net good for the industry. More risk moving in the direction of the private market means lower rates and expanded coverages."
Sutton, who spoke with Insurance Business a few weeks ago to discuss the current state of flood insurance and the growing role of the private market, said that she believes a revamp is worth discussing, particularly given concerns about the agencyâs slow response time.
"I would welcome a discussion about a FEMA revamp," she said. "Based on feedback from clients, the immediate response to storm events this past hurricane season was somewhat slow, so there seems to be room for improvement."
However, Sutton also argued that improvements should extend beyond just disaster response.
"Iâd also love to see more resources put into flood proofing and mitigation efforts. FEMA did a study that showed for every $1 spent on mitigation efforts, it saved $6 in flood losses," she explained. "As flooding events increase in frequency and severity, flood proofing and mitigation are great courses of action, and FEMA should continue to lean into these efforts."
Canada

iA Financial Group acquires Global Warranty
[Ed. Note: iA Financial Group (a.k.a. Industrial Alliance) is a Canadian insurance and wealth management group that operates in Canada and the United States. It is one of the largest public companies in Canada].
iA Financial Group announced the acquisition of Global Warranty , a group of companies that are âimportant independent warranty providers and administratorsâ in the used vehicle market in Canada.
Founded in 1987, Global Warranty does business with a network of over 1,500 automotive dealerships and more than 400 authorized repair centers across Canada.
Effective immediately, this acquisition will be slightly accretive from the first year, both on a core and reported basis. The impact on iA Financial Groupâs solvency ratio is a one percentage point decrease.
âWe couldnât be more pleased with the acquisition of Global Warranty. It is a well-run organization with a strong reputation and we are pleased to welcome this highly professional team into iA Financial Group. This will increase our presence in the used vehicle warranty market, with long-standing operations in London, where our subsidiary Lubrico Warranty is also based.â â Gwen Gareau, Senior Vice-President, iA Dealer Services and iA Auto Finance.
Los Angeles Wildfires
Bestâs Commentary: Wildfires Intensify Troubles in Californiaâs Property Insurance Market
In a new commentary, AM Best notes that policyholders in California had increasingly turned to the stateâs insurer of last resort and non-admitted market for homeownersâ coverage prior to the wildfires due to reduced availability from primary insurers.
The Bestâs Commentary, âCalifornia Wildfires: Multiple Credit Negative Impacts for Insurers,â notes that given heightened losses in recent years owing to a greater frequency of severe wildfire events, many voluntary market insurers in the state reassessed geographic diversification in their homeownersâ portfolios and limited their appetite for providing coverage in affected areas, sending policyholders to look elsewhere for coverage. As a result, surplus lines insurers have become more prevalent in Californiaâs homeownersâ insurance market.
âAlthough comparatively modest, the percentage of homeownersâ insurance premium written by surplus lines insurers has increased by nearly 10 times over the last decade with premium surpassing the $2 billion mark for the first time in 2023,â said David Blades, associate director, Industry Research and Analytics, AM Best. âThis activity reflects a substantial amount of premium leaving the admitted market and finding coverage in the non-admitted market.â

Consumer Watchdog Calls on Insurance Commissioner to Reject State Farm's Unjustified Emergency Rate Hike Request
Consumer Watchdog has submitted two letters to Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara objecting to State Farm's request for an emergency interim rate increase, citing a lack of justification and an attempt to bypass California's strong consumer protection laws.
State Farm is seeking an immediate 22% rate increase for homeowners, along with a 15% increase for renters and condo owners and a 38% increase for rental dwellingsânot because it cannot pay wildfire claims, but because it wants to protect its Wall Street credit rating.*
However, as the letter states, S&P Global rates State Farm and its parent company, State Farm Mutual which has $194 billion in surplus and reserves, together. They have an AA rating, the second-highest possible rating.
Read Consumer Watchdog's Feb 5th and Feb 7th letters.