Climate/Resilience/Sustainability
Insurers exposed to billions in potential losses from hail-related roof damage: ZestyAI - Reinsurance News
ZestyAI, a company specialising in property and climate risk analytics, has disclosed that over 12.6 million US properties are at high risk of hail-related roof damage, costing about $189.5 billion in potential replacement costs.
The information was obtained through ZestyAI’s Z-HAIL model, and highlights the growing financial threat of severe convective storms (SCS), including hail, tornadoes, and wind events.
In 2024, damages from SCS were estimated at $56 billion, surpassing losses from hurricanes. Currently, traditional risk models are designed to estimate portfolio-level exposure, not property-level risk. Since hail events increase in severity and frequency, the models often miss the structural and environmental conditions that drive real losses, warns ZestyAI.
The company explained, “Z-HAIL evaluates hail risk using a proprietary blend of climate, aerial, and property-specific data. By applying advanced machine learning to these inputs, Z-HAIL delivers highly granular predictions that reflect both the physical characteristics of a structure and the storm activity in its immediate surroundings.”
Research
Rising Civil Unrest, Political Violence Remain Top 10 Risk for Global Businesses: Allianz
Soaring levels of civil unrest and political violence are a key concern for businesses of all sizes as well as for their insurers, according to a report published by Allianz Commercial.
The impact of civil unrest or strikes, riots and civil commotion (SRCC) activity is the political risk and violence exposure that companies fear most, with more than 50% of businesses ranking SRCC as their main worry, said the report, titled “Political violence and civil unrest trends 2025.”
The report derives much of its data and conclusions from the Allianz Risk Barometer 2025, an annual survey of global businesses, which revealed in January that political risks and violence have been a top 10 global risk in four of the past five years — 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2021.
AI in Insurance
AI Can Fix Everything in Insurance | Insurance Innovation Reporter
There is no question of whether AI can improve insurance but rather which functions, how extensively and when.
Every time I read an article or a marketing piece espousing the astounding power of AI as applied to insurance, I cannot help but think about Gus Portokalos!
If you recall, Gus was the bride’s father in the 2002 hit movie ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ who famously suggests “Put some Windex on it!” as a solution to all manner of problems including cuts and scrapes. Gus proudly related every word, phrase and meaning back to his Greek ancestry as a solution or fix to each conversation. A lot of people are treating AI in the same fashion.
Even the typically thoughtful Bill Gates gushed AI is “the first technology that has no limit” and “could be as revolutionary as the internet or mobile phones.”https://iireporter.com/ai-can-fix-everything-in-insurance/
Stephen Applebaum and Alan Demers
Elysian Launches AI-Orchestrated Platform For Third-Party Claims Administration | Insurance Innovation Reporter
Insurance veteran Grace Hanson seeks to fix broken claims handling processes with an AI-driven solution.
Elysian (Nashville, Tenn), a newly launched third-party administrator (TPA) co-founded by seasoned insurance executive Grace Hanson, plans to redefine commercial liability claims handling with its newly introduced AI-orchestrated platform. Backed by $3 million in pre-seed funding led by American Family Ventures (Madison, Wisc.), Elysian officially launched on January 1 with plans to transform the traditional claims process.
Hanson, a former Chief Claims Officer with extensive experience at companies such as Allied World, Homesite Insurance, Hiscox, and Hippo Insurance, brings nearly a century of collective claims expertise to Elysian’s leadership team. Her decision to launch Elysian stemmed from years of observing significant shortcomings in the way insurance claims are handled.
“Elysian emerged from my experience that insurance claims handling today is broken,” Hanson says.
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
Why InsurTech is driving a M&A rise in the insurance sector - FinTech Global
Driven by the rising tide of AI and InsurTech solutions, the insurance industry is witnessing of a seismic shift in its culture. As firms seek agility, efficiency, and growth, technology is emerging not just as an enabler, but as a catalyst for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) across the industry, as Paul Kershaw, Enterprise Sales Manager, at Novidea explains.
No longer confined to the back office, technology now plays a central role in scaling operations and delivering seamless customer experiences.
With tools like artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, insurance firms can streamline internal processes, reduce costs, and improve service delivery.
These digital advancements are especially impactful in the context of M&A. Insurers that operate on unified platforms capable of managing the entire distribution lifecycle gain powerful insights into business performance.
This transparency and data-driven reporting significantly increase their attractiveness to potential buyers by easing the integration process and opening doors to new products and markets.
M&A activity in the insurance industry saw an increase in aggregate value in 2024, with tech seen as a primary driver.
Larger brokers continue to target smaller firms for acquisition, often for their superior digital infrastructure.
While it might seem logical that the acquiring firm has better technology, in many cases, it is the smaller, independent brokers that lead the way with robust systems and cleaner reporting structures.
These capabilities not only improve transparency but also simplify the merging of operations post-deal.
Broker M&A up 11.4% in Q1: MarshBerry - Business Insurance
There were 127 announced broker merger and acquisition transactions in the U.S. through March 31, 2025, up 11.4% compared with the 114 transactions announced through this time last year, according to a report Wednesday from consultants MarshBerry Inc.
Private capital-backed buyers accounted for 86 of the 127 transactions, or 68%, in 2025, while independent agencies were buyers in 28 deals, or 22% of the market.
The private capital-backed segment of the market has grown steadily since 2019, when it accounted for 59.3% of transactions.
Inside the corporate finance engine of Houlihan Lokey - The Banker
[Ed. Note: Waller Helms Advisors, where we served as Senior Advisor, merged with Houlihan Lokey in 2024.]
Jay Novak and Larry DeAngelo on mergers and acquisitions in the world of Trump 2.0
In finance the words “boutique bank” camouflage the size, range of services and geographical coverage that certain institutions offer. This is true of Houlihan Lokey, which is one of the largest of that cohort with a market capitalisation of just under $11bn and being listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Larry DeAngelo and Jay Novak are the global co-heads of its corporate finance division, which accounts for 60 per cent of the company’s revenue. They are the rainmakers for the bank, with the other two arms — financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory — making up the remaining 25 and 15 per cent of revenues, respectively.
Zurich bets on Balkan-born insurtech disruptor in bid to reinvent motor insurance | Insurance Business UK
Zurich Insurance Group has invested into Europe’s digital insurance growth by backing Ominimo, a fast-rising car insurance startup founded in Serbia and headquartered in Hungary. The Swiss insurance heavyweight has acquired a minority stake in the fledgling firm, valuing it at €200 million, in what could prove a bellwether for how established players partner with new tech to stay competitive in an evolving market.
Though neither side disclosed the financial details, reports indicate Zurich has invested €10 million for a 5% equity share. The partnership goes beyond capital. Zurich’s German arm, DA Direkt, has inked a distribution deal with Ominimo to jointly roll out motor insurance products to consumers across Europe, beginning with Poland this spring.
For Zurich, the move reflects a broader strategic push to deepen its footprint in the retail segment and harness digital innovation to deliver growth. “Growing our retail business profitably is a key ambition in Zurich’s 2025–2027 cycle,” said Alison Martin, CEO for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “That is why I am delighted with DA Direkt’s distribution partnership with Ominimo, which will allow us to offer innovative motor insurance solutions and expand our retail customer base in Europe, beyond the markets in which Zurich is already present.”
Ominimo’s founding tale is one of frustration turned opportunity. Chief executive Dusan Komar, formerly a consultant at McKinsey, saw up close the inefficiencies that plague incumbent insurers: unwieldy legacy systems, sluggish decision-making, and a talent pool reluctant to work in such uninspiring environments.
Ottometric secures $10M Series A financing to advance ADAS validation – Telematics Wire
Ottometric, an emerging technology leader in the validation of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), announced the successful closing of its $10 Million Series A financing.
The round was led by Schooner Capital, with participation from existing investors Rally Ventures and Proeza Ventures, as well as new investors, including PS27 and Somersault Ventures. The new capital will support Ottometric’s rapid growth and accelerate the development of its breakthrough ADAS validation platform.
ADAS includes safety-critical features such as AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking) and LDW (Lane Departure Warning), as well as driver-assistance features such as ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) and TSR (Traffic Sign Recognition). ADAS solutions are developed and validated using data from a complex network of sensors, including cameras, radar, lidar and ultrasonic sensors. However, the traditional validation process remains inefficient and unscalable. Automakers and suppliers typically spend over a year and up to $100M per vehicle model on ADAS development and testing to comply with government regulations and ensure safety. This process produces petabytes of data, which are currently manually analyzed before the start of vehicle production.
Ottometric is tackling one of the most pressing challenges in automotive technology today: the skyrocketing cost and complexity of ADAS validation. We are transforming a cumbersome, manual process into an automated, scalable solution that delivers actionable insights in days rather than months.
Ottometric’s AI-powered platform automates and streamlines ADAS development and validation, helping companies identify and fix sensor, system and software issues. Its proprietary data distillation technology classifies vast amounts of sensor data into structured insights, dramatically reducing dataset sizes while ensuring critical safety scenarios are fully captured. This significantly improves system accuracy and reduces validation costs and timelines by over 50%.
Innovation
Insurers Must Innovate the Captive Agent Model | Insurance Thought Leadership
Insurance carriers must innovate their captive agent models or risk losing talent to independent distribution channels.
Historically, insurance carriers have often considered captive or career agents as the backbone of their sales and distribution model. In recent years, however, the market share of insurance sold through independent channels has grown, eroding the strength of the career agency model.
Consider that in 2024, 53% of all life premium, 41% of annuities, and 39% of personal lines P&C premium all were placed through independent channels – continuing a trend seen over the last several years.
But the issue for carriers is not just that increased premium is coming through independent channels – it's that captive agents are leaving carriers for independent distributors. That matters – captive agents have incentives to push both the carrier's brand and products to customers. A reduction or reliance on captive agents would fundamentally change the entire value chain for a carrier (e.g., product pricing, sales and marketing, customer service models).
Salvato Inc. Signs Additional Insurer Expanding Inventory on Salvato Auctions
Launching Summer 2025: Salvato Auctions to Sell 100% Insurance Vehicle Inventory with Lower Fees for Buyers and Sellers
Salvato, the smarter auction for insurance vehicles, announces the addition of another insurer to its Salvato Auctions platform. Launching summer 2025, SalvatoAuctions.com will offer 100% insurance vehicles to buyers worldwide at 20% lower fees than traditional auctions. This reduction in fees is made possible by Salvato’s transformative business model.
Salvato Auctions sells vehicles where they are located, eliminating the need for centralized yards, additional transport costs, and a lengthy sales process. The result is a modern auction experience that improves net returns and cycle time for sellers while reducing fees by at least 20% for buyers.
“The Salvato model has been incredibly well-received by the insurance industry, and we are thrilled to add another insurer to our auction ahead of the launch,” said Peter Jebson, co-founder and CEO of Salvato. “With total loss frequency continuing to rise, it is increasingly important for insurance companies and fleets to maximize their net return and get money back in the door sooner.”
Telematics, Driving & Insurance
Dashcam Use Soars, as 7 in 10 Commercial Drivers Fear Road Dangers
Staffing shortages create additional risk as companies increase dashcam adoption by 29% and expand hands-free policies to protect drivers, a Nationwide survey finds.
A new Nationwide survey reveals 70% of company drivers fear being killed or injured on increasingly hazardous roads, while employers respond by dramatically increasing dashcam usage and hands-free policies to combat dangerous driving behaviors.
As employees return to offices and traffic volumes increase across the U.S., company drivers are navigating increasingly hazardous roadways. The survey highlights a significant perception gap: 89% of company drivers rate their own driving as good or excellent, but less than 60% say the same about other commercial drivers and the drivers of passenger vehicles.
Despite this confidence, 21% of company drivers admit to being frequently distracted while driving for work. Common distractions include GPS systems, cell phone use, eating or drinking, and adjusting radio or music.
Compared to a year ago, drivers believe other motorists are using phones more behind the wheel (69%), driving faster (66%), and behaving more aggressively (70%), Nationwide found.
Work pressures appear to be exacerbating these issues. The survey found 53% of drivers regularly take work phone calls while driving, with roughly a quarter reading or responding to work texts (28%) or emails (24%). Another 40% reported they frequently take personal phone calls while driving company vehicles.