Climate/Resilience/Sustainability
Insurance Faces Triple Threat From Climate and Environmental Risks - Risk & Insurance
Swiss Re identifies extreme heat, fungi adaptation and plastics litigation as emerging risks requiring industry attention.
Extreme heat events, fungi adaptation to higher temperatures, and rising plastics litigation as three emerging risks that could significantly impact the insurance industry across multiple lines of business, according to Swiss Re’s annual SONAR report on new and evolving risks.
“Climate change is driving extreme heat and fungi-related risks. More frequent heatwaves increase the risk of accidents, electrical outages, wildfires and put stress on health care systems,” Swiss Re stated. “Warmer temperatures also enable fungi to thrive, and many are becoming resistant to the few available fungicides. This could lead to more claims for toxic mold in buildings and multi-drug-resistant fungal infections in humans and crops, potentially affecting property, casualty and agricultural insurance.”
In addition to focusing on the most pressing emerging risks, the Swiss Re SONAR report also points to structural risks that impact insurers, which include: declining trust in institutions, aging populations, social inflation, mortality risks and digitalization.
“One major structural risk is the significant lack of consumer trust in insurers, as surveys indicate,” Swiss Re said. “This affects policy sales and can lead to reputational issues and regulatory pressure. Another concern is tort law, where the severity of insurance claims surges beyond what is caused by economic drivers, particularly in the U.S.. This challenges the liability insurance business and reduces the capacity for risk transfer.”
AI in Insurance
AI in Insurance: Enhancing Customer Experience, Not Replacing Human Expertise
The commercial insurance industry has been undergoing a transformation of sorts in recent years, with a new breed of insurtechs springing up to meet the needs of consumers and businesses that want faster, better and more digitized experiences when dealing with insurance providers.
In the on-demand economy – characterized by the likes of Uber, Deliveroo and Amazon Flex – hard-working on-demand taxi and delivery drivers need simple, straightforward access to insurance that caters to their working patterns and lifestyles and offers more flexibility than traditional all-inclusive cover. The future is on demand: What’s needed to support these drivers is cutting-edge technology combined with insurance expertise to meet regulations and keep processes efficient and premiums affordable.
This reinvention of insurance for an on-demand world can be achieved through smart uses of technology, AI in particular, as long as it is implemented in the most appropriate areas of the business and used as an augmented assistant rather than a replacement for insurance expertise.
Chris Gray, chief technology officer, INSHUR
Good Driver Mutuality: Using AI to Redefine Mutuality Service and Lead an Auto Repair Efficiency Revolution
In Silicon Valley, where cutting-edge technology meets community-driven innovation - Good Driver Mutuality (GDM) is reinventing the concept of mutual aid through artificial intelligence. Designed for America's safest drivers, this platform builds a modern community rooted in ancient wisdom: sharing risks, reducing costs, and fostering collective responsibility. By breaking down the barriers of time and distance, GDM is breathing new life into mutual aid for the digital age.
1. From Neighborhood Assistance to Nationwide Networks: A New Mutual Aid Paradigm
GDM does not provide insurance products - it operates as a tech-powered community where safe drivers band together to support members' vehicle repairs after accidents with small, voluntary contributions. Unused funds stay with members who remain accident-free, lowering costs for the careful while encouraging safer driving habits. It's a double win: drivers save money, and roads become safer for everyone.
What once was neighborly help for fires and floods now finds a new home on GDM's digital platform. With technology as the bridge, even strangers can build trust and share risk. This modern mutual aid model retains the core spirit of empathy and solidarity while adding transparency, efficiency, and scalability.
2. Four AI-Driven Core Capabilities Reshaping Costs and User Experience
GDM harnesses the power of advanced AI to drive every facet of its operations, embedding innovation at the core of its business. By integrating cutting-edge technology, GDM ensures long-term competitiveness while consistently delivering meaningful, high-value products.
AI-Powered Operational Cost Optimization
GDM integrates AI agents across its operations, targeting real-world pain points. Many industry insights remain untapped by large language models, while massive amounts of operational data remain unstructured - a prime opportunity for AI to drive efficiency at scale. Tasks that once relied on human experts are now automated, operating 24/7 with precision while dramatically cutting labor costs.
In the notoriously tough U.S. car insurance market, where data sets, customer lifecycles, and regional dynamics make standardized pricing nearly impossible, GDM cracked the code. Its AI rapidly identifies key factors and processes messy, unstructured data. Evolving from a support tool into a fully autonomous agent, it delivers fair, competitive pricing for safe drivers and removes entry barriers for new members.
News
Progressive (PGR) Widens Competitive Edge with Tech-Driven Personal Auto Strategy
The Progressive Corporation (PGR) continues to set the pace for its peers, showcasing a powerful growth engine in its Personal Auto insurance segment. This division, which accounts for an astounding 75% of the company’s total premiums, is the primary driver of Progressive’s overall profitability and market leadership.
The Engine of Growth: The Personal Auto Segment
Progressive’s success is built on a keen focus on its core business. The company’s performance is fueled by a multi-pronged strategy that includes strategic rate increases, higher advertising spend to attract new applications, and a robust network of independent agents.
This approach has allowed the company to consistently grow its premium volume. Favorable market conditions, such as lower accident frequency and stable severity trends, have further bolstered the segment’s performance, contributing directly to the bottom line.
A Technological and Underwriting Competitive Edge
What truly sets Progressive apart from its competitors is its significant competitive edge in technology and underwriting. The company is a leader in using quantitative analytics for precise pricing and risk selection. This allows Progressive to adjust rates more quickly and effectively than its peers, which is a crucial advantage in managing inflationary cost pressures.
Innovations like telematics and its usage-based insurance program, Snapshot, allow the company to cater to evolving consumer preferences. This technology helps Progressive attract and retain low-risk drivers with competitive rates while accurately pricing higher-risk policies, supporting both top-line growth and margin expansion.
How Competitors Are Faring
While Progressive leads the pack, its main competitors, The Allstate Corporation (ALL) and The Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV), are also focused on their personal auto businesses. Allstate is leveraging its strong brand recognition and expanded product offerings to improve its premiums and profitability. Similarly, Travelers is using data and technology to enhance its pricing and improve its underwriting margins.
However, Progressive’s early and deep investment in analytics and telematics provides a sustained advantage that will likely keep it at the forefront of the industry for the foreseeable future.
Gen Z is dropping home insurance in 2025
Some Gen Z homeowners are reducing coverages as the cost of properties and insurance policies increase.
Already in 2025, the average U.S. consumer spends nearly $25,000 per year on household bills, with the median annual income for U.S. households at $80,610. Meanwhile, U.S. homeowners now pay 17.4% more for new insurance policies as factors like inflation, severe weather and reinsurance costs impact the market.
U.S. House reintroduces act to combat auto rate discrimination
If passed, the act would end the use of factors unrelated to a person’s driving history to set their premiums.
The bill also targets income proxies, which are sometimes used in the determination of auto rates when information about a person’s income is unavailable.
A bill that would change the way auto insurance premiums are determined has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Prohibit Auto Insurance Discrimination Act, or PAID Act, challenges what many argue are discriminatory considerations for determining a person’s auto insurance rates.
The bill was reintroduced by Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Mark Takano. If passed, it would end the use of income, credit scores, education levels and other factors unrelated to a person’s driving history to set their premiums.
Telematics, Driving & Insurance
Cambridge Mobile Telematics’ DriveWell Fusion Named a 2025 World Changing Idea by Fast Company
Annual Awards Recognize Innovative Companies and Projects Addressing the World’s Most Urgent Challenge
Fast Company has named Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), the world’s largest telematics service provider, a winner in its 2025 World Changing Ideas Awards. This annual recognition honors transformative efforts that tackle the world’s most pressing issues, from sustainability initiatives and cutting-edge AI developments to ambitious pursuits of social equity that help improve the world. CMT was recognized in the “Established Excellence” category, placing it among just 100 honorees selected from more than 1,500 entries.
Distracted driving is one of the most urgent road safety crises today. CMT is the only telematics company that powers safe driving programs around the world by fusing sensor data from IoT devices, smartphones, connected vehicles, dashcams, and third-party devices and transforming it into driving insights for risk, crash and claims, and driver improvement programs. CMT’s AI-driven platform, DriveWell Fusion, has helped prevent 93,000 crashes and 50,000 serious injuries across 25 countries.
The Carsharing Telematics Market – 7th Edition – Telematics Wire
The Carsharing Telematics Market – 7th Edition from Berg Insight which analyses the latest developments on this market worldwide including a comprehensive overview of the carsharing telematics value chain covering 35 carsharing platform vendors and 70 carsharing initiatives from specialist CSOs, car rental companies and car OEMs.
This study provides you with 170 pages of unique business intelligence, including 5-year industry forecasts, expert commentary and real-life case studies on which to base your business decisions.
Carsharing is a decentralized car rental service focusing on short-term rentals that supplements other modes of transport including walking, cycling and public transport. Carsharing aims to provide an alternative to individual car ownership without restricting mobility by providing affordable car access. Carsharing Organisations (CSOs) offer members access to a fleet of shared cars from unattended self-service locations. Today, most CSOs worldwide use station-based networks with round-trip rental. This operational model requires members to return a vehicle to the same designated station from which it was accessed. Many CSOs also offer one-way carsharing that enables users to return the car to any station operated by the CSO.
Another model that is gaining in popularity is free-floating carsharing, which allows members to pick up and drop off cars anywhere within a designated area or zone. The ability to access available cars instantly without prior booking and no need to schedule a return time makes this type of service attractive for short trips. In some regions, more cars are now dedicated to free-floating carsharing than station-based carsharing.
Predict & Prevent
Avista adds AI-powered cameras to enhance wildfire detection
Avista is enhancing its fire detection capabilities by adding five new AI-powered cameras to its network. These cameras are strategically placed on mountaintop towers and can detect wildfire smoke from as far as 10 miles away.
The utility company aims to prevent disasters by expanding its coverage. Avista stated that the network now covers nearly 45% of the urban wildland within its service areas.
Last year, the cameras detected 1,400 incidents, showcasing their effectiveness in identifying potential fire threats.
Avista's efforts highlight its commitment to protecting communities by utilizing advanced technology for early wildfire detection.
Announcements
Verisk unveils API-enabled insurance platform | Reinsurance Business
In response to evolving client demands and increasing regulatory scrutiny, Verisk has launched a purpose-built underwriting platform for the London Market that supports agility and compliance through advanced analytics.
Developed by Verisk Specialty Business Solutions (Verisk SBS), the platform is designed to assist insurers and reinsurers in managing operational complexity while enhancing underwriting workflows. It integrates Verisk’s global data resources and industry analytics with a flexible technical framework built for continuous delivery.
IQUW, a specialty insurer and reinsurer, is the first company to implement the new system.
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The platform includes features such as API enablement for integration with existing technology infrastructure, scalability for future enhancements, and advanced tools that support pre-bind decision-making. It aims to reduce friction in underwriting operations by equipping underwriters with data-driven insights before binding coverage.
According to Verisk SBS, the technology is structured to deliver iterative improvements, allowing insurers to adjust underwriting processes in line with market and regulatory developments.
Chris Spencer, director of underwriting solutions at Verisk SBS, said the platform was created with the current market environment in mind. “The London Market remains a global centre of underwriting excellence, but the landscape is shifting. Our platform is designed to help insurers meet rising client expectations, improve operational efficiency, and maintain a competitive edge,” he said.
Fraud
The Building Blocks Of The Future Of Insurance
Built with the foundation of trust from the ground up, blockchain can foster tighter relationships between the insured and the insurer.
Fraud. An elusive threat to the insurance industry for decades. Yet the emergence of AI has excited insurers about potential ways to significantly reduce fraudulent claims. However, another technology also powered by clean data may be even more promising, and that is blockchain. Specifically, blockchain smart contracts. Think of blockchain as taking State Farm's "Like a Good Neighbor" to another level. Built with the foundation of trust from the ground up, blockchain can foster tighter relationships between the insured and the insurer.
With every insurance transaction serving as a block in the chain as part of smart contracts, an insurance customer who wants to commit fraud will automatically be challenged by a series of automated checks programmed into the contracts that are set by the insurer. These challenges can be based on the trends AI and BI tools extract from fraud trends available through open-source insurance data.
PROMOTED Depending on the quality of the transactional data insights, the automation to process legitimate claims and stop fraudulent insurance claims could become faster than today's AI-powered processes.
If a customer wants to take a risk and perform a fraudulent activity, then the insurer could automatically fine the customer or cancel their coverage, ensuring optimal integrity of their blockchain without requiring much human interaction.