Meeri Savolainen, Founder & CEO, INZMO, gives us her thoughts on attracting a younger customer base and closing the next generation’s protection gaps.

Insurance companies are often on the losing end of climate change, paying out increasingly exorbitant sums as extreme weather such as tornadoes, floods and fires damage property, agriculture and businesses.

There is likely to be a hard market for short-tail lines — such as real estate and property catastrophes — in global geographies in 2023, after beginning the year with decades of high price increases during the January 2023 reinsurance renewals by S&P Global Ratings, according to a published report .

As we welcome the new year, it’s natural to reflect on the year that passed and look ahead to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, and more specifically how new technologies might impact the insurance industry. As always, we must separate the signal from the noise.

With multiple signals to respond to involving economic, business, environmental and social factors, 2023 will demand insurers to respond by strengthening business fundamentals and foundation, while meeting the challenges of a changing market.

After years of growth, the US insurtech market faces a sharp decline in valuations. How should established insurance carriers respond?

More than a quarter of InsurTechs will leave the insurance marketplace in 2023 — just a couple years after investments in the space were at an all-time high, according to predictions from research and consulting firm Forrester.

According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and its most recent report estimating the economic impact of insurance fraud in the U.S., the estimated yearly cost related to insurance fraud has increased from $80 billion in 1995 to $308 billion in 2022. That is a staggering number –that the consumer absorbs in the form of increased premiums – to the tune of around $3,700 per year for the average U.S. family.

Commercial lines property and casualty insurance holding company, W. R. Berkley, has been making plans and positioning itself to take advantage of rising prices in the property catastrophe arena, with the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), W. Robert Berkley, saying that it could become a meaningful part of what the firm does in the short run.

Mobile technology and innovative apps are key elements in the ongoing digital transformation of the insurance industry.

Business has always had innovation, but innovations seem to come in waves.

With inflation currently remaining above historical peak, Swiss Re’s Head of Northern, Central & Eastern Europe, Frank Reichelt, discussed with Reinsurance News about what coping mechanisms the company have had to adapt to keep ahead.

At its 10th Allianz Motor Day, Allianz addressed the question of how sustainable car insurance can be, calling for an increase in so-called “green repairs” to vehicles.

Coalition, the world’s first Active Insurance provider designed to prevent digital risk before it strikes, today announced the formation of Ferian Re, an independent Bermuda-based Class 3B reinsurer that will provide capacity across Coalition’s cyber programs.

Insurers need to rethink their approach to innovation. The speed of change in technology, an evolving competitive landscape, increased customer expectations, and the new reality of a permanent hybrid workforce have challenged insurers across all functions.

To outsiders, IBM may be best known for its once-ubiquitous electronic typewriters. In the 21st century, however, the company has evolved into a multinational computer technology and IT consulting business, and it is a major player in the insurance industry.

The analysis, sponsored by Socotra, found that the benefits of shorter time-to-market exceeded the costs by as much as 40 times.

The global travel insurance market size is anticipated to reach USD 63.9 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 15.4% from 2022 to 2030.

As we move into a new phase of innovation after the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, insurers need to look ahead to determine what their technology priorities should be today.

Over the past decade, auto insurers have introduced and continuously refined usage-based insurance programs. Powered by telematics technology, which transmits data in real-time (or close to it), UBI promises policyholders some more control over their insurance price in exchange for that data.

Meeting the risk management needs of today’s small businesses requires just as much finesse and sophistication as carriers tend to offer to large enterprises.

Senior executives are “certain” that cyber will become a prominent line of business for Swiss Re in the long term, even as the reinsurer opts to stay underweight in this class for the present moment, until more data becomes available.

Today’s property and casualty insurance programs are combatting a number of challenges.

Greg Case, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of brokerage Aon, believes that the insurance and reinsurance industry is faced with a “generational opportunity” to make a difference.

Businesses are juggling a lot right now. First there was the COVID-19 pandemic, then global supply issues. An economic recession, labor market issues, rising inflation and other geopolitical headwinds soon followed. 

Results of New Research Reveal Differences – from Gen Z to the Silent Generation – to Help Agents and Brokers Build Trust, Connection and Credibility.

Nonprofit organizations play an important role in our communities, enriching lives, protecting vulnerable populations and environments, and providing volunteer and financial support to countless other worthy causes. Many nonprofit organizations, however, are struggling amid the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, facing greater demand for services while also experiencing staffing challenges, increased expenses and declines in revenue.

Aon plc AON recently set up a Strategy and Technology Group (STG), which will function under the leadership of Colin Forrest. It aims to benefit property & casualty, life insurance and reinsurance clients by offering various insight and software solutions.

Many insurance companies are not well prepared for the risks ahead, according to a 2022 cybersecurity benchmarking study. In fact, 31% of insurance organizations feel they are not well prepared for the threat landscape they face today.

According to Krishnamurthy, insurers are acknowledging the staying power of insurtech and its valuable ability to disrupt the insurance industry. Insurtech companies are, however, typically founded to target a specific pain point for insurers – and Krishnamurthy believes that this may no longer be enough.

S&P Global Ratings report that persistent pressures from inflation, tightening financial conditions and slower economic growth in China and other markets are likely to cause constraints on operating conditions for property/casualty (P/C) insurers in emerging markets.

Poor claims experiences could put up to $170 billion of insurance premiums at risk in the next five years, with process inefficiencies in underwriting potentially risking another $160 billion over the same period, according to a new report from Accenture.

An increase in inflationary pressures such as the rise in gas prices, the acceleration of extreme climate events and the soaring cost of manufactured goods have caused insurance rates to rise to record levels this year.

The firm claims that Anthemis led the round, which was also supported by SoftBank Group’s SB Opportunity Fund, Banco Popular, the largest bank in Puerto Rico, Consorcio, 305 Ventures, a Miami-based venture capital firm, and first-check investor Divergent Capital.

The recent Qorus Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards highlighted the world’s leading insurance changemakers. The winners of each category stood up against tough competition with initiatives that were not only innovative, but effective and with measurable impact.

Innovation in the insurance industry is not just important, it is essential. A more dynamic market has meant insurers are venturing into non-traditional sectors as well as looking for more advanced ways of serving existing markets. The industry must ramp up its innovation efforts if it is to tackle increasingly threatening risks, such as climate events and cyber-attacks.

Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg said the insurer is seeing favorable returns, but additional rate is needed to “keep pace with loss costs, which are hardly benign.”

Climate change has led to more intense wildfires, flooding and hurricanes – and they’re only projected to get worse. But major insurance carriers are often hesitant to insure customers in disaster-prone areas.

Developed by a senior team of actuaries and data scientists at Akur8, the objective of this new paper is to familiarize practitioners with Penalized regression as an extension of established actuarial techniques, instead of considering it one among several new modeling techniques from the Machine Learning and Data Science literature. Akur8 is excited to publish this information in an effort to help expand the literature available to the actuary and insurance community on this important topic.

Embedded insurance is a growing focus area of digital distribution across the insurance industry. By making insurance available in conjunction with other products on existing online services, customers can easily add insurance protection that fits their needs and budget as part of a customer journey linked to an established need.

While the market for cyber insurance is expected to remain challenging “for the foreseeable future,” there is optimism for rate stabilization as organization focus on cyber hygiene, according to broker Marsh.

The insurance industry has reached a point where many executives are also technologists, even if their title has a different designation. What’s driving this, in part, is multiple disciplines working together to further technological progress.

Allianz SE says car-shipping incidents are now a major cause of loss for the insurance industry after a cargo ship with about 4,000 Volkswagen AG vehicles caught fire and sank in the Atlantic two months ago.

Some of the most important questions insurance company CEOs ask their reserving actuaries are: “How much adverse development are we experiencing?” “What is driving these results?” and “Are any parts of the business heading into trouble?”

Insurance executives are recognizing the power of innovation to accelerate the pace of company change. Yet for innovation to deliver long-term value, it must become embedded in a carrier’s DNA.

Millennials will constitute a significant chunk of the insurance market for the next few decades, and how they engage and make decisions differs from previous generations.

There wasn’t much discussion about car insurance at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting this year, but when the subject came up, Warren Buffett acknowledged the continued dominance of a competitor, a mutual assurance.

AXA shareholders approved all resolutions submitted to them by the board of directors at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting Thursday.

Elon Musk trumpeted Tesla’s early inroads into automotive insurance last week. Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate owns Geico, has cast serious doubt on whether Tesla and other automakers can break into the industry and turn a profit.

Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) has selected 12 startups to collaborate on novel ways to serve customers, create more frequent meaningful touchpoints with them, and challenge the boundaries of insurance.

It’s not hard to understand and forecast why usage based insurance (UBI) — otherwise known as behaviour-based insurance or pay-as-you-drive (PAYD) — is becoming popular among North American drivers and rest of the world.

Nowhere is the insurance gap more pressing than in the case of flood insurance.

Tesla is “trying to turn a nightmare into a dream with Tesla Insurance,” chief executive Elon Musk said Wednesday.

Harsh market conditions, innovative entrants, and demanding clients are a few forces driving transformation in the insurance industry, but every challenge presents an opportunity.

What makes a true digital payment experience in insurance? Although the past few years have been characterized by rapid digital payment options, the real game-changer has been the focus of market leaders to embrace the transformation of the actual payment experience – both for premium and claim payments.

The COVID-19 pandemic has likely led to more distracted driving. April marks Distracted Driving Awareness Month and insurers have released data and studies that reveal what behaviors are leading to unsafe roadways.

It’s been just over two years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. As a result, we’ve seen major shifts in how people expect to work, play, shop and take on risks. It’s become clear that many of these new expectations are here to stay with varying degrees of impact on all industries.

The frantic pace of insurance industry M&A activity that emerged in 2021 shows no signs of slowing down, as firms look to expand their operations and take advantage of new growth opportunities in a variety of areas.

Insurtech has become a major part of the insurance market, with record-breaking amounts spent on technology-based innovations that can revolutionise the sector. It’s an area ripe for investment – with more than $1bn (£760m) spent every month on investment into insurtech startups in 2021, according to reinsurance broker Wills Re.

As the world constantly evolves and changes, so too does the life insurance industry, which is preparing for a multitude of challenges, particularly in three areas: interest rates, regulatory mandates and technology (software, underwriting tools and distribution platforms).

Survey indicates pandemic may have accelerated shifts in buyer preferences for a wider array of coverage, service, and distribution options.