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.

Lloyd’s, the world’s leading marketplace for commercial, corporate and speciality risk solutions, has today announced the next eleven InsurTech start-ups that will join the eighth cohort of the Lloyd’s Lab in its ten-week programme, which brings together InsurTechs, insurers, and brokers to test out new, innovative solutions. The teams will be working to create insurance products to address the issues and challenges facing the Lloyd’s market.

Is adequate risk transfer in the face of rapid technological change even possible?

The vehicle salvage process has long been the inefficient, paper-based and nearly-forgotten tail-end of an auto insurer’s coverage obligation. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

According to this report the industry is expected to grow by 31.9% on annual basis to reach US$56,979.8 million in 2022. According to this report the industry is expected to grow by 31.9% on annual basis to reach US$56,979.8 million in 2022.

In 2020, while both metros and non-metros reported nearly the same number of covid-19 claims, the trend changed in 2021 as non-metros reported 17% more claims than metros.

Lloyd’s of London has said it is working with the UK government to implement sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine as fast as possible, including cancelling Russian firms’ insurance cover.

As PWC notes in its report, Top Insurance Industry Issues 2021: “More change has occurred in the industry in the past year than in the previous several years combined and its pace is only accelerating.” These changes are necessary for insurance agencies to scale, add new risk products, and provide a modern, digital-first customer experience.

As property and casualty insurance carriers look to reduce growing loss ratios in 2022, many have shifted their focus away from growing their customer bases and toward increasing their profits. But for carrier marketers, the path to efficient customer acquisition isn’t as simple as merely cutting budgets.

Over the past few years, the economy has reeled from inflation, labor shortages, global conflict, and, yes, the Covid-19 pandemic. Even before the uncertainty of today’s climate, women were grappling with unique setbacks: earning lower wages, shouldering the bulk of unpaid labor, and facing more student loan debt than men.

Now is an excellent time for people in the insurance industry to start studying what trends may become prominent during 2022.

The insurer has redeployed finance employees to work on acquisitions or product development, CFO says

For consumers who have found that costlier insurance is just one of the expenses that make electric cars trickier to love, this is the year when relief may be coming.

CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its 2021 CoreLogic Climate Change. Catastrophe Report, revealing over 14.5 million single- and multifamily homes were impacted by the largest natural catastrophe events of 2021, with an estimated $56.92 billion in property damage.

When Arthur Patterson and Jim Swartz co-founded Accel, a core principle of their approach to investing was a thesis-based method called a “Prepared Mind”. Referencing the Louis Pasteur quote “chance only favours the prepared mind”, this method remains integral to how we approach, learn about and invest in new opportunities today.

As consumers, we want a personalized experience whenever we shop online, stream videos, or even get a cup of coffee. And we want the companies we do business with to anticipate our needs, and, increasingly, to reflect the values we hold dear.

2021 was a historic year for investment in insurtechs. Funding reached a record-breaking $15 billion in Q3, according to Forrester – more funding than in 2019 and 2020 combined. As this booming market evolves, the value of innovation by insurtech startups is becoming clear.

Last month Fitch Ratings held its 2022 Insurance Insight Series, and the first event on deck was a webinar about how the insurance sector will evolve over the next year.

The insurance industry struggles to create economic profit. But amid COVID-19’s enduring changes, opportunities await.

The insurance industry struggles to create economic profit. But amid COVID-19’s enduring changes, opportunities await.

The InsurTech ecosystem in Asia is relatively smaller as compared to that in Europe and North America. However, the InsurTech industry in Asia has witnessed a significant boom in 2020. According to Venture Scanner, Asia’s largest InsurTech hub is Singapore, followed by Indian cities Mumbai and Gurgaon.

Charles Taylor, has entered into a partnership with Fraud Keeper (FK), acquiring a majority share of the company. FK’s automated fraud detection software triages, validates and fast-tracks genuine claims. We present a cutting-edge SaaS platform based on automation and artificial

Wouldn’t it be nice, if, instead of relying on adjusters and restoration companies to surmise how much damage was actually caused by a water leak, an insurer could stop the leak almost before it starts.

These days customers are looking for a customized insurance experience, agents are looking for better strategies to engage with customers, and carriers are looking for the most current data to make choices about their products.

Insurers must be smarter about how they use data, make bold digital moves to meet consumer expectations, and take a strategic approach to process automation.

The telematics industry has grown significantly in the past years. And this is due to the increased demand for advanced telemetry solutions that provide improved safety, increased efficiency and reduced expenses.

Insurtech is no stranger to hype but with 2020 and 2021 bringing far more change than anyone bargained for, the industry has seen a fresh round of predictions and speculation.

2021 has been another groundbreaking year in the advancement of technology across many industries. According to the Willis Re Q3 Quarterly Insurtech report, more than US$10.5 billion was poured into insurtechs globally in the first 9 months of 2021 alone, with expectations that this investment trend will continue to increase in the coming years.

Digital and talent transformation accelerating as insurers adapt for postpandemic growth.

With third-party litigation funding reaching $17 billion in 2021, companies and their insurers are likely to see an uptick in social inflation in the years to come.

Sustainability is an issue of global importance, with unique implications for insurers.

Germany suffered its costliest natural disaster on record last year, as flash floods led to damages that vastly exceeded the amount covered by insurers.

Consolidation in the insurance brokerage space is expected to continue at a rapid pace through 2022, following a trend from the last 12 months where brokerage transactions drove the majority of announced insurance merger and acquisition (M&A) activity worldwide.

For decades now the insurance industry has been capitalizing on analytics to understand and predict risk when writing policies. But what if one of those disputed claims becomes a legal matter? Wouldn’t it be prudent for insurers to apply those same kinds of analytics to understand and predict legal exposure?

The Millennial and Gen Z populations desire a holistic customer experience—where digital offerings bring together other products and services to help the customer manage their lives.

Rosaline Chow Koo breaks down how CXA Group is working to make group insurance more profitable while simultaneously improving employees’ health and financial well-being.

The cyber risk landscape is likely to increase during 2022, according to an expert from Beazley.

The past two years have been tumultuous, to say the least. Two things we can all agree on is that life is not as predictable as we might hope and that change can happen faster than we think. The Covid-19 pandemic posed challenges for all industries across the world and the insurance space is no different.

The Asia-Pacific region’s insurtech industry predominantly consists of “less disruptive and more collaborative” start-ups complementing existing carriers rather than unconventional players seeking to unseat incumbents. This is what S&P Global Market Intelligence’s analysis of the biggest insurtech companies in the region has found.

The life insurance and annuity industry proved resilient in 2021, even in the face of COVID-19 and the delta variant.

For years, technology has been transforming the insurance industry, and that trend will only accelerate in 2022.

Insurers should expect big players in mainstream tech to influence the property/casualty industry during 2022.

For many of us, ringing in the new year means setting resolutions for better health and well-being. Whether in business or our personal lives, we must consider the scenarios that may threaten or enable our success. The insurance industry is no different.

For years, digital transformation has been the talk of the insurance industry. In the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many insurers made bold advances in automating core processes, adopting new technology and expanding their digital selling and collaboration capabilities.

Before cyber insurance can truly become a mainstay of the digital economy – as a widely available, widely affordable, consistently priced product – these problems need addressing.

It was great to see how so many companies showed incredible adaptability during COVID-19. While initially, we thought a lot of the insurance market would be at a loss as to what to do next, instead they were able to show resilience relatively quickly and technology was the enabler of that.

Increased deal activity and the use of M&A insurance has led to a record rise in the number of notifications, according to a new report by Howden M&A, an international M&A insurance broker. However, the COVID-19 outbreak did not result in a surge in the volume of claims or the number of coronavirus-related break events that had initially been anticipated.

2021 has been a record year for insurtech funding. As of Q3 2021, more than US$10.5 billion had been raised by companies in the space year-to-date (YTD), surpassing 2020’s total of US$7.1 billion by nearly 48%, data from insurance advisory firm Willis Towers Watson show.

2021 ended up being a bumper year for M&A deals and also for M&A insurers.

The gap between the best-performing cyber insurers and the worst-performing will widen in 2022, according to the CEO of cyber risk analytics specialist, CyberCube.

It is difficult to imagine where digital business operations would be today if it wasn’t for the catalyst that is the pandemic. For nearly two years, businesses across industries, and especially within insurance, accelerated digital transformation plans to adapt to remote access for customers and employees.

Building a culture of innovation doesn’t happen passively—it requires commitment and careful nurturing.

No one knows what 2022 will bring for travelers. But if anyone has an idea, it’s Sasha Gainullin, the CEO of the travel insurance company battleface. I asked Gainullin about what lies ahead next year. Here are his predictions.

Life insurers paid out more than $90 billion in death benefits at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the highest single-year rise since the 1918 influenza epidemic, data from the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) has revealed.

Every day, it seems a hot, new insurtech is funded and ready to partner with insurance carriers. Insurers shouldn’t allow their risk-averse nature or concerns about a potentially difficult integration road ahead to lead them to ignore upstart insurtechs.

Digital twin data can bring immense value to the insurance business. Specifically, there are four main areas where insurers could take advantage of digital twins to make material improvements.

The words “insurance” and “innovation” are not typically used together. Today’s leaders are working to change that.

According to Zurich’s Chief Claims Officer Ian Thompson, the company is seeing evidence that consumers are choosing to file in-person claims rather than use the digital options available to them.

Despite seeming reluctant to make sweeping changes, the insurance industry continues to be at the forefront of adopting digital solutions.

When we say “core systems” in our industry, we are typically referring to the critical software applications that are core to an insurer’s business operations, mainly the policy, claims and billing management functions.

2021 saw widespread vaccine deployment and easing of pandemic-related restrictions—important catalysts that helped rebuild confidence among people and businesses alike, while fueling economic recovery.

As insurers hold onto some of the digital solutions that were adopted because of the pandemic, it’s critical to understand the balance between digital strategies and boots on the ground tactics for underwriting.

The auto insurance industry is at a turning point. After navigating the unwelcome effects of a global pandemic, carriers and collision repairers are eagerly awaiting a return to “normal.”

Insurers have been slower to adopt digital twins than their counterparts in other industries.

Carriers don’t have to be the only beneficiaries of InsurTech advancements. A similar relationship can also be applied to the smaller independent agents and brokers.

People don’t trust insurers. We’ve probably all had to contact an insurer about a problem only to find it’s not covered in the small print. Rates are usually fixed, and sometimes unfair. There may also be hurdles in approving payment once a claim is made.

As the impacts of climate change rise and interest in renewable energies peaks, sustainability is becoming a central priority for businesses across all sectors – but insurers have the edge in terms of providing long term solutions.

The huge sums being invested in insurtech have yet to disrupt the insurance sector in the same way that fintechs have changed banking, says Germany’s BaFin markets watchdog.

The insurance industry is said to lag in the era of digitalisation. Insurers were told to ramp up digital efforts in order to meet rising demand during the pandemic – and it turns out this was the push they needed to break free from traditional broker-based insurance.

Looking toward 2022, health insurers are going to be wrestling with all the ways COVID has transformed the health insurance industry and what it means for coverage, pricing and patient care for the years to come.

Small business customers are demanding more service from their agents, but with the right technologies and carrier partnerships, agencies can elevate their customer service game without adding to their workloads.

Rumours of Amazon’s intention to disrupt the insurance industry have, it turns out, not been greatly exaggerated at all, and the technology giant’s plan to enter the small and medium-sized UK business customer segment have put players on edge across the insurance industry.

Insurance—an industry known for veteran brands and a cautious approach to risk—might seem a strange fit for the move-fast-and-break-things ethos of the startup world, but that hasn’t dissuaded venture capitalists from scaling up.

InsurTech is an enormous industry whose global market size is projected to reach US$ 11940 million by 2027. Ever since the first insurtech startups tested the waters in 2010, it has been hotting up and on a constant path of massive development.

The two publicly traded full-stack personal auto insurance companies recently disclosed plans to further expand their distribution networks into the independent agent channel.

Most plan members want to see more personalized product recommendations and more personalized assistance to understand their coverage and maximize their benefits plan.

The news of the death of the agent has been greatly exaggerated. Agents control about 80% of the homeowner market and 65% of the personal auto market today because most customers still prefer to do business with agents.

Pikl, founded in 2016, has developed a suite of flexible insurance products designed for the sharing economy. For our Future50 Europe, we caught up CEO Louise Birritteri (pictured centre).

Insurance in Kenya and Africa at large remains a marginal product, with levels of penetration across the continent half the world average as a percentage of GDP, and premiums per capita 11-fold lower than the world average, according to a recent report by McKinsey and Co.

Technology will help usher insurance into the future, but it will not fundamentally change the industry, according to Evan Greenberg, chairman and CEO of Chubb Ltd.

YuLife was recently featured as part of our Future50 Europe. We caught up with co-founder & CEO Sammy Rubin to talk about how he is modernising the life insurance industry and helping customers live healthier lives.

Climate change has returned to the top of the list of biggest concerns for insurers as the rollout of the vaccine and the gradual lifting of health restrictions reduce fears of a pandemic in many countries.

Traction is building for parametric insurance products and the innovative solution they represent to the substantial economic losses and adverse social impacts that natural catastrophes have on affected communities.

Few lines have been talked up in recent years quite like cyber. Indeed, Accenture has predicted $25bn of growth in annual cyber premiums globally by 2025 – or a 500% increase on today’s ~$5bn GWP.

It’s not every day the insurance sector is presented with an opportunity that is both an untapped source of income and the chance to offer ethically-centred solutions to communities in need.

A growing number of Gen Z professionals are open to sharing the data from their smart home devices with insurers, in return for a better customer experience or discounts, according to a new survey by Capco.

Identifying future trends and engaging in risk partnerships on new technologies are at the heart of Munich Re’s strategy

Property and casualty reinsurers have displayed underwriting discipline during this year’s renewals, continuing with rate corrections that began several years ago, despite the pressures of abundant capacity. Prices continued to harden during the first half of 2021 – albeit with slightly less momentum than last year – in a trend that will likely continue into the January 2022 renewal season.

There can be little doubt that COVID-19 has accelerated the move to a digital-first society, forcing many more traditional organisations to fast-track their data and digitisation journeys.

Cybersecurity start-up ActZero has announced a strategic partnership with cyber insurance provider Zeguro to create a cyber risk management program for small and mid-sized businesses.

Climate change will help propel a threefold surge in property insurance premiums over the coming two decades, according to a study published on Monday by Swiss Re.

This Spring, UK regulator, the FCA announced a ban on the unfair practice of ‘price walking’ in the insurance industry.

Technology, machine learning, robotic process automation, data aggregation and analytics – in recent years, the insurance industry (like many other sectors) has been motivated to make use of those tools to improve their operations and enhance their underwriting, pricing, and loss control capabilities.

Technologies are emerging that enable omnipresent, real-time connectivity between the people and businesses being insured and their insurers, and that is fundamentally changing the business of insurance.

The insurance industry needs to think about sustainability through both an underwriting and an investment lens, says ESG analyst Xuan Sheng Ou Yong.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a wave of “remote” services in areas that allegedly required physical presence. It made us reimagine age-old practices and bring innovation to how businesses are operated, including insurance.

COVID-19 has given direction to insurtech trends to lean towards digital solutions. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we cannot really make accurate predictions about the future. However, it has also been a major catalyst of change as several industries underwent rapid and rampant transformations. These changes have now translated into the ‘new normal.’

Afilio, a Berlin based Insurtech, has secured USD13 million in highly competitive Series A funding to support the expansion of their ‘Peace of Mind-as-a-Service’ platform offering users digital estate management services.

When a human being or even an animal faces risk, there can be one of two reactions – fight or flight. Risk is inarguably ubiquitous and something that most of us deal with on a daily basis. However, rather than fight or flight, sometimes the best way to deal with risk is to buy protection. And, this is where the insurance industry plays an integral role.

India is the second-largest insurtech market in Asia-Pacific, accounting for 35 percent of the US$ 3.66 billion insurtech-focused venture investments made in the country, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

Insurtechs have stepped up to turn the $5 trillion insurance industry on its head. This radical upheaval hasn’t happened yet. But the insurance industry’s tech monopoly has already begun.

As more and more people are in search of integrated digital experiences it has become imperative for insurance service providers to embrace the digital disruption.

Chubb chairman and CEO Evan Greenberg has been a voice for the (re)insurance industry throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As leader of the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty (P&C) insurer, Greenberg has used his platform to speak out about the “impossible” task laid at the feet of the insurance industry – to cover the cost of the global pandemic alone. c

In the last year or so we’ve seen a number of insurtech startups go public, including Root (auto insurance), Metromile (car insurance), and Lemonade (rental insurance). But should we be worried?

What a first half of the year in the European insurtech scene: over €1.7B was invested across 52 deals. That’s basically more than 2019 and 2020 combined!

Short-term insurers say they went above and beyond for their customers in the past year and aren’t greedily gobbling up savings from lower claims.