INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Cities Completely Unprepared For A.I. Disruption
No city anywhere in the world is ready for the disruptions that will be brought on by artificial intelligence and related technologies, and significant improvements must be made to fully prepare for the challenges that lie ahead, according to a global study of cities conducted by the Oliver Wyman Forum. Read more.

CEOs Name Climate Change Top Risk To Growth
For the first time, CEOs have named climate change as the #1 risk to organizational growth in 2019, ahead of technological disruption, according to KPMG's Global CEO Outlook. Read more.

Marsh Pilots Blockchain-Powered Placement
Marsh has announced its pilot of Risk Exchange, a new digital placement platform powered by blockchain technology which has the potential to transform the insurance placement process toward an interactive digital experience. Read more.

Chisel Enhances AI-Powered Policy Check Solution
Chisel AI has announced an enhanced version of Policy Check, an AI-powered solution that enables commercial insurance carriers and brokers to digitize and standardize the process of checking an insurance policy against a quote, application, submission, expiring policy, or binder in seconds. Read more.

USAA, Google Cloud Partner To Improve Claims
In order to make the auto insurance claims experience faster and more efficient, USAA and Google Cloud have developed machine learning models that will allow for nearly instant vehicle damage estimates from digital images. Read more.

Resilience First: DTCC Whitepaper
Acknowledging the growing potential for future disruptions to critical business services that could create market instability, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation has called for establishing business resilience as an industry-wide priority in a new whitepaper, titled “Resilience First.” Read more.

“Insurance 2020: Setting Our Sights on Success”
Don Forgeron, President of IBC, discussed key issues facing Canadian insurance in his remarks at the NICC on Sept. 23 and offered some predictions about what the industry can expect over the next year. Read more.

SMEs Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks: IBC
Nearly half of small businesses have no defence in place against a cyber attack, Insurance Bureau of Canada has revealed, while more than half have no insurance to help them recover if one occurs. Read more.

Guidewire Unveils New Data Model For Cyber Risk
Guidewire Software has announced the availability of the 4th-gen update for its Cyence™ cyber risk modeling solution that includes a new event modeling scenario designed to estimate the origin of losses resulting from a mass business interruption following a ransomware attack. Read more.

Marsh Reveals First Cyber Catalyst Solutions
Marsh has announced the inaugural class of cybersecurity solutions receiving a Cyber Catalyst designation as part of a first-of-its-kind evaluation program designed to bring organizations greater clarity in the crowded cybersecurity marketplace. Read more.

LifeTech To Profoundly Impact Life Insurance
The corporate venture capital arm of New York Life has released a whitepaper on the implications of LifeTech – an emerging start-up ecosystem distinct from InsurTech which features technologies that address the challenges facing life insurance companies. Read more.

Aon Empowers Insurers To Improve Claims
Aon plc is pleased to announce the launch of its ClaimsMonitor.X platform, which uses A.I. to read claims notes on open files, enabling insurers to review their progression for increased efficiency and profitability while enhancing the customer experience. Read more.

AXA XL, Accenture Partner On Cybersecurity
AXA XL and Accenture are partnering to offer global cybersecurity services to AXA XL's underwriters, brokers and clients to strengthen their cyber capabilities to combat and recover from cyberattacks. Read more.

Protective Selects REIN’s InsurTech Platform
Protective Insurance has partnered with REIN and will utilize the company's platform to build additional loss prevention capabilities across its commercial trucking line of business and expand the usage of data science in strategic areas. Read more.

InsurTech Avinew Selects Majesco Core Suite
Majesco has announced that Avinew, the InsurTech company reinventing auto insurance for the age of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles, has chosen Majesco P&C Core Suite on Majesco CloudInsurer™ as the foundation of its business operations. Read more.

Urgent Need For Climate Adaptation Investment
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) have released striking new data demonstrating the urgent need for new investments in local climate adaptation—and the areas where that investment is needed most. Read more.

Infosys McCamish Launches Platform For L&A
Infosys McCamish has launched a new industry platform for the Global Life Insurance and Annuity industry. With plug-and-play components using open-source technologies, it is simple to use, enhances time-to-market, and promotes a superior digital experience, while driving operational efficiencies. Read more.

Excellence Life + Industrial Alliance Insurance
iA Financial Group has announced the merger of two companies of its group: Excellence Life Insurance Company and Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. Subject to regulatory approval, the merger will take effect on January 1, 2020. Read more.

How To Avoid Insurance Fraud: Sonnet
Sonnet Insurance wants to empower Canadians to recognize and prevent potentially harmful scams. Home and auto insurance seller fraud is common in all regions of Canada. Read more.

My Proof Of Insurance Satisfies Regulations
CSIO is pleased to confirm that the My Proof of Insurance industry solution satisfies the regulatory requirements set out by each province that has approved the use of electronic proof of insurance (eSlips). Read more.

Insurance Key To Extreme Weather Recovery
A strategic management expert is urging for adaptation of the insurance industry to assist in society's ability to recover from climate-change-related disasters. Read more.

Travelers Launches Catastrophe Map Viewer
Travelers is pleased to announce the launch of its Catastrophe Map Viewer, a new capability that provides agents and brokers with before-and-after photos of areas affected by disasters. Searchable, high-res aerial images are often available within one or two days after a catastrophic event. Read more.

MIS Satellite Imagery Speeds Up Lloyd's Claims
Global imagery and geospatial intelligence consultancy firm McKenzie Intelligence Services has cemented itself as a key component in Lloyd's drive to use technology to speed up claims payments following natural catastrophe events. Read more.

Mitchell, Qualcomm Enable Smart Glasses Solution
Mitchell, a leading provider of technology solutions to the P&C claims and Collision Repair industries, has developed a proof-of-concept Extended Reality (XR) smart glasses solution for collision repair facilities in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies. Read more.

WSIB Reduces 2020 Average Premium Rate
Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has announced a 17 per cent reduction to the 2020 average premium rate. This marks the fourth year in a row the WSIB has reduced the rate. Read more.

Rise People Launches Free Québec Offering
Rise People Inc., a leading digital HR, payroll and group benefits platform, has officially launched in Québec. Reinforcing its commitment to the business community in this market, Rise is offering its payroll service free until the end of the year. Read more.

Distracted Driving Should Be Unacceptable
Despite stricter penalties and new technology to help curb distracted driving, many Canadian drivers still can't ignore their cellphones and other distractions. The latest Desjardins survey reveals that 53% of Canadians admit to having driven distracted by their cellphones at least once, up from 38% last year. Read more.

Speed Named Best Predictor Of A Car Crash
Speeding is the riskiest kind of aggressive driving, according to an analysis by researchers at the University of Waterloo, who examined on-board device data from 28 million trips for links between bad driving behaviours and the likelihood of a crash. Read more.

HazardHub Launches US Fire Risk Score Tool
HazardHub, the fastest-growing supplier of geospatial risk data in the United States, is excited to announce the release Property Fire Score (PFS), the first system ever to measure the severity of fire risk for an individual property. Read more.

Ping An Selected For Sustainability Index
Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China Ltd. has been selected for the Dow Jones Sustainability Emerging Markets Index (DJSI) for the first time. Ping An is the first insurance company from mainland China to be selected in the Emerging Markets Index. Read more.

Mental Health Issues Rising, Resources Unused
More than half of working Canadians have experienced a mental health issue, Sun Life has revealed, yet the majority working Canadians suffering from mental health issues are not accessing support through workplace benefits or government services. Read more.

Mental Illness Stigma Remains: Survey
While more Canadians are recognizing depression and anxiety as disabilities compared to last year, a stigma around mental health still exists, according to a new RBC Insurance survey. Read more.

Parents Get ‘C-’ For Safe Driving In School Zones
Parents get a grade of ‘C-’ for their driving behaviours in school zones, according to the latest BCAA Safety Survey – with illegal parking, unsafe drop offs/pick ups and speeding the top issues. Read more.

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Learn more about our real-time broker and MGA products from Custom Software Solutions.

The InsurTech Spotlight features insurance practitioners and InsurTech(nology) providers which are – or are becoming – InsurTechs. In the spotlight this week are:

Breathe Life
The Breathe Life vision is to bring financial security to millions of people, whoever and wherever they are by transforming the way individual insurance is bought and sold today. Breathe Life has built a digital transformation platform that delivers a modern, customer-centric experience with tools and analytics that are reshaping the insurance industry and driving business growth. We partner with Insurance Carriers and Distributors to help them solve their distribution problems. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

Featured job opportunities:

Account Manager / CSR Personal & Commercial Lines
B. Employment Brokers
Woodbridge, ON

Marketing Manager
Saskatchewan Mutual Insurance
Saskatoon, SK

“20/20 Foresight:
Keys To Success in a Dynamic World”

Feb. 25-26, 2020, in Toronto

New business models, new approaches to managing risks, and new insurance products, often enabled by the latest technology, are creating opportunities – but they also generate challenges and risks of their own.

At ICTC2020, industry leaders and experts will define the next generation of insurance and risk management.

Will the industry's dependence on technology be its saving grace or its Achilles heel?

Explore the implications for achieving exceptional performance in insurance, not only today, but tomorrow – and beyond.

Registration will open soon.

Mark your calendar now for Feb. 25-26, 2020:

From Doug IoT and Risk-based Pricing: The fourth of Mateo Carbone's value creation levers for the insurance buyer as derived from IoT data is "risk-based pricing." Of course, the premium charged for almost all insurance products is determined by underwriting and rating, based on numerous factors which tend to vary depending on size, exposure, value, duration, etc. The sensor-based data that the Internet of Things gathers and that can be analysed, even in real-time, would allow an insurer to understand the risk at the moment, and theoretically charge a premium based on the point in time. A simple example for travel insurance: A basic policy premium could insure a traveller except in high-risk areas. Should the traveller enter such a zone, geofencing could trigger a warning that their insurance is void there, and possibly offer the option to upgrade their coverage so the insurance would continue. In a very different example, a commercial fleet can be monitored for numerous characteristics. Based on time period – a day, week or month – the premium can be adjusted to reflect performance. IoT enables much more flexibility for risk-based pricing based on numerous measurable factors. For an insurer to derive value, it obviously needs to fall into regulatory bounds and be practical and cost-effective; without saying, it must be marketable and contribute to the organization's business goals. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca