INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Conservative Insurance Market Continues
Aon's 2023 Fall Canadian Insurance Market Update finds that a conservative market environment remains as uncertainty around economic and social inflation, geopolitical tensions, rising catastrophic weather losses, and supply chain and labour challenges continue. However, there is optimism within the market, with moderate competition returning as insurers look for growth opportunities with a particular emphasis on well-performing risks. Read more.

Average Annual Natural Catastrophe Losses Reach A New High
The global modeled insured average annual loss from natural catastrophes has hit a new high captured in the latest analysis using Verisk's extreme event solutions models. Not only should the insurance industry be prepared to experience total insured losses from natural catastrophes well in excess of $100 billion every year, but annual losses greater than $200 billion are also plausible. Read more.

FinTech Global’s 6th Annual InsurTech100 List
As InsurTech continues to become vital for the success of insurance companies, specialist research firm FinTech Global has released the sixth annual edition of its InsurTech100 list to celebrate the ground-breaking technology companies that are helping solve the insurance industry's most daunting challenges. Read more.

Thinktum Inc. Acquires Illustrate Inc.
Thinktum Inc. is pleased to announce it has acquired Illustrate Inc. to jointly become the no-code leader in the InsurTech and life insurance industry, building back-office solutions for insurance companies looking for state-of-the-art technology that saves time and money and eliminates errors. Read more.

Wawanesa Deploys Guidewire Cloud to Drive Service, Innovation, Growth
The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company is pleased to announce it has successfully deployed Guidewire Cloud to drive service, innovation, and growth. Wawanesa originally implemented Guidewire in a self-managed, on-premise deployment model; now, Guidewire Cloud is enabling Wawanesa to provide excellent service, power its core business, simplify IT operations, and adapt more quickly to changing market demands. Read more.

Cyber Claims Increased For Businesses In 2023
Coalition has released its 2023 Cyber Claims Report: Mid-year Update, which details the evolution of cyber trends during the first half of 2023. In the face of surging attacks, Coalition's claims data showed a 12% increase in cyber claims over the first six months of the year, driven by the notable spikes in ransomware and funds transfer fraud (FTF). Read more.

Kayna InsurTech Raises €1 Million
Kayna, the award-winning embedded insurance infrastructure platform, has closed a €1M pre-seed funding round. Co-led by Delta Partners (Ireland) and MiddleGame Ventures (pan-European) with participation from Aperture (Switzerland) and InsurTech Fund – an affiliate of InsurTech NY (USA), the funding comes as the company accelerates market development efforts into the United Kingdom and United States. Read more.

FORT Insurance, Gaudreau Assurances Join Forces
FORT and Gaudreau are pleased to announce their merger, establishing themselves as one of the largest independent brokerage firms in Quebec. The new entity, operating under the name of Fort Insurance & Group Benefits, will be an independent leader in the industry with a vision for nationwide growth and service excellence. Read more.

Ridge Canada Expands Technology E&O
Ridge Canada Cyber Solutions Inc. is pleased to announce it has secured CAD 5 million in capacity for its Technology Errors & Omissions specialty line of coverage. This robust product offers a comprehensive cyber & technology liability package designed to help Canadian technology companies protect themselves from a range of damaging financial and cyber losses. Both primary and excess limits are available and underwritten in-house. Read more.

Waabi, Uber Freight Partner On Autonomous Truck Deployment
Waabi and Uber Freight are pleased to announce a strategic partnership that pairs Waabi's core driving technology with Uber Freight's expertise in order to deliver a turnkey driver-as-a-service solution that will be the first of its kind. Read more.

Home Insurer Exodus Creates Challenges, Opportunities: J.D. Power
Homeowners and renters across the U.S. are being dropped by their insurance providers due to a combination of catastrophic events, rising costs and regulatory pressures. The J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Home Insurance Study indicates that this represents an opportunity for the carriers that remain, alongside a need to understand the potential effect these actions have on customer perceptions. Read more.

Climate Insurance Bubble: First Street Foundation
Millions of properties across the United States are at high risk of flooding, wildfires, and hurricane winds, which have yet to be reflected in the insurance premiums they pay, according to a report from First Street Foundation. Read more.

Rival Appoints Bob Juracka VP Business Strategy
Rival Insurance Technology, a leader in insurance management systems and connectivity solutions, is pleased to announce leased to announce Bob Juracka has joined the company's executive team as Vice President of Business Strategy. Read more.

In the InsurTech Spotlight this week:

LowestRates.ca
More Canadians start their search for insurance on LowestRates.ca than on any other website in Canada. LowestRates.ca helps consumers make smart financial decisions by offering industry-leading quoters that compare the insurance market for them. That allows us to generate high quality new business leads for our insurance partners. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

Featured job opportunities:

Financial Operations Lead
Nova Mutual
Jarvis, ON

Energy Underwriter (Account Executive)
HSB Canada
Toronto, ON

From Doug Closer To My Insurance Customer To really underwrite each client's risk, being close to the customer – putting yourself in their shoes – is essential. The advancements in IoT capabilities with the announcement of the Matter communications standard illustrates how data will continue to increase. Auto telematics is an example of the potential value of data. Matteo Carbone, Founder, IoT Insurance Observatory notes in his newsletter how an insurer's combined ratio can be lowered by five points. However, telematics for just UBI is not enough – value-added service with incentives, rewards etc enhance the value proposition and make the difference. (See “New Telematics Business Model.”) Telematics is just one example of a current shift in insurance. Noting the broad transition from the “manufacturing era of efficiency and gaining administrative scale” to the new “ecosystem era of maximizing the value of a relationship,” Rory Yates, SVP at EIS, remarks that “In this shift, there's a huge correlation between more efficient, automated and intelligent insurance businesses and those providing the best and differentiating experiences.” As the business model of “replace and repair” edges towards “predict and prevent,” from a product to a customer focus, the competitive factors are changing. Is your business leading – or following? Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca