Latest InsurTech Headlines

All the headlines from our InsurTech Topic Page, ordered by recency.

ACE Takes 24% Stake in CoverHound’s Online Commercial Insurance Plans

Sep 22 2015 // CoverHound has raised $33.3 million in a financing round led by ACE Group, which the company plans to use to build an online commercial insurance platform starting with businessowners policy insurance offerings that could...

Former Microsoft Executive Hartnett Named ACORD Innovation Chief

Sep 17 2015 // The insurance industry’s standards organization, ACORD, announced that Bill Hartnett, former financial services and insurance head at Microsoft, has been named its head of innovation, charged with bringing new ways...

Insurance Sector Struggles to Innovate: KPMG International Survey

Sep 17 2015 // While insurance executives overwhelmingly know that innovation will drive future competitive advantage and growth, most seem to be struggling to kindle the spark within their organization, finds a KPMG International report...

New York AG Urges Tech Firms to Act Responsibly as Business Models Evolve

Sep 16 2015 // New York State’s top lawyer told technology-firm executives he will “bring the full force” of his office against companies that mistreat their workers or cheat consumers. Speaking to entrepreneurs and...

Technology May Outpace Humans on Road to Automated Driving

Sep 14 2015 // From his laboratory at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, automated vehicle pioneer Raj Rajkumar says self-driving cars will evolve step-by-step, with humans staying in charge for a long time to come. More than...

NAPSLO Panel: Tech Disruption May be Good for E&S Market

Sep 10 2015 // “There are no rules. If you can figure out how to quantify a risk and define it, then you can insure it.” Hank Haldeman, president of the board of directors for the National Association of Professional Surplus...

HSB Expands Equipment Breakdown, Tech Insurance for ‘Invisible’ Risks

Sep 9 2015 // The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co. (HSB) is expanding the availability of HSB TechAdvantage, an equipment breakdown insurance that covers undetectable physical damage to microelectronics, by offering...

Risk Innovations Acquires Columbia Commercial General Agency

Aug 4 2015 // Atlanta, Ga.-based Risk Innovations LLC has acquired Columbia Commercial General Agency (CCGA), headquartered in Columbia, Mo. The deal was effective Aug. 1, 2015. The acquired business will continue to operate in Columbia...

Insurers Face Risks of Declining Customer Loyalty, Tech-Savvy Firms: Accenture

Aug 4 2015 // Insurers are not keeping up with rising customer expectations and will need to offer more innovative products and ally with some nontraditional partners to catch up and to keep more digital-savvy firms from stealing their...

The Myth of the Tech-Savvy Millennial

Aug 3 2015 // The idea that Millennials have superior tech skills and knowledge is something that has been an oft-repeated fact, both in the insurance industry and in our national consciousness. It makes sense; Millennials are the first...

Facebook’s Facial Recognition Software Draws Privacy Complaints, Lawsuit

Jul 30 2015 // When you are identified in a picture on Facebook, biometric software remembers your face so it can be “tagged” in other photographs. Facebook Inc. says this enhances the user experience. But privacy advocates...

N.Y. Sen. Schumer Pushes for High-Tech Solution to Drunk Driving

Jul 29 2015 // U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., says the nation should increase funds for the development of high-tech sensors that can disable a car’s ignition if its driver is drunk. The New York Democrat said on July 26 that...

Tech Firms Collaborating to Make Drone Air Traffic Safe

Jul 28 2015 // Google Inc., the company that brought order to the Internet, has set its sights on doing the same for the flocks of commercial drones expected to someday clog the skies. The search-engine pioneer is joining some of the...

Automakers Seek to Limit Data Sharing with Tech Partners

Jul 20 2015 // Carmakers are limiting the data they share with technology partners Apple Inc. and Google Inc. through new systems that link smartphones to vehicle infotainment systems, defending access to information about what drivers...

How to Deal With Humans (Customers) Who Prefer a Digital Interface to a Real Face

Jul 20 2015 // Flying drones and self-driving vehicles are being readied for everyday use — and we are not amazed. That’s because, in our industry, we focus on the practical instead of the stupefying: looking at the various...

How the Insurance Industry Is Using Google Glass

Jul 20 2015 // Improved customer service may be just one benefit insurers could see by using Google Glass in their operations. Michael Clifton, vice president of Insurance for Cognizant, described some of the benefits in the...

Auto Makers Seek to Limit Data Sharing with Tech Partners

Jul 10 2015 // Carmakers are limiting the data they share with technology partners Apple Inc and Google Inc through new systems that link smartphones to vehicle infotainment systems, defending access to information about what drivers do...

World Economic Forum Sees Finance/Insurance Industry in Digital Firing-Line

Jul 1 2015 // The world’s top banks and insurers are being forced to review their business models amid rapid inroads by nimble “fintech” start-ups, which are reshaping what consumers and businesses expect out of...

NYC’s Taxi Regulatory Agency OKs New App Rules for Uber, Lyft

Jun 24 2015 // New York City’s taxi regulatory agency on Monday approved new rules governing how Uber and other app-based car services operate within the five boroughs. Part of the proposal unanimously passed allows the companies...

IMCA Presents ‘Innovation Torchbearer Award’ to Insurance Information Institute

Jun 23 2015 // The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) has been awarded the 2015 Innovation Torchbearer Award at the Insurance Marketing & Communications Association’s (IMCA) 2015 Annual Conference in Nashville, Tenn. The...