Latest Tech Headlines
All the headlines from our Tech Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Self-Driving Car Developers Betting on Senior Citizen Market
Mar 2 2016 // Florence Swanson has lived through every American car from the Ford Model T to the Tesla Model S. Now, at 94, she has stepped into what Google hopes will be the automotive future: self-driving vehicles. After her painting...
Software Provider Vertafore Acquires Canada’s Keal Technology
Feb 29 2016 // Vertafore, the Bothell, Wash.-based insurance software provider, announced the acquisition of Keal Technology, a leading provider of broker and commercial management systems in Canada. The move extends Vertafore’s...
Startup Lemonade Bets Behavioral Science Can Help Insurance Not Suck
Feb 24 2016 // A company that openly berates the current insurance industry as one that sucks believes that adding behavioral science to the mix will help fix it. The New York-based startup Lemonade, which is promising to be a...
Insurance Industry Analyzes Google’s Failed Online Insurance Experiment
Feb 23 2016 // The insurance industry had a lot to say about what Google did wrong a day after the search engine giant said it would be pulling the plug on its year-long Google Compare experiment selling auto insurance online. Many...
Technology’s Full Potential
Feb 22 2016 // Technology has transformed how we operate in almost every facet of our life. It has changed the face of business for every industry. Insurance is no different. Yet, as I look within our industry I see a problem. I see...
Law Enforcement, Private Firms Look to Evolving Drone Defense Industry for Protection
Feb 18 2016 // The drone intruder was roaming around the Rose Bowl Stadium as 94,000 fans cheered, oblivious to the threat. But scientists testing a new security device at the game knew: they detected its radio signals and seized control...
Should Google’s Parent Buy AIG?
Feb 16 2016 // It’s an “audacious” idea, and Citigroup Inc. acknowledges as much. Google’s parent, Alphabet Inc., should buy American International Group Inc. to expand into financial services, and turn the...
CEO Exits As Tech Startup Broker Zenefits Confronts Culture, Compliance Bugs
Feb 9 2016 // Zenefits, a software startup valued at $4.5 billion, said on Monday it had replaced founder and Chief Executive Parker Conrad and appointed a new leader for the troubled tech company. David Sacks, a former executive at...
Chicago’s Metra Rail to Miss 2018 Rail Safety Technology Deadline
Feb 5 2016 // The Metra commuter railroad will miss a 2018 deadline for installing safety technology on all of its Chicago-area routes, but said it still expects to meet its obligations under a federal law requiring the expensive and...
Major Railroads Say They’ll Again Miss Safety Deadline First Set in 2008
Feb 4 2016 // Three of the biggest freight railroads operating in the U.S. have told the government they won’t meet a 2018 deadline to start using safety technology intended to prevent accidents like the deadly derailment of an...
Why Google’s Not So Smart or Fast and Insurance Agents Aren’t Dead… Yet
Feb 2 2016 // Insurance agents aren’t dead yet, but even underwriters participating in the personal automobile insurance market may be looking for another line of work within the next two decades, industry observers said at a...
Willis Re Joins with Tech Firm, Measure, to Raise Drone Usage for Insurers
Feb 2 2016 // Willis Re, the reinsurance business of Willis Towers Watson, announced a strategic partnership with technology company Measure to advance the use of drones within the insurance industry and bring the latest drone...
So, If the Future Arrived in 2015, What About 2016?
Jan 29 2016 // Repeatedly, we have described 2015 as the “year the future arrived for insurance.” Across the board, we saw significant changes in how carriers thought about the impact of new technology and innovation. It was...
Firms Look at New Tools Designed to Foil Hackers as Firewalls Prove Inadequate
Jan 27 2016 // With firewalls no longer seen as enough of a defense against security breaches, companies are looking at new tools to foil hackers trying to enter a computer network. U.S. and Israeli startups are leading the way, with new...
Cunningham Named Chief Information Officer at Grange Insurance
Jan 25 2016 // Grange Insurance, based in Columbus, Ohio, announced that Tim Cunningham has joined the company as vice president, chief information officer. Cunningham will lead major technology investments across all lines of...
XL Catlin Expands Architects & Engineers Product to Cover Drones, Technology Risks
Jan 25 2016 // XL Catlin’s Design Professional insurance business has enhanced its professional liability insurance for architects and engineers (A&E) as well as other design professionals. XL Catlin’s newest Design...
A Look Back and Ahead with Nationwide Ventures’ Michael Miller
Jan 25 2016 // Michael Miller, the longtime president and chief operating officer of Scottsdale Insurance Co., has stepped into a new executive role with corporate parent Nationwide where he’ll manage and spearhead strategic...
U.S. Safety Officials Push Self-Braking Technology for Cars, Trains, Trucks
Jan 15 2016 // Safety officials want to see more technology used to reduce accidents on U.S. roads, airways and railroads. In its annual “Most Wanted” list, the National Transportation Safety Board is urging government...
Self-Driving Cars Still Need Human Help in California Tests
Jan 14 2016 // Futuristic self-driving cars traveling along California roads have needed plenty of old-fashioned human intervention to stay safe. California’s Department of Motor Vehicles this week released reports filed by seven...
Insurance Execs’ Midlife Crisis Cure: Four AIG, ACE Veterans Join Startup P2P Insurer Lemonade
Jan 12 2016 // An instech startup looking to disrupt the property/casualty insurance industry with a new business model has turned to four seasoned insurance executives from traditional carriers AIG and ACE Insurance to round out its...
