Latest Tech Headlines
All the headlines from our Tech Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Crash Rates Lower for Self-Driving Cars: Virginia Tech Study
Jan 11 2016 // Crash rates for self-driving cars are lower than the national crash rate of conventional cars, according to a new report out of Virginia Tech Transportation Institute that was commissioned by self-driving car developer...
Changing Oil & Gas Industry Delivers New Risks, New Challenges
Jan 11 2016 // Editor’s Note: This is the first article in a three-part series on the oil and gas industry. The second article will address new and emerging claims trends and the third article will address the emerging risks...
Entrepreneurs Raise $13 Million to ‘Reinvent’ U.S. P/C Insurance with Peer-to-Peer Insurer Lemonade
Jan 11 2016 // The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry is about to be tested directly by the sharing economy. Two tech entrepreneurs have raised $13 million in initial funding to launch a peer-to-peer online property/casualty...
AIG Bets on Workplace Safety Wearables with Investment in Startup HCS
Jan 6 2016 // Giant insurer American International Group Inc. is betting on new technology, artificial intelligence and connectivity to give companies more control over workers in risky jobs and make workplaces safer and more...
Automakers Outpacing Tech Firms in Driverless Car Patents
Jan 5 2016 // Automakers, not technology companies, are in the driver’s seat in developing self-driving, “autonomous” cars, and Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. is best positioned to lead the way, according to a new...
6 Forecasts for P/C Insurance in 2016
Jan 4 2016 // Some, but not all, experts see an improving U.S. economy in 2016 helping to boost the property/casualty (P/C) insurance sector. Some of these prognosticators are more optimistic than others. But most also anticipate...
Deadly Floods Disrupting Agriculture, Commercial Operations in U.S. Midwest
Jan 3 2016 // Deadly flooding across the U.S. Midwest is disrupting everything from oil to agriculture, forcing pipelines, terminals and grain elevators to close. The floods have killed at least 30 people and shut hundreds of roads...
