Latest Tech Headlines

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

American Family Insurance Acquires Data Analytics Firm; Also Home Tech Firm

Dec 15 2017 // American Family Insurance said it intends to accelerate its use of data, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) with its purchase of Chicago-based data and analytics software company Networked...

Startups Selected for Inaugural InsurTech Acceleration Program in Hartford

Dec 14 2017 // Hartford InsurTech Hub, an initiative established in 2017 by Hartford, Conn.-based insurance companies, the city of Hartford and CTNext, has selected the 2018 group of 11 startups that will participate in its inaugural...

Gibraltar Introduces License for Fintech Firms Using Blockchain

Dec 14 2017 // Gibraltar’s financial services watchdog will introduce the world’s first bespoke license for “fintech” firms using blockchain distributed ledger technology (DLT) from next month in a bid to attract...

Insurtech Firm Quantemplate Names Lundgren as CEO; Gets £2.5M in New Capital

Dec 12 2017 // Quantemplate, a London-based insurtech firm that specializes in machine learning data transformation and analytics, announced that David Lundgren has been appointed CEO and board director. The company has also received...

Ohio InsurTech Startup Root Insurance Adds Allison as General Counsel

Dec 8 2017 // Columbus, Ohio-based auto insurance startup, Root Insurance, has hired Jon Allison as its first general counsel. Prior to joining Root, Allison served on the senior management team of CareSource, a regional non-profit...

Coalition, a Cyber Insurer and Cybersecurity Firm, Makes Its Debut

Dec 6 2017 // Coalition is making its formal debut into the cyber insurance space, but with a twist. The San Francisco-based startup is also a cybersecurity firm. Founded in March 2017, Coalition is co-founded by technology...

Technology, Regulation Prove Double-Edged Swords in Product Recall Risk

Dec 6 2017 // Exploding Samsung phones, error-prone Takata airbags, faulty GM vehicle ignition switches, failing Johnson & Johnson hip implants — multi-billion dollar product recalls have become more common over the past...

Insurtech MGA Wrisk Gets UK Regulatory Authorization

Dec 6 2017 // On the heels of its recent successful crowdfunding raise, the app-based insurtech managing general agent Wrisk has made another major step forward, receiving full authorization from the UK’s Financial Conduct...

Insurtech Startup Debuts with $6M and Proactive Cyber Risk Product

Dec 4 2017 // A California insurtech startup with a new cyber product has launched to offer brokers and their clients what it calls “redesigned insurance, with cyber security expertise at its core.” Mountain View,...

AFL Insurance Brokers Taps RK Harrison’s Stagg to Drive Tech Innovation

Dec 1 2017 // AFL Insurance Brokers Ltd. announced that re/insurance broker George Stagg has joined the company to lead its technology incubator division as associate director, innovation. Stagg joins from RK Harrison, where he was most...

Update: Messy Brexit Could Lead to ‘Contract Continuity’ Disruption for Insurers, Banks

Dec 1 2017 // As far as Brexit headaches go, Barclays Plc’s John McFarlane says that while his bank is on top of job relocations, he’s more concerned about rewriting “hundreds of thousands” of...

GM Plans Fleets of Autonomous Robo-Taxis by 2019

Dec 1 2017 // General Motors Co. laid out its vision for self-driving vehicles on Thursday, telling investors it planned a commercial launch of fleets of fully autonomous robo-taxis in multiple dense urban environments in 2019, in a...

State Auto’s Extension of CEO LaRocco’s Contract a Vote of Confidence in Turnaround Strategy

Nov 28 2017 // Mike LaRocco, who took over president and CEO of State Automobile Mutual Insurance Co. in May 2015, has won the support of the company’s board of directors for an extension of his contract until Dec. 31,...

Trump Wants NAFTA to Limit Liability of Internet Firms Including Google, Facebook

Nov 27 2017 // The Trump administration is pushing to add legal protections in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that would limit the liability of internet giants such as Google and Facebook, marking the latest in a...

China’s Ping An Is World’s 2nd Largest Insurer by Market Value After Berkshire

Nov 21 2017 // A surge in Ping An Insurance (Group) Co.’s shares this year has made it the world’s second-largest insurer by market value behind only Berkshire Hathaway Inc. And the rally may not be done yet. Shares of the...

Conservatives Now Want to Abolish Board They Hoped Would Curtail Patent Suits

Nov 21 2017 // In August, a dozen inventors gathered around a fire pit outside the headquarters of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia, and set alight patents they said had been rendered worthless by an...

Technology Risk Mgmt Association TechAssure Names New Member in Germany

Nov 20 2017 // TechAssure, the international nonprofit association of insurance and risk management experts for technology-related risks, has named German insurance brokerage BüchnerBarella as a new member, effective...

Recent Hurricanes Highlight the Need for Digital Transformation in Insurance

Nov 20 2017 // The claims for Hurricane Irma are starting to pour in and they’ll be big, $25 billion to $35 billion, forecaster AIR Worldwide says. The scenes of flooding, displaced people, wrecked homes and disrupted communities...

Tech Tips to Reach Millennials: Tech Talk

Nov 20 2017 // Independent agents are slowly accepting the fact that they need to reach out to millennials more effectively. Much of the generation that is now between the ages of 20-36 is entering its prime earning years and starting...

Insurtech Startup Debuts with $6M and Proactive Cyber Risk Product

Nov 16 2017 // A California insurtech startup with a new cyber product has launched today to offer brokers and their clients what it calls “redesigned insurance, with cyber security expertise at its core.” Mountain View,...