Latest Tech Headlines
All the headlines from our Tech Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Why and How P/C Insurance Carriers Should Work with Insurtechs
Aug 15 2017 // Startup insurtechs need partnerships more than they need money from insurance carriers, according to one leading venture capitalist actively funding insurance technology firms. Venture firm XL Innovate’s Martha...
Ohio Mutual Offering Premium Discounts with Cellcontrol Drive ID Technology Use
Aug 14 2017 // Cellcontrol and Ohio Mutual Insurance, based in Bucyrus, Ohio, are partnering on a program to reduce distracted driving by offering a 10 percent discount on auto policy premiums when insureds use Cellcontrol’s...
Driver-Assist Technology Could Lead to Deteriorating Driver Skills, Researchers Say
Aug 11 2017 // If a car can hit the brakes in an emergency and check blind spots, will that make worse drivers? Increasingly, automakers are worrying it may. Driver-assist technology that keeps cars in their lanes, maintains a safe...
Global Insurance M&A in H1 Drops to Lowest Point in 2 Years: Clyde & Co.
Aug 10 2017 // The volume of completed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the global insurance industry continued dropping during the first six months of 2017 to 170 deals, compared to 186 deals reported for the second half of 2016,...
Alternative to Insurtech or Legacy Tech for Small Commercial: Introducing QBE, Arrowhead Partnership
Aug 10 2017 // When it was announced in June that San Diego, Calif.-based Arrowhead General Insurance Agency Inc. was selected as the program administrator for QBE North America‘s small commercial insurance portfolio, it...
Autonomous Car Makers Seek Investment, Risk Sharing Alliances
Aug 9 2017 // BMW and Daimler, the world’s top luxury carmakers, have announced alliances with suppliers, talking up the virtues of having a bigger pool of engineers to develop a self-driving car. But another motive behind these...
Cyber Attacks Against Ships’ GPS Systems Prompts Return of Radio as Backup
Aug 7 2017 // The risk of cyber attacks targeting ships’ satellite navigation is pushing nations to delve back through history and develop back-up systems with roots in World War Two radio technology. Ships use GPS (Global...
Insurtech Funding Jumps to $1B: Willis Towers Watson/CB Insights Report
Aug 7 2017 // Insurtech funding volume hovered close to $1 billion in the 2017 second quarter, a result nearly 150 percent larger than the same period a year ago, according to a quarterly report on the sector from Willis Towers Watson...
Beacon Mutual’s New CEO Spero: ‘We’re Within an Hour of Every Policyholder’
Aug 4 2017 // The board of directors of Beacon Mutual Insurance Company, a Warwick, R.I.-based workers’ compensation carrier, has elected Brian Spero as president and CEO of the company, effective in July. Beacon’s board...
SoftBank Invests in Online Startup Lender Kabbage (Which Might Sell Insurance)
Aug 3 2017 // SoftBank Group Corp. has plowed $250 million into online lender Kabbage Inc., the latest in a flurry of big bets on mature startups by the Japanese technology company. Kabbage will use the new money to expand its lending...
Compare.com Is Proof Insurance Disruption Won’t Happen Overnight: CEO Rose
Aug 2 2017 // Disrupting an industry that has been doing things the same way for a generation takes time. Take it from one major insurance disruptor – compare.com. The online insurance comparison marketplace launched in the U.S. in...
Allianz, Insurtech Startup Flock to Launch Pay-As-You-Fly Drone Cover in UK
Jul 27 2017 // Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has partnered with insurtech startup Flock to launch on-demand drone insurance in the UK market through a mobile app for commercial and recreational users. To be available in...
New York State Set to Study Technology, Privacy of ‘Textalyzer’
Jul 27 2017 // New York state is set to study the use of a device known as the “textalyzer” that would allow police to determine whether a motorist involved in a serious crash was texting while driving. Democratic Gov. Andrew...
XL Catlin Enhances Cyber & Technology Coverage
Jul 27 2017 // XL Catlin has introduced CyberRiskConnect, a new policy form to address the expanding exposures of cyber and technology risks. According to John Coletti, chief underwriting officer for XL Catlin’s Cyber &...
Q2 Insurtech Funding Rises to $1B: Willis Towers Watson/CB Insights Report
Jul 24 2017 // Insurtech funding volume hovered close to $1 billion in the 2017 second quarter, a result nearly 150 percent larger than the same period a year ago, according to a quarterly report on the sector from Willis Towers Watson...
Super Regional Carriers Urged to Educate ‘Suspicious’ Regulators on Big Data Use
Jul 24 2017 // “We’re curious and we don’t know. When regulators don’t know what’s going on, they get suspicious.” That was Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Ted Nickel acknowledging that like the...
Driverless Car Technology and Its Impact in New York
Jul 24 2017 // New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in May signed a budget bill into law allowing self-driving and self-parking cars to be tested for one year on New York public highways. Prior to this law going into effect, the technology was...
Government’s Disruption in Insurtech Market: The Zebra CEO
Jul 24 2017 // Unsurprisingly, discussion surrounding government’s role in free markets with large corporations can be contentious, but it’s critical to understand that laws and regulations serve a purpose. To what extent...
Carrier Poll Shows Many Agents Expect Minor Tech Disruption by 2020
Jul 24 2017 // A new poll conducted by a Seattle, Wash.-based carrier that asked independent insurance agents what’s ahead in 2020 showed that roughly half of agents expect technology disruption to have a minor impact on their...
Pennsylvania’s PLM Names Selfe Vice President of Information Technology
Jul 21 2017 // Pennsylvania and Indiana Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Companies (PLM), a property and casualty insurance carrier based in Philadelphia, Penn., has named Erin Selfe vice president of information technology. With more than 20...
