For Emerging Technologies, Insurers Should Keep Use Cases and Value in Mind

As the new decade dawns, insurers are focusing more heavily on technology that can help them sell more, manage risk better, and cost less to operate. Novarica tracks insurers’ interest, pilot activity, and deployment of 16 key technologies in our annual Emerging Technology in Insurance report, which has been newly updated for 2020. This report covers technologies from big data to blockchain at their varying stages of maturity using data provided by more than 100 property/casualty and life/annuity insurers.

Spotlight

Brightway Insurance

Brightway, a national property/casualty insurance retailer selling through a network of franchised agencies throughout the country, invented the “you sell, we service” independent agency franchise model over a decade ago. Brightway franchisees have access to more insurance companies than any other agency has, letting them offer customers more choice in coverage and peace of mind while outselling other independent agents 3 to 1.

OTHER ARTICLES
Insurance Technology

The economy is slowing down: what does it mean for insurance companies?

Article | August 9, 2022

Since 2010, as countries waded out of the recession of 2008, they enjoyed economic growth. Coupled with technological innovation, the global economy really got a boost. But, mirroring Nature’s cycles, it seems it is now time to hit a plateau and slow down. In this article, we explore why the slowdown could be happening and more importantly, what it means for us in the insurance industry.

Read More
Insurance Technology

Security Think Up: It’s Time to Give a Thought About Cyber Insurance

Article | July 14, 2022

The rise in remote work during and after the pandemic has increased cyber vulnerabilities significantly. Cyber insurance protects your company from the financial consequences of cyber threats or data breaches involving computer systems and data. Credit card numbers, social security numbers, account numbers, health records, and driver's license numbers are examples of sensitive customer information. According to a recent SBA survey, 88% of small business owners believe they are vulnerable to a cyberattack. If your company is a victim of cybercrime, the cost of recovery can be prohibitively expensive, including specialized repairs and legal fees. One of the most difficult challenges is quantifying cyber risk. Although approaches and frameworks like NIST CSF, CIS 20, NCSC Cyber Essentials, and ISO 270001 aid in the development of cyber security capabilities, they do not provide the tools to quantify risk. As a result, leaders frequently overestimate their cyber maturity while underestimating cyber insurance premiums. Potential Cyberattack Types are: Breach of data: A breach occurs when critical information, such as personal financial information, is stolen. Cyber-attacks on computers:Your computer system is hacked and compromised in this type of cyberattack. Extortion via the internet:During an extortion threat to your company's computer system, thieves may demand ransom payments. To address these issues, a variety of approaches can be used, ranging from zero-trust models to multi-factor authentication (MFA) and end-point detection and response (EDR) (EDR and XDR). Protective monitoring, encryption applied to the most critical aspects of your network, and patch management processes can also provide insurers with the assurance they require. There are options for both small and large amounts of cyber liability coverage. A small cyber liability insurance policy could be added to the policy of a business owner. A larger cyber liability policy with higher limits would necessitate its own policy. Furthermore, they provide a real-time view of compliance through a risk-based approach that is consolidated, consistent, and aggregated across the entire organization. Workflow automation can help the IRM system become more efficient. By consolidating your risk management processes, you can ensure that controls continue to deliver on their objectives and demonstrate compliance with policies, standards, and regulations while having a lower impact on your day-to-day operational demands. All of this will make it easier to meet cyber insurers' requirements and give organizations confidence that their policy will protect them when they need it.

Read More
Claims

4 Aspects of Cyber Insurance that SMBs Must Know

Article | July 15, 2022

The pandemic pressed many businesses to go remote. While this enabled employees and their organizations to continue doing business in the face of global uncertainty, the fragility of cybersecurity infrastructure became more apparent than ever. From remote work to a more powerful online presence, cybersecurity threats are a significant challenge for many organizations. With data security, exposure to these threats meant cyber insurance needed to be amped up. In the race to fortify cybersecurity, small businesses, which have limited resources to train their IT staff, have much catching up to do. As a matter of fact, practically all small businesses maintain sensitive data on their staff, clients, or suppliers, making them open to hacking attempts, malware attacks, digitalfraud, and other online threats. A cyberattack can force a firm to cease operations, incur significant losses, and unanticipated costs, and harm their brand. This is why cyber insurance is so critical. Here are four things SMBs must understand about cyber insurance and what it covers. In Case of Data Breaches Data breaches are one of the most common types of cyberattacks on small firms. Cyber insurance coversthe cost of locating the origin of a data breachand assessing whether the information lost poses any legal obligations. It also includes the price of meeting those obligations, including sending notifications to affected clients, setting up a call center, and providing credit monitoring, as well as the price of hiring legal counsel and paying any fines or penalties. In Case of Malware Attacks Ransomware and malware attacks allow criminals to break into an organization’s back-end data. They use it to steal customer information or simply encrypt it which allows them to demand random from the business to reclaim access. Cyber insurance can pay for all of the expenses involved in restoring the system, including recovering data, ransomware removal, vulnerability patching, and, if required, paying the ransom itself. A ransomware attack is the most disruptive,and it may be covered if there is economic loss for the company. In Case of Phishing and Cyber Fraud By gaining access to a company's computer system, social engineering letscriminals trick employees intosettlingfictitious bills or diverting cash to their accounts. Businesses may be able to recoup lost funds with the use of cyberinsurance. Third-Party Coverage Third-party insurance can shield firms from cyber-related legal troubles, such as government responseor class-action lawsuits brought on by, for instance, unintentional malware spreador the inability to curbunauthorized access to companysystems. It covers all legal expenses, such as settlements and lawyer fees. What’s the Bottom Line? Cyber insurance cannot be an alternative to a robust cyber security infrastructure. And small businesses cannot afford to keep vulnerabilities in their systems. Many cyber advice solution providers offer advisory and risk assessment services that may be just what small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) need to start improving the security of their systems.

Read More
Insurance Technology

Why Are Insurers Excited about Embedded Insurance?

Article | May 20, 2022

The traditional insurance business has been resistant to technological change for a long time. However, the industry has made significant progress over the last decade due to the implementation of the innovative InsurTech solution, which disrupted long-held market patterns. Technological changes have made insurers work intelligently through new strategies for attracting a new generation of customers. Embedded insurance is a trillion-dollar opportunity for insurers, giving them the chance to make new streams of money and lower their costs of distribution. In totality, embedded insurance is a new frontier of product innovation in insurance based on rising customer use of digital services. It presents a $3 trillion market potential in the finance industry. Narrowing the Gap that Existed Embedding digital into insurance eradicated all the gaps that existed before. Earlier, many customers felt a burden or found it unnecessary to purchase a one-off insurance policy to protect a new possession. In contrast, at present, embedded insurance products for customers are covered with protection against losses. This has given customers the ultimate peace of mind. InsureTech has provided insurers with improved data capture tools to conduct faster and more customized underwriting with applications. To reinvent insurance business models, embedded insurance as one of the InsurTech solutions has appeared efficient in filling the gaps in the insurance business. Most insurance companies proactively recognize gaps such as irrelevant data capture, inaccurate customer information, and sluggish data retrieval processes. Thus, they are attempting to incorporate their products into an embedded structure where they can engage with digitally relevant consumers at their chosen time and place. Hence, embedded business intelligence for insurance creates a win-win situation for both the consumer and the insurer in the future. Embedded Insurance Presents Opportunities Why is embedded insurance becoming popular? Because it empowers customers the most. Embedded insurance is beneficial to insurers seeking new ways to reach wider audience in one go. According to Bazaarvoice, a software technology company, 47% of consumers worldwide and 65% of US buyers now purchase online insurance products and services more frequently compared to the years from 2017 to 2020. Today, with the help of technology, most insurance companies now embed their products virtually anywhere through open APIs. So, by integrating products into a virtual platform, insurers can deliver personalized products within a suitable period, perform real-time risk assessments, gain data, and calculate accurate pricing. The insurers who gain this edge of benefit from technology need to be prepared to learn everything they can about their customers’ insights, behavior, requirements, and inclinations. Embedded Insurance: Today and Beyond Embedded insurance is a fantastic tool for insurers to enhance insurance penetration, particularly in the remote workspace model. However, to succeed with it, firms must find the correct balance between speed and efficiency of operations, detailed study of customer interests, and compliance with data. Having mentioned that, it is emerging as a new way to distribute insurance services online efficiently, solving the protection gap to expand in the future.

Read More

Spotlight

Brightway Insurance

Brightway, a national property/casualty insurance retailer selling through a network of franchised agencies throughout the country, invented the “you sell, we service” independent agency franchise model over a decade ago. Brightway franchisees have access to more insurance companies than any other agency has, letting them offer customers more choice in coverage and peace of mind while outselling other independent agents 3 to 1.

Related News

Auto Insurance Rates Are on the Rise - Here’s Why

capitalgazette | May 22, 2019

Auto insurance rates have been climbing up at a steady rate lately, and this is becoming more and more obvious to the average person. In fact, some people have started to get worried about the situation and the implications it holds for the future. And the worst part is, many of those people have a very poor understanding of the auto insurance market and how it works, and as a result have no idea what's causing these changes. Understanding the current market dynamics is important if you want to get the best deal on your own insurance, and it's even more important if you're planning any big purchases of this type in the future. You have to make sure that you can get the best deal on your future insurance plans.

Read More

Aquiline to Acquire Relation Insurance Services in California

Aquiline Capital Partners LLC | February 22, 2019

Aquiline Capital Partners LLC, a private equity firm investing in financial services and technology, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Relation Insurance Services from private equity firms Parthenon Capital and Century Equity Partners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019.

Read More

Auto-Owners Insurance snaps up regional insurer

Capital Insurance Group | February 20, 2019

Auto-Owners Insurance, a multi-line property and casualty insurer operating through independent agencies in 26 states, has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Capital Insurance Group (CIG). CIG is a regional property and casualty insurer serving the western United States. The company insures personal lines and a wide range of commercial and agricultural businesses in California, Washington state, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona.

Read More

Auto Insurance Rates Are on the Rise - Here’s Why

capitalgazette | May 22, 2019

Auto insurance rates have been climbing up at a steady rate lately, and this is becoming more and more obvious to the average person. In fact, some people have started to get worried about the situation and the implications it holds for the future. And the worst part is, many of those people have a very poor understanding of the auto insurance market and how it works, and as a result have no idea what's causing these changes. Understanding the current market dynamics is important if you want to get the best deal on your own insurance, and it's even more important if you're planning any big purchases of this type in the future. You have to make sure that you can get the best deal on your future insurance plans.

Read More

Aquiline to Acquire Relation Insurance Services in California

Aquiline Capital Partners LLC | February 22, 2019

Aquiline Capital Partners LLC, a private equity firm investing in financial services and technology, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Relation Insurance Services from private equity firms Parthenon Capital and Century Equity Partners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019.

Read More

Auto-Owners Insurance snaps up regional insurer

Capital Insurance Group | February 20, 2019

Auto-Owners Insurance, a multi-line property and casualty insurer operating through independent agencies in 26 states, has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Capital Insurance Group (CIG). CIG is a regional property and casualty insurer serving the western United States. The company insures personal lines and a wide range of commercial and agricultural businesses in California, Washington state, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona.

Read More

Events