Core Insurance
PR Newswire | October 03, 2023
NSM Insurance Group, a global specialty insurance provider with more than $1.6B in premium across 25+ niche insurance programs, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Envisage International. Based in Neptune Beach, Fla., Envisage is a leading provider of global health and travel insurance plans for international students and cultural exchange participants around the world.
"The travel insurance market is booming and will continue to grow at a rapid pace — with the industry predicted to reach $41B by 2027. We plan to seize this market opportunity and become a dominant player in the space," said Bill McKernan, President of NSM Insurance Group. "Envisage is a market leader in international education and cultural exchange insurance with a talented team, strong customer base, established revenue relationships and cutting-edge technology infrastructure. They are an enterprising addition to our portfolio as we look to build our footprint in the international health and travel insurance space."
Envisage offers a wide range of international health and travel medical insurance products through its two brands, International Student Insurance (ISI) and Envisage Global Insurance (EGI). ISI serves colleges, universities, ESL programs, study abroad programs, students, teachers and scholars with A+ rated plans and best-in-class resources. EGI is the leading provider of group insurance plans to organizations in the J1 cultural exchange and global youth travel market, offering unparalleled service and custom-built technology to its clients around the world.
"We're absolutely thrilled to join forces with NSM to help us continue to grow and scale the business," said Keith Clausen, President of Envisage International. "Over the last two decades, our dedicated and talented team has helped us grow into the force we are today, and we look forward to extending that growth with NSM. NSM has the prowess and proven track record to help ISI and EGI grow by expanding our distribution channels, further enhancing our technology platforms and expanding our global market reach."
Over the past 33 years, NSM has developed a winning formula for building the industry's most successful and sustainable insurance programs, consistently outperforming competitors and driving industry-leading growth and profitability over the last four years. This latest acquisition complements NSM's robust portfolio of specialty insurance programs and brands for the commercial P&C industry and consumer insurance — backed by the company's state-of-the-art resources, including IT, operations, marketing, HR and finance.
For more information about NSM or for investment opportunities, please visit nsminc.com.
About NSM Insurance Group
NSM Insurance Group is a global specialty insurance provider, exclusively focused on building successful insurance programs. For more than 30 years, NSM has been committed to delivering industry-specific insurance programs that help agents meet the unique needs of their customers and fuel market growth through innovative development, underwriting, distribution and claims expertise. The company has built more than $1.6 billion in premium across 25+ specialty insurance programs and brands around the world focused on collector cars; pets; social services and behavioral health; addiction treatment; coastal condominiums; towing and garage; trucking; sports and fitness; professional liability for contractors, architects and engineers; habitational; general contractors; medical stop loss and managed care; staffing; and workers' compensation. For more information on NSM, visit nsminc.com.
About Envisage International
Envisage International Corporation specializes in international health and travel insurance under its two key brands, International Student Insurance (ISI) and Envisage Global Insurance (EGI). With more than 20 years of experience, we take a consultative approach to helping our clients understand their insurance needs, creating customized solutions and providing support every step of the way. With offices in the United States, Mexico, China and Europe, Envisage is well placed to help organizations around the world with their international insurance needs. You can find more information about Envisage, ISI and EGI at envisageinternational.com
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Core Insurance, Risk Management
Businesswire | July 28, 2023
Socotra, the leading provider of modern, cloud-based solutions for technology-driven insurers, today announced that high-risk homeowners provider Annex Risk is processing business with Socotra. Annex Risk has successfully implemented the true cloud-native insurance policy core platform, Socotra Connected Core, and is now live, offering a digitally-forward approach to close critical coverage gaps in coastal Texas, Florida, and the Eastern Seaboard. Annex Risk’s innovative platform combines algorithmic underwriting and capacity, empowering retail agents to quote and bind high-risk homeowners insurance in less than 2 minutes.
“Technology is core to our business, not an enabler - we needed the most modern, continuously improving policy administration system we could find. No-code/low-code platforms were less compelling to us than Socotra’s flexible, API-centric solution,” said Annex Risk Co-Founder Charlie Sido. "Socotra's API-driven platform allows us to configure the entire policy lifecycle natively, while also seamlessly integrating with external solutions for payments, e-signatures and inspections. This flexibility ensures our ability to adapt and scale as the business evolves, while also providing a foundation for future innovation.”
Socotra's cloud-based architecture allows Annex Risk to eliminate significant operational overhead and leverage Socotra's ongoing investments in the platform. This partnership has expedited Annex Risk’s market entry, enabling them to sell their complex product in four states within six months. As a technology startup, Annex appreciates the capital-efficient and self-sufficient nature of Socotra's implementation, allowing them to maintain control and agility while minimizing reliance on third-party consultants.
"We are thrilled to have Annex Risk join our ecosystem of innovative insurance providers," said Dan Woods, CEO of Socotra. "By leveraging Socotra Connected Core, Annex Risk can offer their retail partners a streamlined and digitized experience that sets them apart in the market. Additionally, Socotra's modern underpinnings will future-proof Annex Risk's investment as they continue to grow and evolve their business."
Socotra offers a game-changing alternative to legacy underwriting systems that rely on emails, PDFs and proprietary tools, resulting in quote times that could stretch into days. With Socotra's powerful capabilities, Annex Risk can deliver an instant quote and bind experience, aligning with retail insurance agents’ expectations and setting a new standard in the industry.
About Annex
Annex is a leading provider of homeowners insurance for properties with significant natural catastrophe exposure. Through its partnership with over two thousand retail agents, Annex focuses on closing critical coverage gaps in coastal areas from Texas up the Eastern Seaboard. Annex's sophisticated algorithmic underwriting and capacity enable retail agents to quote and bind high-risk homeowners insurance in less than 2 minutes. With a technology-driven approach, Annex leverages innovative solutions to deliver an exceptional customer experience.
About Socotra
Socotra provides insurance companies with the flexible modern core platform and ecosystem they need to adapt, innovate, and grow their business. By leveraging solutions such as Socotra CorePlus and Socotra Connected Core, insurers can streamline policy administration, enhance digital experiences, and deliver products to market faster. Socotra provides open APIs, a product-agnostic data model, and out-of-the-box capabilities to manage the entire policy lifecycle, making insurance innovation faster, easier, and more affordable.
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Risk Management, Intellectual Property
Globenewswire | July 27, 2023
Betterview, the insurtech company Property & Casualty insurers rely on to identify and manage real property risk, and EagleView, the leading provider of aerial imagery and accurate property measurements, today announce a strategic alliance. EagleView's imagery will be integrated into Betterview's property intelligence platform to help insurers better understand a customer’s total property risk by providing broader, data-driven intelligence for both underwriters and claims professionals. Additional benefits of the alliance will include the ability for EagleView customers to gain direct access to Betterview’s property insights, scores, and data.
“EagleView chose to join forces with Betterview and their cutting-edge property analytics," said Piers Dormeyer, CEO of EagleView. “We’re launching an alliance that leverages the expertise of both companies to scale our innovative solutions and deliver unparalleled property intelligence to our customers.”
Customers across both product platforms will benefit from these advanced capabilities:
Greatly Expanded Imagery Coverage: Imagery coverage now encompasses 94% of the US population with over 1 billion ultra-high resolution property images.
AI Detections: Access to property condition attributes, including Roof Age, from the most advanced computer vision and machine learning in the industry.
Predictive Risk Scores: From roof conditions to weather-related perils and vulnerability, insurers will get the most accurate predictors of loss—pre-filled in many states.
Historical Image Library: Access to nearly 20 years of historical imagery will deliver expanded intelligence on property changes over time. A significant beneficiary will be Betterview’s new Roof Age product.
Rapid Post-CAT Event Imagery: When a storm strikes, EagleView mobilizes its fleet to capture imagery of the impacted areas, quickly producing before and after views of the event. This imagery will power Betterview’s CAT response solution, further supporting fast decisions and early assistance for homeowners.
Predictive CAT Response Capabilities: Customers will access solutions to remotely identify vulnerability, predict impact, quantify damage, and help homeowners recover faster from severe weather events.
“At Betterview we are continuously looking for ways to improve our customer’s ability to accurately assess property risk,” said David Lyman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Betterview. “EagleView’s extensive, 20-year library of high-quality aerial imagery paired with our AI-powered property insights greatly expand our customers’ total understanding of property risk, both pre- and post-claim.”
The combined strength of EagleView and Betterview represents a major leap forward for insurance companies in their transition from repair and replace to predict and prevent.
“The addition of EagleView imagery is not just great for our customers in the short-term, but also will lead to long-term enhancements and benefits for our customers and the insurance market,” says Dave Tobias, COO and co-founder of Betterview. “EagleView’s ultra-high-resolution imagery allows us to continue to develop the most accurate AI models, risk scores, and overall property insights. Ultimately, we can build the most innovative tools to solve tough problems for insurance.”
About Betterview
Betterview is the Property Intelligence & Risk Management Solution the insurance industry depends on to identify and mitigate property risk, improve underwriting and inspection efficiency, and build a more transparent customer experience. Applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) and computer vision to aerial imagery and geospatial data, Betterview generates the most accurate property information insurers trust to automate pricing, underwriting, and renewals while focusing strategic action on critical properties. For more information, please visit www.betterview.com
About EagleView
EagleView is a leader in geospatial technology, providing solutions that transform the way our customers work. EagleView has the largest geospatial data and imagery library ever assembled, encompassing 94 percent of the U.S. population. EagleView’s unique technology portfolio comprises more than 300 patents, enabling our highly-differentiated offerings of software, imagery, and analytics products for multiple industries.
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