Core Insurance, Insurance Technology
GlobeNewswire | August 10, 2023
Celina Insurance Group, a community-focused provider of P&C insurance for over 100 years, recently announced their selection of insurtech company Betterview. Celina will utilize Betterview’s Property Intelligence and Risk Management solution to drive more accurate assessments of property conditions during policy renewal.
Celina sought out an insurtech partner to obtain reliable and consistent data on roof condition, an especially relevant factor for Midwestern insurers dealing with inclement weather. Previously, Celina’s underwriters relied on time-consuming physical inspections to assess roof condition and often had to make adjustments later in the policy lifecycle. Betterview provided Celina with more accurate property data upfront and an extensive selection of roof-related property insights for improved risk selection and efficient underwriting.
“Betterview gave us even more than we asked for,” says Trish Harlamert, vice president of underwriting at Celina. “There are so many great datasets and tools on their platform, including a full, transparent assessment of overall roof condition and the ability to flag changes in property condition over time. This is extremely useful for renewals because we can see if a policyholder has added a swimming pool, trampoline, or even an additional structure since the last time we had eyes on the property.”
Betterview is confident their platform will drive more efficient renewal workflows for Celina. “Our platform empowers insurers like Celina with an instant, AI-powered view of current and historical roof condition. Our mature machine models can detect over two dozen relevant risk drivers, including staining, ponding, and missing shingles,” says Dave Tobias, chief operating officer and co-founder at Betterview. “Equipped with the best property data, they can make more informed decisions and collect adequate premiums without relying on costly, time-consuming physical inspections.”
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. Combined with flagging, continuous monitoring, and pre-filed peril risk scores, Betterview is helping transform property insurance from Repair and Replace to Predict and Prevent. For more information, please visit www.betterview.com
About Celina Insurance Group
Celina Insurance Group is comprised of four mutual property and casualty insurance companies. The companies provide protection for autos, homes, businesses and farms through more than 500 independent agencies in five states. Founded in 1914 with headquarters in Celina, Ohio, the organization is committed to supporting its policyholders and communities. https://www2.celinainsurance.com
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Core Insurance, Insurance Technology
PRnewswire | July 19, 2023
With the 2023 natural disaster season upon us, property and casualty (P&C) insurers are now, more than ever, aware of the increased strain recent catastrophes, like Hurricane Ian, have had on their business. Nearmap, a leading location intelligence and aerial imagery solutions provider, aims to alleviate some of that pressure by revolutionizing how P&C insurers respond to catastrophes. Today, the firm is announcing an enhanced post-catastrophe response solution, which combines industry-leading Nearmap ImpactResponse post-catastrophe imagery with two new products--Nearmap ImpactTriage AI and Nearmap ImpactAssessment AI. This new solution equips insurers with a more robust set of AI-derived property insights all in one place, enabling them to address damage and get a head start on claims.
Don Weigel, Chief Product Officer, said: "As we see a growing number of natural disasters, our role at Nearmap has expanded from monitoring the evolution of towns and cities to also supporting disaster response efforts. We have a unique combination of ultra-efficient cameras, fast imagery processing, and industry-leading deployment of AI. These new solutions allow Nearmap to be there supporting organizations at all stages as they respond to catastrophe, process claims, and help communities to recover."
Together, the post-catastrophe products from Nearmap provide industry-leading aerial imagery and AI-derived damage assessment data to support all stages of the post-catastrophe claims workflow.
Nearmap ImpactResponse
Nearmap ImpactResponse, the flagship post catastrophe product, delivers high-resolution, post-catastrophe aerial imagery faster than any other solution on the market.
With Nearmap ImpactResponse, in-person inspections—often dangerous, time-consuming, or prohibited—are no longer the most viable option.
The level of detail provided by Nearmap ImpactResponse is unprecedented, consistently delivering the sharpest post-catastrophe imagery at sub-3" per pixel since its launch in 2021.
Derived from Nearmap ImpactResponse imagery, come the two new products:
Nearmap ImpactTriage AI
Nearmap ImpactTriage AI provides damage classification that allows insurers to quickly identify impacted properties after disaster strikes. Delivered via API following a catastrophe, ImpactTriage AI data gives carriers a jumpstart toward recovery efforts—allowing them to prepare for claims and assign adjusters.
Nearmap ImpactTriage AI provides insurers a categorization of the damaged locations, enabling insurers to systematically prioritize and allocate limited resources.
A three-tier damage classification (No Damage, Partial Loss, and Total Loss) supports prioritization of resources and services according to damage severity.
A five-tier FEMA-based damage classification (No Damage, Affected, Minor, Major, and Destroyed) additionally supports more accurate estimates of financial impacts at the claim and event levels.
The new product supports insurers in their ability to automate claims, proactively process total losses, and deliver policyholder settlements before a claim is filed.
Nearmap ImpactAssessment AI
Nearmap ImpactAssessment AI is a robust collection of AI-derived condition and damage data that allows insurers to quickly and more accurately analyze vast amounts of post-catastrophe imagery and to pinpoint relevant details that could easily be missed in onsite or manual reviews.
Insurers can compare these insights with pre-catastrophe data, when available, to reduce fraud.
The set of AI-derived attributes includes roof damage, temporary and permanent repairs, structural damage, debris, wreckage, and more.
With disaster season in motion, the ability to rapidly scope impact, engage proactively with customers, process claims swiftly, and manage post-catastrophe costs are not only business essentials—they are promises to policyholders.
"After a hurricane, it's like a warzone," said Noel Bunol, Executive Vice President, Gulf States Insurance. "We can't get in there by vehicle. Nearmap imagery allows us to see the damage from above. We can view entire neighborhoods to see how hard they were affected; if powerlines are down and start to determine where to send resources."
About Nearmap
Nearmap provides easy, instant access to high-resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, AI data sets, and geospatial tools. Using its own patented camera systems and processing software, Nearmap captures wide-scale urban areas in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand several times each year, making current content instantly available in the cloud via web app or API integration. Every day, Nearmap helps thousands of users conduct virtual site visits for deep, data-driven insights—enabling informed decisions, streamlined operations, and better financial performance. Founded in Australia in 2007, Nearmap is one of the largest aerial survey companies in the world.
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Intellectual Property, Insurance Technology
PR Newswire | September 01, 2023
ISU Insurance Agency Network (ISU IAN) announces the launch of the proprietary ISU Quote&Bind Platform. The platform is the result of a collaboration between ISU Digital Partnerships, ISU preferred carriers, and CoverForce, an InsurTech API platform facilitating the insurance distribution process, to maximize the ease of doing business. The ISU Quote&Bind Platform works directly with ISU preferred carriers' APIs to simplify and streamline the production workflow, allowing ISU Members to access multiple quotes at once and bind policies in one click. The exclusive member benefit aims to reduce the cost of doing business for ISU preferred carriers, ISU members, and the members' prospects and clients through increased efficiency, speed, and transparency.
"The partnership between ISU and CoverForce is opening the door to the future of the insurance industry," says CEO TJ Ryan III. "Providing this cutting-edge technology to our members to increase the ease of doing business shows our investment and commitment to the independent insurance agent. ISU Quote&Bind eliminates the headaches of regional insurance coverage capacity, new market development, and at least half of the cost associated with producer management when used as business-to-consumer direct sales platform, which facilitates a national reach in the chosen vertical market."
ISU preferred carriers presently binding commercial policies from all 420 ISU IAN Members locations include AmTrust, Chubb, CNA, Employers, Great American, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide and Travelers. ISU plans to add more preferred carriers and expand lines of business on the platform throughout 2023 and 2024. ISU is the first organization in the country to quote and bind Great American's business owner's policy digitally. Members will also be the first group to access the latest digital products from the leading commercial carriers in America.
"We are excited to partner with ISU IAN to enable ISU members to digitally connect with their preferred carriers to maximize placement profitability and expand their books of business," says CoverForce CEO Cyrus Karai. "This partnership embodies our mission to strengthen the independent agent with digital capabilities."
Every ISU Member Coast to Coast™ is now taking advantage of the ISU Quote&Bind platform's convenience and speed to access preferred carriers and products, assure data security, usage control, and preferred compensation and coverage terms. In addition to quick and accurate access to bindable products, the ISU Quote&Bind platform incorporates the ISU Commercial Lines Placement Advisor©, a proprietary system delivering the most up to date carrier appetite guide on the market driven by industry classification, state, and line of business.
About ISU Insurance Agency Network
Founded in 1978, the mission of the ISU Insurance Agency Network (ISU IAN) is to help the independent insurance agent thrive. ISU is the largest independently owned and operated independent insurance agency network representing approximately $8 billion in written P&C premiums across 240+ members in 41 states. All ISU Members receive the best-in-class insurance solutions while leveraging the business benefits that come with being part of a large national organization to complement their local presence and independence. Visit www.joinisu.com for more information.
About CoverForce
CoverForce is the first core insurtech API platform working to bridge the gap between insurance distributors and their preferred P&C carrier partners. CoverForce was founded in 2020 at the University of Pennsylvania's Innovation Lab, in conjunction with insurance industry veterans from Travelers and The Hartford, and experienced software engineers from Amazon and Google. Investors include NYCA Partners (www.nyca.com), and QED Investors (www.qedinvestors.com). For more information, visit www.coverforce.com.
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