Company owners plead guilty to defrauding Berkshire Hathaway and Progressive

Berkshire Hathaway and Progressive | January 27, 2020

The owners of a California-based solar power company have pleaded guilty in connection to a scheme that defrauded nearly a billion dollars from companies such as Berkshire Hathaway and Progressive Insurance. Jeff Carpoff – owner of DC Solar – pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in a California federal court. His wife and co-owner of the company, Paulette, pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit an offense against the US. DC Solar is a manufacturer of mobile solar power generators, which could be used for the outdoors such as concerts, sporting events, and even construction sites. The company sold generators in packages to investment funds, which passed alternative energy tax credits on to investors such as Berkshire Hathaway, Progressive and East West Bancorp.

Spotlight

The Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance industry is being dramatically transformed by digital technologies that are shifting the customer relationship back to the carriers. Beyond working through third-party agents or brokers to purchase insurance policies, more customers are going directly to insurance carriers via their website and other digital channels. Driven by the convenience of online shopping, insurance companies are now expected to provide information that helps customers learn about policies, compare options and even complete an application from virtually any connected device, 24/7.

Spotlight

The Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance industry is being dramatically transformed by digital technologies that are shifting the customer relationship back to the carriers. Beyond working through third-party agents or brokers to purchase insurance policies, more customers are going directly to insurance carriers via their website and other digital channels. Driven by the convenience of online shopping, insurance companies are now expected to provide information that helps customers learn about policies, compare options and even complete an application from virtually any connected device, 24/7.

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CORE INSURANCE,INSURANCE TECHNOLOGY

Verlingue Expands in Grand Est Region with Two New Acquisitions

Verlingue | January 17, 2023

Verlingue, a French Adelaïde Group subsidiary specializing in corporate protection, is expanding into the Grand Est region (France) with two new acquisitions. Cabinet Depeyre, an insurance broker founded in 1997, specializes in consulting and managing complex business risks. Meanwhile, Depeyre Solutions, established in 2014, is a business risk underwriting agency for brokers and general agents. The group employs 23 people for commissions of just over €4 million. Cabinet Depeyre, an insurance broker specializing in complex business risks, works with its clients to analyze, prevent, and manage their risks. The Cabinet Depeyre teams have expert knowledge in high-pressure industries like wood processing, transportation, and logistics, building material producers and traders, etc., whether in civil liability or property damage cases. Jean-Michel Depeyre, Head of both companies, stated, "With Verlingue, I firmly believe that our teams will be able to provide even better support to our customers and provide them with all the solutions offered by a company with which we already share common values and a vision of our role as a trusted partner in risk management." (Source- Business Wire) Following the acquisition of RT Global Insurance in Portugal at the end of 2022, Cabinet Depeyre and Depeyre Solutions in France strengthen Verlingue's external growth dynamics as part of its strategic plan for 2024. About Verlingue The company uses corporate risk management and employee protection to help clients create value and perform. Intending to make insurance simple, Verlingue advises and manages insurance programs for over 3,200 corporate clients. With offices in Portugal, France, Great Britain, and Switzerland and partners in over 100 countries, it creates simple yet practical solutions to safeguard the client's company (corporate risk) and employees. In addition, Verlingue collaborates with its clients to better identify and plan for future threats (supplementary social protection schemes and pensions).

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RISK MANAGEMENT,INSURANCE TECHNOLOGY

Insurity Introduces New Analytics Feature for Sure Premium Audit Solution

Insurity | January 13, 2023

Insurity, a leading cloud-based software and analytics provider for insurance carriers, brokers, and MGAs, announced the launch of Sure Premium Audit Analytics on January 12, 2023. This product is a part of its Sure Premium Audit solution that integrates robust predictive analytics from Insurity Predict into the auditing process to enhance operational efficiency by up to 15%. Identifying exposure risk in the premium auditing process remains arduous for many P&C carriers. It may be hard or even impossible for premium audit departments to check all of their business. Instead, many carriers' current premium auditing process is highly responsive and based on standard policy features such as premium, location, and industry. Sure Premium Audit Analytics addresses these issues with robust predictive models and machine learning built on Insurity's 20+ years of industry experience in premium auditing. Carriers can use Sure Premium Audit Analytics to improve their audit workflows with embedded AI and machine learning, allowing them to optimize the premium audit process by forecasting audit results before the audit is even ordered. Additionally, users can simplify the auditing process by developing custom predictive models on a low-code, configurable interface. Existing Sure Premium Audit customers and P&C carriers can quickly get started with Insurity's turnkey analytics system, which has been fully integrated into the Sure Premium Audit platform. In addition, customers can synchronize these predictive models into any workflow or in-house tool using Insurity Predict. Chief Insurance Officer at Insurity, Sylvester Mathis, said, "Premium audits can be a time-consuming process, resulting in carriers leaving hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars of missed premium on the table." He added, "Sure Premium Audit Analytics takes the guesswork out of identifying premiums to audit by proactively flagging policies possessing the characteristics to generate exposures outside initial estimates. Audit costs are reduced, or practically eliminated and time-consuming processes are removed by leveraging the most efficient audit methods." (Source – Businesswire) About Insurity Hartford-based Insurity is a top cloud-based software provider for brokers, insurance carriers, and MGAs. Insurity has over 400 cloud-based deployments and is recognized by 7 of the top 10 MGAs and 15 of the leading 25 P&C carriers in the United States. The company is uniquely equipped to offer exceptional value through its unrivaled industry experience, best-in-class digital platform, and the industry's most robust analytics offerings. With Insurity, customers can optimize their operations, focus on their core businesses, and provide superior policyholder experiences.

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CORE INSURANCE, COMPLIANCE

Utmost Group Upgrades Financial Compliance Capabilities with Napier

Napier and Utmost Group | February 01, 2023

On January 31st, 2023, Utmost Group, which offers insurance and savings solutions, enhanced its financial compliance capabilities in collaboration with Napier, a customizable anti-financial crime compliance provider. Napier's client screening solution, which started operations in just 21 days, was implemented to bolster the company's existing compliance strategy and to facilitate future expansion. The Napier team met these stringent deployment deadlines to meet the time constraints imposed by the expiration of licenses held by the outgoing partner. The Client Screening solution from the company will enhance existing systems by automatically screening clients against sanctions, PEP (Politically Exposed Persons) lists, and other essential watchlists at appropriate intervals. In addition, the AI capabilities will allow for faster screening and help lower the number of false alarms. Paul Smith, Chief Risk Officer at Utmost International Isle of Man, shared, "We needed to rapidly migrate and then implement our existing screening protocols to the new system, so we were delighted that Napier was able to merge two legacy systems neatly into a single hosted instance while levelling up our capabilities. This really made the difference when managing the upgrade of systems that were being made end-of-life earlier than expected." He added, "Compliance requirements inevitably evolve over time as risks also change and criminals become more sophisticated, so we are delighted to have a robust system now in place that will keep us one step ahead of our obligations and enhance our overall services." (Source – Business Wire) About Napier London-based Napier is a compliance technology specialist that operates a platform based on extensive experience and in-depth knowledge. Combining big data technologies with AI and machine learning, the company offers products that improve efficiency and reduce risk. Its strategy underpins the client's policy, process, and procedure, allowing them to concentrate on specific outcomes. The compliance platform is quick, scalable, easily configurable, and intuitive. It rapidly bolsters AML defense and trade compliance capabilities while achieving the compliance requirements and challenges of any industry. About Utmost Group Utmost Group, headquartered in London, is a leading insurance and savings solutions provider. The company offers innovative, adaptable solutions that help clients secure their financial futures. The main divisions of the Group are Utmost International, Utmost Life and Pensions. The key business lines of Utmost International consist of Utmost Corporate Solutions and Utmost Wealth Solutions. The Group has approximately £58 billion in AUA and 550,000 customers as of June 30th, 2022, with over 1,500 employees across all its businesses.

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