Experts suggest insurance demerger trend will continue in 2020

Last year saw the UK’s biggest insurer, Prudential Plc, spin-off M&G, its UK and European savings and investments business – and experts are predicting that the demerger trend may continue this year. The last few years have seen significant instances of insurers offloading businesses to allow them to focus on core operations. Some of the more noteworthy examples include the UK’s Esure’s 2016 demerger from price comparison site GoCompare and Standard Life selling its insurance business to Phoenix Group in 2018. Now, analysts have told Financial Times that stiffer capital requirements may cause more demergers to happen in 2020 – with insurance giants Aviva, Saga, RSA, and Admiral likely to have plans to downsize this year.

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Cowbell Partners with Zywave, Expanding the Distribution of its Industry-Leading Cyber Insurance

PR Newswire | September 14, 2023

Cowbell, a leading provider of cyber insurance for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), today announced its partnership with Zywave, an industry-leading provider of insurtech solutions. The partnership is powered by Herald, a digital infrastructure provider that connects software developers to commercial insurance carriers through a single API, and leverages Cowbell's leading technology and individualized coverage options for a superior customer experience through Zywave's expanding, simple and efficient, API-first interface for quoting commercial and E&S insurance. The collaboration marks the first standalone cyber insurance offering on Zywave's Hub, which provides MGAs, wholesale brokers, and retailers, with quicker access to modernized cyber insurance products. Despite cyber being the fastest-growing line of insurance business in recent history, four out of five SMEs are still uninsured or underinsured, according to a recent report published by the small business resource AdvisorSmith. By partnering with Zywave, Cowbell extends its reach within MGAs and brokers and helps further accelerate the adoption of cyber insurance within the SME market. "As the first cyber insurance provider on Zywave's Hub via Herald's API, our adaptive programs are now available to over 40 additional trading partners," said Rajeev Gupta, co-founder and CPO of Cowbell. "These partners can now experience the simplicity of placing the industry's best cyber insurance coverage for their clients and protecting their clients' future cyber risks with Cowbell's tailored risk mitigation service." "This is an exceptionally powerful partnership between the most innovative leaders in the industry," said Duncan Crystal, co-founder and CRO at Herald. "Together, we're proving how API-driven distribution can transform an industry that has traditionally run on paper. Our unified offering makes it easier for carrier partners to plug into networks of brokerages and MGAs, resulting in more premium for all players in the value chain, along with better coverage for businesses." The ability to adapt to ever-changing market conditions in almost real-time allows capacity providers like Cowbell to expand or contract the markets they serve without being hindered by manual processes and antiquated technology. Expanding Zywave's offerings through Cowbell's advanced technology and quality insurance programs ushers in a new and improved way for brokers to sell cyber insurance to their clients. About Cowbell Cowbell is a pioneer of Adaptive Cyber Insurance, a leader in providing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) coverage adaptable to today's and tomorrow's threats and the advanced warning of cyber risk exposures. In its unique AI-based approach in risk selection and pricing, Cowbell's continuous underwriting platform, powered by Cowbell Factors, compresses the insurance process from submission to issue in less than 5 minutes. Cowbell is backed by 20 prominent leading global (re)insurance partners and serves SMEs in 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and the United Kingdom. Founded in 2019, Cowbell is based in the San Francisco Bay Area with employees across the U.S., Canada, India, and the U.K. For more information, please visit https://cowbell.insure/. About Herald Herald builds digital infrastructure for commercial insurance. Developers who use Herald quote and bind insurance from multiple carriers through a single API. For more information, visit https://heraldapi.com. About Zywave Zywave leads the insurtech industry, fueling business growth for its partners with cloud-based sales management, client delivery, content, and analytics solutions. Zywave's all-in-one platform provides customizable, user-friendly options that enable insurance professionals to build a unique solution to fit their specific growth goals—their own Modern RevOps Machine. More than 15,000 insurers, agencies, and brokerages worldwide—including all of the top 100 U.S. insurance brokerages—use Zywave solutions to enhance client services, achieve business growth and promote greater health, wellness, risk management, and safety. Additional information can be found at www.zywave.com.

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Insurance Technology

Roadzen Partners with HCLTech to deliver AI-driven auto insurance solutions for US carriers and automotive customers

Roadzen Inc | December 01, 2023

HCLTech, a global technology company, and Roadzen, a leading AI-driven auto insurance technology company, announced a collaboration to harness the power of AI and data engineering to deliver benefits to both auto insurance carriers as well as their customers. This partnership will help auto owners preserve the value of their assets, improve safety and reduce insurance premiums. At the same time, it will help carriers with better insights into driver behaviors and improve loss ratios. said Srinivasan Seshadri, Chief Growth Officer and Global Head, Financial Services, HCLTech. Partnering with Roadzen aligns with our commitment to constantly evolve and offer unparalleled services to our insurance customers. We see AI as a transformative power in the insurance sector and believe the combination of HCLTech’s trusted delivery capabilities with Roadzen’s AI leadership creates a solution that all our clients will be excited to engage with, to redefine insurance experiences. [Source -GlobeNewswire] The HCLTech-Roadzen partnership underscores the significance of telematics, computer vision and AI in the auto insurance industry. The collaboration draws on and significantly enhances HCLTech’s domain expertise in auto insurance and related service offerings, positioning HCLTech as a forward-looking provider of next-gen insurance technology to clients. "We are thrilled to collaborate with an industry leader like HCLTech. This synergy perfectly embodies Roadzen's mission to revolutionize insurance through AI and tech-forward solutions," said Rohan Malhotra, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Roadzen. HCLTech was positioned as Leader in the Everest’s Insurance Business Model Innovation Enablement Services – PEAK Matrix Assessment 2021. It was also recently named a Leader and Star Performer in Everest Group’s Application and Digital Services (ADS) in Property & Casualty (P&C) Insurance PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2023. About HCLTech HCLTech is a global technology company, home to more than 221,000 people across 60 countries, delivering industry-leading capabilities centered around digital, engineering, cloud and AI, powered by a broad portfolio of technology services and products. We work with clients across all major verticals, providing industry solutions for Financial Services, Manufacturing, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Technology and Services, Telecom and Media, Retail and CPG, and Public Services. Consolidated revenues as of 12 months ending September 2023 totaled $12.9 billion. About Roadzen Roadzen is a leading insurance technology company on a mission to transform global auto insurance powered by AI. Thousands of clients - from some of the world’s leading insurers, fleets and carmakers to small fleets, brokers and insurance agents - use Roadzen’s technology to build new products, sell insurance, process claims and improve road safety. Roadzen’s pioneering work in telematics and computer vision has earned recognition as a top AI innovator by publications such as Forbes, Fortune and Financial Express.

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Insurance Technology

Hourly.io Selects Origami Risk Core Solution to Automate Workers’ Comp Policy Rating and Issuance

Business Wire | October 17, 2023

Hourly.io, a fast-growing workers’ compensation and payroll startup, has selected Origami Risk’s multi-tenant Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) P/C core solution to bring critical automation to its breakthrough insurance platform for small and mid-sized businesses with hourly and mobile workers. Hourly will use Origami’s API to instantly quote policies. The platform integrates rates and rules from NCCI and other bureaus with Hourly’s underwriting models. Hourly combines payroll with time and attendance data to determine workers’ compensation premiums with to-the-penny accuracy in real time. The rating information will be instantly applied to applications submitted by insurance agents and brokers through Hourly’s instant quote portal. As we continue our rapid growth across the United States, choosing and deploying the best available technology has enabled us to drive down costs and streamline the rate-to-bind process for small and mid-sized employers, said Tom Sagi, Co-Founder and CEO, Hourly. Origami’s solution seamlessly integrates with our platform so we can scale while maintaining our speed, efficiency and accuracy. “Our automated solution aligns perfectly with Hourly’s objectives and the needs of its distribution network and clients,” said Christopher Bennett, Chief Strategy Officer, Core Solutions division at Origami Risk. “This proprietary capability is among several innovative solution sets we’ve developed to help carriers, pools, program administrators and other insurance providers drive efficiencies across critical functions, meet customer needs and improve overall performance.” Origami Risk offers a full suite of end-to-end, integrated SaaS solutions for policy, rating, billing, loss control and claims administration, reporting and analytics, along with a comprehensive digital engagement experience for all internal and external stakeholders. Established in 2018, Hourly offers workers’ comp insurance and an integrated platform that connects workers’ comp, time tracking, and payroll in real time—an innovation that ensures premiums are calculated with unprecedented precision. Hourly is first of its kind in the industry to bridge this gap seamlessly with a mobile-first platform. About Hourly Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Hourly.io is an insurtech startup offering full-service payroll and workers' comp insurance for small and medium businesses with hourly workers. Powered by real-time data, Hourly's platform ensures running payroll is as quick as pressing a button and that you get accurate workers' comp premiums down to the penny. For more information, visit www.hourly.io. About Origami Risk – Core Solutions Division Origami Risk provides integrated SaaS solutions that simplify insurance, risk, and safety for insurers, managing general agents (MGAs), program administrators, third party claims administrators (TPAs), risk pools, brokers and more. Origami Risk delivers its highly configurable and completely scalable integrated insurance core system, risk management and safety solutions from a secure, multi-tenant platform accessible via web browser and mobile app. Visit origamirisk.com or contact Origami at info@origamirisk.com.

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