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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Core Insurance, Insurance Technology
PRnewswire | July 11, 2023
NSM Insurance Group, the nation's leading specialty insurance provider with more than $1.5B in premium across 25+ niche insurance programs in the U.S. and U.K., today announced the completion of its acquisition of Shield Commercial Insurance Services. Based in Palm Desert, CA, Shield specializes in insurance solutions for the general contractor and construction liability space.
"We are energized to continue our series of strategic acquisitions in the U.S. and U.K. with Shield," said Bill McKernan, President of NSM Insurance Group. "Shield is a fast-growing and best-in-class business with exceptional underwriting and a profitable track record. They are a perfect fit for our B2B portfolio of dynamic, specialized businesses. We will accelerate their growth by expanding their geographic footprint and national distribution with our robust network of 15,000+ agent partners across the country."
Shield is exclusively focused on underwriting business for small and mid-sized contractors, offering coverages for General Liability, Excess Liability, Workers' Compensation, Inland Marine and Contractors Professional & Pollution Liability.
"We're thrilled to join the NSM family of specialty insurance brands and further enhance and bolster our offerings to meet the unique needs of contractors," said Robert Anderson, President and Co-Founder of Shield Commercial Insurance Services. "Over the last two decades, we have delivered innovative products for this niche segment and have built a tremendous reputation with agents and carriers alike — which has fueled our explosive organic growth over the last five years."
Over the past 33 years, NSM has developed a winning formula for building the industry's most successful and sustainable 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.
About NSM Insurance Group
NSM Insurance Group is the nation's leading 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 $1.5 billion in premium across 25+ specialty insurance programs and brands in the U.S. and U.K. 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; medical stop loss and managed care; staffing; and workers' compensation. For more information on NSM, visit nsminc.com.
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Core Insurance, Insurance Technology
Businesswire | July 18, 2023
FINEOS Corporation (ASX:FCL) announced today that Securian Canada has selected FINEOS for its disability management claims administration software solution. Securian Canada is a leading insurance provider of innovative, life-ready insurance and protection solutions in Canada. The FINEOS claims administration solution is scheduled to go live this fall to support Securian Canada’s short- and long-term disability benefits programs.
FINEOS is the global leader providing end-to-end core software systems for life, accident and health insurance. The FINEOS Platform is purpose-built for the group and supplemental employee benefits market. More than a dozen customers in Canada use the FINEOS Platform, and FINEOS serves 7 of the 10 largest employee benefits insurers in the U.S.
“We are delighted Securian Canada has chosen FINEOS and look forward to building a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship,” said CEO Michael Kelly. “The FINEOS Platform will help Securian deliver an excellent customer experience and will bring automation and efficiencies to their operations, enabling their staff to maximize their time caring for Canadians in the moments that matter the most.”
“Securian Canada needs a best-in-class partner to support our ambitious strategic plans in the disability space,” said Sharla Postic, SVP Insurance Operations for Securian Canada. “We believe the FINEOS purpose-built platform and industry-leading capabilities in disability claims administration will help us continue to raise the bar in providing innovative insurance products and services to our customers.”
About FINEOS Corporation
FINEOS is a leading provider of core systems for life, accident and health insurers globally with 7 of the 10 largest employee benefits insurers in the U.S., as well as a 70% market share of group insurance in Australia. With employees and offices throughout the world, FINEOS continues to work with innovative, progressive insurers in North America, EMEA, and Asia Pacific.
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