How much investors have sunk into insurtech

Canadian Underwriter | October 25, 2019

Insurtechs like one Canadian startup in particular are letting brokers provide better service, but the sector as a whole contains some money pits for investors, Willis Towers Watson suggested in a report released Wednesday. But nearly US$17 billion has been invested into insurtech in the past seven years – US$1.5 billion in the third quarter of 2019 alone, reports Willis Towers Watson. “There is a very large sinkhole somewhere,” said Willis Towers Watson. “Who can honestly say that we have seen at least US$16.8 billion worth of value created?” But one example of an insurtech that does create value is Kitchener, Ont.-based ProNavigator –  one of three insurtechs highlighted in the report. Joseph D’Souza founded ProNavigator in 2016 after he was placed on hold by his insurance provider company for more than 90 minutes after calling with what he thought was a simple question. ProNavigator uses artificial intelligence to do natural language processing. It is touted as a way for users get answers – both through chat and by phone – without using industry jargon, on underwriting, product or billing.

Spotlight

It’s no secret that the global pandemic has upended everyone’s life. We know this anecdotally from our own experiences—more online shopping with curbside pickup orders, ordering takeout and delivery versus in-person dining, and changing media consumption. And let’s not forget remote working and learning. These experiences are more than simply anecdotal; McKinsey has written about the more specific effects of the pandemic on consumer behavior and needs. In short, they write: “behavior changes will reshape consumer decision journeys and companies will need to adapt fast.”

Spotlight

It’s no secret that the global pandemic has upended everyone’s life. We know this anecdotally from our own experiences—more online shopping with curbside pickup orders, ordering takeout and delivery versus in-person dining, and changing media consumption. And let’s not forget remote working and learning. These experiences are more than simply anecdotal; McKinsey has written about the more specific effects of the pandemic on consumer behavior and needs. In short, they write: “behavior changes will reshape consumer decision journeys and companies will need to adapt fast.”

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Core Insurance, Insurance Technology

Nearmap Launches AI Products to Improve the P&C Insurance Claims Experience

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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Claims, Compliance

New InsurTech Partnership Simplifies the Claims Process for Millions of Policyholders

Globenewswire | July 13, 2023

Bees360, the top provider of drone-enabled property inspection services powered by artificial intelligence (AI), and Hosta AI, the most advanced provider of AI-enabled interior property inspections powered by more than a decade of MIT research, have partnered to transform the insurance claims process. Inconsistent data collection and varying methods of individual inspectors and adjusters with differing expertise complicate traditional processes in property and damage inspections. With more than six million home inspections conducted annually in the U.S. alone, insurers need consistent, accurate, and transparent processes of effectively managing such risks. Bees360 and Hosta AI address this challenge head-on by harnessing advanced technologies to improve the quality, efficiency, and accuracy of property inspections, to produce the most robust property dataset possible, and to enable superior claims service from the start. "This partnership with Hosta AI means we are collectively bringing operational efficiencies and advanced interior data analytics to the insurance industry," said Andy Liu, CEO of Bees360. "By combining the power of aerial and interior inspection and advanced data processing, we are revolutionizing insurance claims processing and providing insurers with a competitive edge while delivering faster, more accurate results for policyholders." The combined AI capabilities of Bees360 and Hosta AI offer a complete solution for property inspections and claims adjustments. Bees360 leverages state-of-the-art drone inspection technology and Hosta AI delivers an AI-powered Assessment Platform to address the interior, resulting in streamlined and accelerated claims processing. "Our partnership with Bees360 allows us to harness their extensive aerial inspection capabilities and combine them with our expertise in advanced interior data processing,” said Henriette Fleischmann, CEO of Hosta AI. “By unlocking the potential of AI and machine learning, we can provide insurance companies with unparalleled insights to enable superior service and highly accurate claim settlement." Bees360 and Hosta AI share a commitment to delivering innovative solutions that expedite the claims settlement process, enhance accuracy, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction. About Bees360 Bees360 is a leading innovator of deep learning and computer vision technology who focuses on bringing AI and drone solutions to property underwriting and claim inspections. It is founded by data scientists and insurance experts whose collective background in data science, mathematics, property claims & underwriting provide an unparalleled level of knowledge to build AI-powered workflow and a disruptive business model for the conventional insurance industry. Learn more at www.bees360.com. About Hosta AI Established in 2020, Hosta AI is on a mission to empower people and businesses with fast, accessible and trusted information about their built surroundings. Hosta helps companies that need fast and accurate data about the built environment accelerate their businesses with automated property assessments. The Hosta AI Assessment Platform uses patent-pending AI spatial and material analysis to automate property assessments from just a few simple photos. To learn more about Hosta AI, please visit www.hosta.ai.

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Life Insurance, Health Insurance

EvolutionIQ Improves Experience For Principal Financial Group® Disability Customers

PR Newswire | August 17, 2023

EvolutionIQ, the market-leading Claims Guidance platform for Disability, Workers' Compensation, and Property & Casualty lines of insurance, today announced that Principal Financial Group® has extended the use of EvolutionIQ's Claims Guidance platform into production for all of its disability insurance lines. Principal® is now the first carrier to extend EvolutionIQ across every segment of its group and individual disability product segments. EvolutionIQ's machine learning understands complex bodily injury to help guide claim examiners to the right actions on claims. Principal has extended EvolutionIQ's impact to all disability coverage phases. With claim actions happening earlier across all parts of the recovery journey, a positive ripple-effect occurs through the entire process. Data shows that EvolutionIQ enables Principal examiners to reduce unnecessary customer interactions by 64% on stable-bound claims, which are claims that will migrate to a mature status due to the longer recovery times expected. With fewer unnecessary interactions, customers are able to focus more time on recovery. Improved customer experience includes: More accurate referrals to clinical and vocational experts – which eliminates delays when the help of a specialist is what is most needed to help with recovery. Better identification of modified occupation opportunities or alternative occupations for those whose illness or injury means they will not be able to return to work in their original occupation. Faster benefit payments for sick or injured customers whose claims are stable or designated as long-term. These customers also benefit as the need to check-in with claims teams is significantly reduced. Matching senior examiners to more complex claims so that the right expertise is applied at first notice of injury. "Principal is dedicated to providing unique, tech-driven solutions for employers that simplify the benefits experience, not just at onboarding or the claims payment experience, but as part of the entire process in between," said Kara Hoogensen, Senior Vice President & Head of Workplace Benefits at Principal Financial Group. "Our continued collaboration with EvolutionIQ has improved the experience for our customers." Added EvolutionIQ co-Founder and co-CEO Michael Saltzman: "We are thrilled to continue to work with Principal across their disability product lines. They are committed to all forms of innovation that advance the interests of their customers and policy holders and we're honored to help them further their mission every day." Principal first integrated with EvolutionIQ in 2021 with the successful pilot and production launch of EvolutionIQ's Group Mature module. In 2022, Principal became a strategic investor in EvolutionIQ's Series B funding round, joining existing strategic investors New York Life Ventures, Tokio Marine, Guardian and Sedgwick, and has now expanded its use to include Group Short Term Disability and Group Long-Term Disability Core modules, as well as EvolutionIQ's Individual Disability module. About EvolutionIQ EvolutionIQ is the market leading Claims Guidance platform in Group and Individual Disability, Property & Casualty, and Workers' Compensation lines of insurance. EvolutionIQ now counts the majority of the top 20 US Disability and Life carriers as clients. EvolutionIQ's proprietary Artificial Intelligence uses the entire claim file contents, historical claims, and external data to guide claim handlers to their most productive task across the entire claim block, every day. The system combines real-time predictive accuracy, clear guidance, and explainable AI to ensure adoption and business impact. As a result, claims organizations spend their efforts on claims they can impact – and their claimants get better, more tailored service. Insurers choose EvolutionIQ to increase their profitability and control over complex lines of business by integrating decision intelligence into every step of the claims handling process.

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