Insurer reveals plunging confidence of UK business leaders

insurancebusinessmag | May 30, 2019

Brexit. The new B word that no-one wants to say no matter which side of the Leave or Remain fence you sit on has reared its ugly head again - being responsible for yet another negative report, this time a survey by business insurance expert CNA Hardy.The insurers most recent global risk confidence report has found that confidence levels of UK businesses were at only 36%, the lowest in the world.By contrast, Asia-Pacific had the highest levels of confidence, at 65% over the survey period which was from May 2018 to May 2019.

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

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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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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Core Insurance, Workers Compensation

Zywave Expands API Capabilities, Empowers Insurance Organizations to Maximize Data-Driven Potential

PR Newswire | August 02, 2023

Zywave, an industry-leading provider of insurtech solutions, announced today the expansion of its API capabilities, which enable insurance organizations to further maximize their data-driven opportunities throughout the entire prospect-to-client journey. Through these multiple solutions, Zywave will provide users access to insightful, new data sets, empower organizations to optimize their technology workflows, and enable them to use their existing data in meaningful, new ways. Over the past few months, the insurtech provider released two new API products, including Lead Insights API, which provides access to a comprehensive database for lead generation; and Personal Lines Quoting API, a solution that brings quoting with carrier-direct pricing into an insurance organization's existing technology platform. "As insurance workflows have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years, APIs have played an even more critical role in the industry, enabling seamless integration between various systems and platforms," said Jason Liu, Zywave's CEO. "At Zywave, our philosophy on open architecture emphasizes the importance of industry partnerships and collaboration, which has led to the development of new solutions that help insurance brokers, insurers, and service providers optimize their operations." Demonstrating its commitment to open architecture, Zywave is introducing several new API solutions that will further revolutionize the industry: Just released, Zywave's Lead Insights API will help users revolutionize their prospecting and sales processes, by providing access to the extensive customer data that powers Zywave's industry-leading lead generation solution. The miEdge dataset enables advanced company searches, identifies key contacts and offers critical insights into employer compliance data for millions of employers nationwide. Also new to market is Zywave's Personal Lines Quoting API, a one-stop shop for quoting auto coverage. With carrier-direct pricing from our over 200 insurer partners in all 50 states, the Personal Lines Quoting API helps our customers enhance their rating processes and maximize operational efficiency, all within their existing technology platforms. In addition to auto, home coverage will be added to the offering in the coming months. Available through Zywave's Sales Cloud, the Policy API enables key policy information to flow freely between critical technology platforms, such as customer relationship management systems, agency management systems, benefit admins, compliance systems, or carrier portals. The structured format of data the API is built upon allows users to create a single source of truth for their policy information between multiple systems, resulting in more streamlined processes and reduced errors. Released in January 2023, the Group Benefits Quoting API enables benefits brokers to quote medical and ancillary lines of coverage more efficiently, directly within their existing systems. Powered by carefully sourced carrier-direct pricing from over 500 benefits insurers, brokers can leverage Zywave's unrivaled dataset to quickly and accurately quote over 55,000 fully funded and level-funded medical, dental and vision plans with their existing census or enrollment data. Previously available, the Content API pushes Zywave's industry-leading content directly into our customers' client portals. It includes over 10,000 pieces of attorney-backed content created by our team of industry experts, on topics including compliance, risk management, human resources, wellness, and more. The forthcoming Benchmark Analysis API delivers the data insurers and commercial brokers need to enhance their benchmarking and loss analysis capabilities. Powered by Zywave's Loss Insight dataset, the Benchmark Analysis API includes Cyber, D&O, EPLI, and Casualty loss data on over one million high-severity losses, valued at more than $10 trillion. With Zywave's extensive portfolio of API solutions, its customers will increase efficiency, optimize their workflows, and drive strategic growth. As API technology and API-enabled partners increasingly become key insurtech investments, Zywave will continue to lead the market with a philosophy of open architecture and a focus on strategic data partnerships. To learn more about Zywave's industry-leading solutions, visit www.zywave.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. 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