INSURANCE TECHNOLOGY
Hippo, Cowbell Cyber, First Connect | July 14, 2022
First Connect Insurance Services, a digital platform designed to provide independent agents with access to the nation's top carriers, announced today the addition of Cowbell Cyber, the leading provider of cyber insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Cowbell Cyber offers stand-alone coverage to enterprise customers for security breach expenses, extortion threats, the replacement or restoration of data, loss of business income, security breach liability, computer fraud, ransom payments and more.
First Connect, a subsidiary of the Hippo Insurance Group, provides independent agencies with access to national carriers with zero access fees. First Connect and Cowbell are teaming up to provide those agencies with a modern cyber insurance product designed to help SMEs safeguard their digital operations.
"Every business faces cyber risk nowadays," said First Connect President Aviad Pinkovezky. "By partnering with Cowbell Cyber we are continuing to broaden our portfolio of leading insurtech carriers and general agents, and providing independent agencies access to cyber insurance that assesses their clients’ unique cybersecurity risks.”
Cowbell Cyber offers a Prime 100 insurance product that provides robust financial protection against cyber threats. The digital-first cyber insurance provider leverages an API that allows customers to quickly apply online and delivers instant bindable quotes to SMEs. Additional features include continuous risk assessment, risk engineering consultations, cyber awareness training and in-house claims handling by dedicated cyber experts.
"Cowbell Cyber identifies in real-time each organization’s unique risk level and determines the ideal coverage package to mitigate potential losses from a cyberattack," said Jack Kudale, Founder and CEO of Cowbell Cyber.
"Cowbell Cyber identifies in real-time each organization’s unique risk level and determines the ideal coverage package to mitigate potential losses from a cyberattack," said Jack Kudale, Founder and CEO of Cowbell Cyber. "Partnering with a fully digital platform like First Connect is ideal to easily and rapidly give SMEs financial protection for the variety of threats businesses face every day.”
To learn more about how First Connect provides independent agencies with access to the leading insurtech carriers or to sign up, visit firstconnectinsurance.com.
About Hippo
Hippo is protecting the joy of homeownership, helping to safeguard customers’ most important financial asset by harnessing the power of real-time data, smart home technology, and a growing suite of home services to deliver proactive home protection.
Hippo Holdings Inc.’s (NYSE: HIPO) operating subsidiaries include Hippo Insurance Services, Hippo Home Care, First Connect Insurance Services, Spinnaker Insurance Company, Spinnaker Specialty Insurance Company, and Mainsail Insurance Company. First Connect Insurance Services is a licensed property casualty insurance agent with products underwritten by various insurance companies. For more information, including licensing details, visit http://www.hippo.com.
About Cowbell Cyber
Cowbell Cyber offers standalone, individualized, and easy-to-understand cyber insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In its unique AI-based approach to risk selection and pricing, Cowbell’s continuous underwriting platform, powered by Cowbell Factors, compresses the insurance process from submission to issue to less than 5 minutes. Cowbell Insurance Agency is currently licensed in 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Cowbell Reinsurance Company is a licensed insurance captive in the State of Vermont. For more information, please visit www.cowbell.insure.
Read More
CORE INSURANCE
ISG | July 16, 2022
Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm, has launched a research study examining providers of services that are enabling a growing number of insurance organizations to modernize their operations for better business outcomes.
The study results will be published in a comprehensive ISG Provider Lens™ report, called Insurance Services 2022 — BPO and ITO, scheduled to be released in November. The report will cover companies offering services including business process outsourcing (BPO), information technology outsourcing (ITO), business-process-as-a-service (BPaaS) and third-party administration (TPA).
Enterprise buyers will be able to use information from the report to evaluate their current vendor relationships, potential new engagements and available offerings, while ISG advisors use the information to recommend providers to the firm’s buy-side clients.
Many insurance organizations are adopting advanced technologies to modernize services, improve customer experience and grow in a cost-effective way. They are implementing technologies including intelligent automation, straight-through processing (STP), AI and machine learning, often migrating from legacy systems to cloud platforms to enable digital transformation.
“More insurance companies are now working with outsourcing and technology providers to enhance their capabilities,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research.
“More insurance companies are now working with outsourcing and technology providers to enhance their capabilities,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “Many are forming long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with providers to become more competitive.”
ISG has distributed surveys to more than 60 insurance services providers. Working in collaboration with ISG’s global advisors, the research team will produce four quadrants representing the digital services and products the typical insurance enterprise is buying, based on ISG’s experience working with its clients. The four quadrants are:
Life & Retirement Insurance BPO Services, evaluating outsourcing services such as consulting, technology enablement, policy administration and managed services for providers of insurance types such as life insurance, annuities and supplemental benefits.
Property & Casualty Insurance BPO Services, assessing outsourcing services for insurance coverage areas including auto, theft, property and natural catastrophe.
BPaaS and TPA Insurance Services, evaluating providers of BPO and ITO services bundled into a comprehensive service, typically through a licensed provider or third-party administrator.
Insurance ITO Services, covering both traditional and more modern IT services, including technology support and business transformation programs to improve profitability, optimize costs and enhance customer experience.
Geographically focused reports from the study will cover the global insurance services market and examine products and services available in the U.S., Australia, and U.K. and Europe. ISG analysts Ashish Jhajharia, Angus Macaskill, Jocelyn Cheung and Sandhya Hari Navage will serve as authors of the report.
An archetype report will also be published as part of this study. This report, unique to ISG, is the study of typical buyer types of contact center services as observed by ISG advisors.
A list of identified providers and vendors and further details on the study are available in this digital brochure. Companies not listed as insurance services providers can contact ISG and ask to be included in the study.
All 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ evaluations now feature new and expanded customer experience (CX) data that measures actual enterprise experience with specific provider services and solutions, based on ISG’s continuous CX research. Enterprise customers wishing to share their experience about a specific provider or vendor are encouraged to register here to receive a personalized survey URL. Participants will receive a copy of this report in return for their feedback.
About ISG Provider Lens™ Research
The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.
A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.
About ISG
ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 800 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.
Read More
CORE INSURANCE
Hub International | August 05, 2022
Hub International Limited (Hub), a leading global insurance brokerage and financial services firm, announced today that it has acquired the assets of Bubrig Insurance Agency, Ltd. and its affiliate Blue Cedar Insurance, LLC (collectively, Bubrig Insurance Agency). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Located in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, Bubrig Insurance Agency is an independent agency providing personal insurance solutions, including home, auto, flood, life and recreation.
"With Bubrig Insurance Agency, we will continue our growth in the region, We are enthusiastic about our future together, and we're confident that this partnership will create new opportunities for us."
-Shaun Norris, President of Hub Gulf South
Bill Bubrig, President, and the entire Bubrig Insurance Agency team will join Hub Gulf South.
Joining Hub is an attractive opportunity and gives us access to additional national resources and capabilities so that we can continue to provide the highest quality of service to our clients, said Bubrig.
About Hub's M&A Activities
Hub International Limited is committed to growing organically and through acquisitions to expand its geographic footprint and strengthen industry and product expertise.
About Hub International
Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Hub International Limited is a leading full-service global insurance broker and financial services firm providing risk management, insurance, employee benefits, retirement and wealth management products and services. With more than 14,000 employees in offices located throughout North America, Hub's vast network of specialists brings clarity to a changing world with tailored solutions and unrelenting advocacy, so clients are ready for tomorrow.
Read More