Latest Tech Headlines
All the headlines from our Tech Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Allstate’s Growth Plan Includes Shift in Agent Commissions, Hike in Advertising
Feb 10 2020 // Allstate first disclosed its Transformative Growth Plan in December, an effort to overhaul how it does business, boost efficiency and reduce expenses. During the Illinois-based property/casualty insurer’s Q4 2019...
Virginia Tech Student Sues After Hazing Suspension
Feb 10 2020 // A former Virginia Tech student is suing the university after he was accused of overseeing a ceremony that violated the school’s hazing policy. Darrien Brown alleges the university denied him due process when...
20 Noteworthy Agency Merger Stories of 2019
Feb 10 2020 // 1. January Nationwide Acquires Liability Insurance Program Manager E-Risk Services: Nationwide acquired a New Jersey privately held program manager specializing in management liability lines. Nationwide said E-Risk will...
Insurtech Investments and Valuations Soar Even As Some Startups Fail Fast
Feb 10 2020 // Insurtech investments reached an historic high in 2019 but last year also capped a three-year period where a good number of insurtech startups called it quits. According to a new briefing on the sector from Willis Towers...
Private Equity Still Driving Agency M&As
Feb 10 2020 // Digital Buys Getting Some Attention; Buyers Getting Bigger; Prices Going Higher; Eyes on Digital The private equity bandwagon continued to roll through the insurance agency and brokerage mergers and acquisitions territory...
How Brokers Stay Relevant? Be Nimble With Your Value Props
Feb 10 2020 // Commercial brokers, the future is bright. As you contend with an increasingly automated, digitally-enhanced insurance industry, rest assured your expertise remains valuable for your clients. That is, if you can adapt to...
Insurtech Lemonade Prepares to Unleash a Pet Insurance Product
Feb 7 2020 // Insurtech carrier Lemonade plans to debut pet insurance later this year. Lemonade says it hopes to launch the pet insurance product within a few months, pending regulatory approval. It has opened its site to early...
Homeowners Insurtech Openly Expands Into Tennessee
Feb 7 2020 // Openly Inc., an insurtech backed by Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused venture fund, has gone live in Tennessee. The addition of Tennessee comes on the heels of the company’s launch and funding announcement...
Insurance Technologies Corp. Acquires Agency Matrix of Georgia
Feb 5 2020 // Insurance Technologies Corporation (ITC), a provider of websites, marketing, comparative rating and management software and services, has acquired Agency Matrix, an insurance technology provider headquartered in...
EU Prepares for Coming of Facial Recognition– On Its Privacy Terms
Feb 3 2020 // The European Union has accepted there is no escape from facial recognition, but is seeking to ensure any roll-out that includes U.S. and Chinese players will abide by European values like strict personal privacy. Facial...
Insurtech Investments and Valuations Soar Even As Some Startups Fail Fast
Jan 31 2020 // Insurtech investments reached an historic high in 2019 but last year also capped a three-year period where a good number of Insurtech startups called it quits. According to a new briefing on the sector from Willis Towers...
Jury Orders Apple, Broadcom to Pay $1.1 Billion for Infringing CalTech Wi-Fi Patent
Jan 31 2020 // Apple Inc. and Broadcom Inc. must pay $1.1 billion in damages for infringing California Institute of Technology patents on Wi-Fi technology, a jury in California ordered. Apple was ordered to pay $837.8 million while...
Pennsylvania’s Graham Company Hires McIntire as Chief Technology Officer
Jan 31 2020 // Graham Company, based in Philadelphia, Penn., has hired Michael McIntire as chief technology officer, in which he will lead the development of Graham’s technology strategy and manage its execution. In this role,...
Is the Re/Insurance Industry Ready for the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
Jan 29 2020 // Industry transformations occur when the pain of staying the same is suddenly greater than the pain of changing, according to Karen White, CEO of RMS. “The second thing that has got to be present for those...
Apple’s China-Centric Supply Chain Braces for Disruption From Coronavirus
Jan 28 2020 // Apple Inc.’s China-centric manufacturing base is at risk of disruption after the Lunar New Year holiday as the company’s partners confront the coronavirus outbreak that has gripped the country and caused more...
Energy-Hungry Data Storage Is Another Culprit of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Jan 27 2020 // Everyone has seen the warning. At the bottom of the email, it says: “Please consider the environment before printing.” But for those who care about global warming, you might want to consider not writing so many...
Why Traditional Independent Agents, Carriers Need to Partner and Align Now More Than Ever
Jan 27 2020 // Agencies and carriers need to align now more than ever. I will add a condition to this statement: Quality independent agencies and quality carriers need to align now more than ever if they are to thrive. Unfortunately, I...
Specialist MGA CFC Acquires London Insurtech Firm, ThreatInformer
Jan 23 2020 // CFC, the specialist managing general agent, announced it has acquired the London-based insurtech firm, ThreatInformer. Leveraging a combination of artificial intelligence and machine learning, ThreatInformer’s data...
Insurtech Firm CyberCube Calls on Insurers to Set Global Cyber-Security Standards
Jan 22 2020 // CyberCube, an insurtech focused on cyber risk analytics, is calling on the insurance industry to set global cyber-security standards as the world digitizes. “Internet-connected technologies is a prime opportunity for...
IBM Calls For Rules to Curb Bias in Artificial Intelligence
Jan 22 2020 // IBM called for rules aimed at eliminating bias in artificial intelligence to ease concerns that the technology relies on data that bakes in past discriminatory practices and could harm women, minorities, the disabled,...
