Latest Tech Headlines
All the headlines from our Tech Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Toyota Plans to Sell Talking Cars in U.S. Within 3 Years
Apr 17 2018 // Toyota Motor Corp. plans to start selling U.S. vehicles that can talk to each other using short-range wireless technology in 2021, the Japanese automaker said on Monday, potentially preventing thousands of accidents...
Wisconsin-Based Accelerator Boosts Startups in Insurance and Beyond
Apr 16 2018 // The insurance industry is not the only focus of the Madison, Wisconsin-based startup accelerator, gener8tor, but insurance is its oldest and largest operational sector. Founded in 2012 by attorneys Troy Vosseller and Joe...
2018 Young Agents Survey: Straight Talk From Young Agents
Apr 16 2018 // Young agents want change. They want more diversity in the agency sales ranks. They want better paths to grow in their careers. They want other agents to adhere to professional standards and ethics. They want faster and...
Surplus Lines: Insurtech and Technological Opportunities, Challenges
Apr 16 2018 // Over the last year or so, the insurance industry has seen technological advances driving new products and distribution means to market. We have seen “insurtech” blossom from a term to describe the intersection...
MetLife Seeks ‘First-Mover’ Tech Advantage by Joining MIT Media Lab
Apr 12 2018 // MetLife has launched a multi-year collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) focused on technologies that it believes will transform the insurance industry. MetLife has joined the MIT Media Lab. The...
VC Firm Eos Venture Partners Plans to Raise $100M for Insurtech Investment Fund
Apr 12 2018 // Eos Venture Partners, the insurance technology-focused venture capital firm, announced plans to raise a $100 million debut fund, EVP I. The fund will be one of the first global, independent insurtech investment funds...
EU Regulators Urge Insurers, Banks to Take ‘Timely Action’ to Avoid Brexit Disruption
Apr 12 2018 // European Union regulators urged banks, investors and customers on Thursday to take “timely action” to avoid disruption to cross-border derivatives and insurance contracts caused by Brexit. Britain leaves the EU...
Safety Worry: Keeping Humans In and Around Autonomous Vehicles Engaged
Apr 11 2018 // After partially faulting Tesla Inc.’s automation system for a 2016 fatal crash, U.S. safety investigators last year called on carmakers to do more to ensure drivers stay engaged as next-generation cars start to steer...
4 Reasons Autonomous Vehicles Won’t Control the Roads for Some Time
Apr 11 2018 // Monday was the first day of the AAIS Main Event. The focus was about a focus on the future and all of the speakers that we heard talked about the future of insurance. We heard from folks at Insuretech companies and from a...
Ohio’s Central Insurance Promotes Korte to VP, Information Technology
Apr 10 2018 // The Central Insurance Companies, headquartered in Van Wert, Ohio, has promoted Matt Korte to vice president of Information Technology for both Central Mutual Insurance Co. and All America Insurance Co. Korte succeeds John...
JPMorgan, Amazon, Berkshire Venture to Target Health Issues Using Data, Technology
Apr 9 2018 // JPMorgan Chase & Co., Amazon.com Inc., and Berkshire Hathaway will focus on the biggest health issues threatening the U.S. economy in their new joint venture, including aligning healthcare payments with employee health...
Former Scottsdale Insurance Chief Miller to Start New E&S Carrier, Ategrity
Apr 6 2018 // Mike Miller, the long-time president and chief operating officer of excess and surplus lines giant Scottsdale Insurance Co., is launching a new specialty property/casualty insurance company named Ategrity Specialty...
Investment in Innovation to Rock Chicago Stadium at Insurtech Conference
Apr 5 2018 // Three stages, a packed football stadium overlooking Lake Michigan, decked out luxury suites. A rock concert? No, it’s an insurance innovation and investment event. But some attendees might be star-struck by the...
Tech-Focused Private Equity Firm Invests in Agency Tech Provider ITC
Apr 4 2018 // Texas-based ITC, a provider of websites, agency marketing, comparative rating and management software and services, announced today that it has received a majority equity investment from Accel-KKR, a technology-focused...
Swiss Re Continues Talks with SoftBank Which Seeks Stake of Up to 10%
Apr 4 2018 // Billionaire Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group Corp. is likely to take a stake of 10 percent or less in Swiss Re AG as it seeks to gain a foothold in the cash-rich reinsurance industry. The Swiss company’s shares...
Safety Experts Weigh In on Autonomous Car Standards After Uber, Tesla Fatal Crashes
Apr 4 2018 // Autonomous cars should be required to meet standards on their ability to detect potential hazards and better ways are needed to keep their human drivers ready to assume control, U.S. auto safety and technology experts said...
Insurtechs Continue to Perform Miracles for Policyholders
Apr 1 2018 // APRIL 1, 2018— The competition among insurtechs trying to make their insurance customers “deliriously happy” continues to evolve with the latest news that one insurer is paying claims before they even...
AIG Launches Travel Insurance on Demand App in Canada
Mar 28 2018 // Travel Guard Group Canada, Inc., the Toronto-based subsidiary of AIG, has launched a travel insurance app allowing Canadian customers (except Quebec residents) to purchase coverage in blocks of time through their...
Uber Cut Back on Safety Sensors on Volvo Involved in Fatal Accidents: Reuters
Mar 27 2018 // When Uber decided in 2016 to retire its fleet of self-driving Ford Fusion cars in favor of Volvo sport utility vehicles, it also chose to scale back on one notable piece of technology: the safety sensors used to detect...
Taming Technochauvinism and Accepting Computers Don’t Always Get Things Right
Mar 27 2018 // An algorithm can predict which passengers survived the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912 and can do so with 97 percent accuracy—a result that both demonstrates the power of artificial intelligence and, more subtly,...
