Latest Tech Headlines

All the headlines from our Tech Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Technology, Regulation Prove Double-Edged Swords in Product Recall Risk

Dec 6 2017 // Exploding Samsung phones, error-prone Takata airbags, faulty GM vehicle ignition switches, failing Johnson & Johnson hip implants — multi-billion dollar product recalls have become more common over the past...

Insurtech MGA Wrisk Gets UK Regulatory Authorization

Dec 6 2017 // On the heels of its recent successful crowdfunding raise, the app-based insurtech managing general agent Wrisk has made another major step forward, receiving full authorization from the UK’s Financial Conduct...

Insurtech Startup Debuts with $6M and Proactive Cyber Risk Product

Dec 4 2017 // A California insurtech startup with a new cyber product has launched to offer brokers and their clients what it calls “redesigned insurance, with cyber security expertise at its core.” Mountain View,...

AFL Insurance Brokers Taps RK Harrison’s Stagg to Drive Tech Innovation

Dec 1 2017 // AFL Insurance Brokers Ltd. announced that re/insurance broker George Stagg has joined the company to lead its technology incubator division as associate director, innovation. Stagg joins from RK Harrison, where he was most...

Update: Messy Brexit Could Lead to ‘Contract Continuity’ Disruption for Insurers, Banks

Dec 1 2017 // As far as Brexit headaches go, Barclays Plc’s John McFarlane says that while his bank is on top of job relocations, he’s more concerned about rewriting “hundreds of thousands” of...

GM Plans Fleets of Autonomous Robo-Taxis by 2019

Dec 1 2017 // General Motors Co. laid out its vision for self-driving vehicles on Thursday, telling investors it planned a commercial launch of fleets of fully autonomous robo-taxis in multiple dense urban environments in 2019, in a...

State Auto’s Extension of CEO LaRocco’s Contract a Vote of Confidence in Turnaround Strategy

Nov 28 2017 // Mike LaRocco, who took over president and CEO of State Automobile Mutual Insurance Co. in May 2015, has won the support of the company’s board of directors for an extension of his contract until Dec. 31,...

Trump Wants NAFTA to Limit Liability of Internet Firms Including Google, Facebook

Nov 27 2017 // The Trump administration is pushing to add legal protections in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that would limit the liability of internet giants such as Google and Facebook, marking the latest in a...

China’s Ping An Is World’s 2nd Largest Insurer by Market Value After Berkshire

Nov 21 2017 // A surge in Ping An Insurance (Group) Co.’s shares this year has made it the world’s second-largest insurer by market value behind only Berkshire Hathaway Inc. And the rally may not be done yet. Shares of the...

Conservatives Now Want to Abolish Board They Hoped Would Curtail Patent Suits

Nov 21 2017 // In August, a dozen inventors gathered around a fire pit outside the headquarters of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia, and set alight patents they said had been rendered worthless by an...

Technology Risk Mgmt Association TechAssure Names New Member in Germany

Nov 20 2017 // TechAssure, the international nonprofit association of insurance and risk management experts for technology-related risks, has named German insurance brokerage BüchnerBarella as a new member, effective...

Recent Hurricanes Highlight the Need for Digital Transformation in Insurance

Nov 20 2017 // The claims for Hurricane Irma are starting to pour in and they’ll be big, $25 billion to $35 billion, forecaster AIR Worldwide says. The scenes of flooding, displaced people, wrecked homes and disrupted communities...

Tech Tips to Reach Millennials: Tech Talk

Nov 20 2017 // Independent agents are slowly accepting the fact that they need to reach out to millennials more effectively. Much of the generation that is now between the ages of 20-36 is entering its prime earning years and starting...

Insurtech Startup Debuts with $6M and Proactive Cyber Risk Product

Nov 16 2017 // A California insurtech startup with a new cyber product has launched today to offer brokers and their clients what it calls “redesigned insurance, with cyber security expertise at its core.” Mountain View,...

JPMorgan Warns of Market Disruption If Clearing Houses Cut-Off by Brexit

Nov 15 2017 // Financial markets face Brexit day upheaval if clearing houses in Britain are abruptly cut off from continental customers, a senior JPMorgan bank official said on Wednesday. Sally Dewar, international head of regulatory...

5 Ways the Insurance Industry Can Improve Cybersecurity: Former U.S. Security Chief Clarke

Nov 15 2017 // “The insurance industry has a great record of solving problems where government regulation didn’t because the government either didn’t know how to regulate, or the government wouldn’t...

Humans Must Fight the Driverless Dystopia: Viewpoint

Nov 14 2017 // Two iconic figures in the car industry — former General Motors head of product development Bob Lutz and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance Chairman Carlos Ghosn — have recently outlined competing visions for the future...

Xceedance Makes Equity Investment in Startup Blockchain Specialist ChainThat

Nov 14 2017 // Xceedance, the provider of insurance consulting, managed services, technology and data sciences, announced a multi-million dollar “Series A” equity investment in ChainThat, a London-based blockchain specialist...

Uber, Tech Firms Helping Their Contract Workers Sign onto Obamacare

Nov 14 2017 // Uber Technologies Inc. and some smaller technology companies are launching campaigns to publicize Obamacare enrollment among their contract workers after the Trump administration slashed government marketing for the health...

South Dakota Selects Technology Insurance as Workers’ Comp Servicing Carrier

Nov 13 2017 // The South Dakota Division of Insurance has selected Technology Insurance Co., as the workers’ compensation assigned risk plan carrier effective Jan. 1, 2018. Technology Insurance will service the plan for five years....