Latest Tech Headlines
All the headlines from our Tech Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Q2 Insurtech Funding Rises to $1B: Willis Towers Watson/CB Insights Report
Jul 24 2017 // Insurtech funding volume hovered close to $1 billion in the 2017 second quarter, a result nearly 150 percent larger than the same period a year ago, according to a quarterly report on the sector from Willis Towers Watson...
Super Regional Carriers Urged to Educate ‘Suspicious’ Regulators on Big Data Use
Jul 24 2017 // “We’re curious and we don’t know. When regulators don’t know what’s going on, they get suspicious.” That was Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Ted Nickel acknowledging that like the...
Driverless Car Technology and Its Impact in New York
Jul 24 2017 // New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in May signed a budget bill into law allowing self-driving and self-parking cars to be tested for one year on New York public highways. Prior to this law going into effect, the technology was...
Government’s Disruption in Insurtech Market: The Zebra CEO
Jul 24 2017 // Unsurprisingly, discussion surrounding government’s role in free markets with large corporations can be contentious, but it’s critical to understand that laws and regulations serve a purpose. To what extent...
Carrier Poll Shows Many Agents Expect Minor Tech Disruption by 2020
Jul 24 2017 // A new poll conducted by a Seattle, Wash.-based carrier that asked independent insurance agents what’s ahead in 2020 showed that roughly half of agents expect technology disruption to have a minor impact on their...
Pennsylvania’s PLM Names Selfe Vice President of Information Technology
Jul 21 2017 // Pennsylvania and Indiana Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Companies (PLM), a property and casualty insurance carrier based in Philadelphia, Penn., has named Erin Selfe vice president of information technology. With more than 20...
Travelers Says It’s ‘Where It Needs to Be’ to Compete; Q2 Results Dampened by Weather
Jul 20 2017 // Small business insurance leader Travelers Companies is well-positioned to continue to compete in the small commercial insurance space that is attracting new entries including technology-driven start-ups, according to CEO...
Daimler Recalls More Than 3 Million Mercedes-Benz Diesel Vehicles
Jul 20 2017 // Daimler AG moved to head off a growing crisis over emissions concerns by voluntarily recalling more than 3 million Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles in Europe, marking the latest blow to the technology since Volkswagen...
Starr Buys Stake in Small Business Insurtech CoverWallet
Jul 19 2017 // Starr Companies is now a minority shareholder in online small business insurance agency CoverWallet. CoverWallet confirmed the deal that was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. No financial terms were...
Blind Americans Want to Participate in Future of Driverless Vehicles
Jul 19 2017 // Anil Lewis was behind the wheel of his Ford Mustang convertible on a sunny Atlanta day in 1988, when he nearly hit a pedestrian who appeared in a crosswalk ahead of him, seemingly out of nowhere. It was then Lewis realized...
Allianz Forms Online Aircraft Insurance Partnership with Insurtech Firm Visicover
Jul 19 2017 // Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) announced it has formed a partnership agreement with insurtech company, Visicover. Visicover’s existing and new aeroplane and helicopter insurance products now will be...
Novarica: Commercial Insurers Prioritizing Tech Advancements
Jul 18 2017 // A new report by the research and advisory firm, Novarica, shows that commercial insurance carriers are modernizing policy administration systems and agent portals to support complexities of business. Novarica also says use...
Hamilton’s Macia Returns to AIG to Head Tech-Driven Subsidiary
Jul 13 2017 // Seraina (Maag) Macia, chief executive officer of Hamilton USA, which AIG is acquiring, is returning to American International Group (AIG) under its new CEO, Brian Duperreault. Macia has been named executive vice president...
Silicon Valley Fund Has $120M to Spend on Transportation Tech Including Insurance
Jul 13 2017 // Autotech Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, said it had raised $120 million from automotive companies and financial investors for a fund that will invest in startups working on transportation services and...
Carrier Poll Shows Many Agents Expect Minor Tech Disruption by 2020
Jul 11 2017 // A new poll conducted by a Seattle, Wash.-based carrier that asked independent insurance agents what’s ahead in 2020 showed that roughly half of agents expect technology disruption to have a minor impact on their...
Silicon Valley Honors Munich Re US and Mozeika for Insurtech Leadership
Jul 11 2017 // A Silicon Valley innovation platform that connects technology startups, corporations and investors has recognized Munich Re, US for leadership in the insurtech space. The high-tech incubator and mentoring group known as...
Wisconsin’s Church Mutual: Outlook Upgraded; Sensor Technology Recognized
Jul 10 2017 // Merrill, Wis.-based Church Mutual Insurance Co. and its subsidiaries CM Vantage Specialty Insurance Co. and CM Regent Insurance Co. have earned a “positive” outlook for long-term issuer credit rating by A.M....
Looking at Insurtech the Wrong Way
Jul 10 2017 // Insurtechs stimulate a lot of debate among agents about the extent to which they pose a threat and what should be done to address it. Some dismiss the threat by analyzing flaws in a particular venture or mocking past...
Massachusetts’ Knight-Dik Insurance: 100 Years, Four Generations of Leadership
Jul 10 2017 // When Thomas Babb launched his insurance agency – Thomas Babb Insurance Agency – in an 11-story building in downtown Worcester, Mass., in 1917, he also launched a legacy that would span a century of growth and...
Insurtech Startup Buys MGA in California with Aim of Delivering Product for Agents
Jul 10 2017 // Insurtech startup Bridger has purchased Pleasanton, Calif.-based SCJ Insurance Services in a step toward launching what the firm contends will be “simpler, cheaper, and easier-to-manage automotive...
