INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Securian, CAA Partner To Offer New Life & Health, Dental Insurance Solutions
Securian Canada is excited to announce a new partnership with the Canadian Automobile Association to introduce an innovative suite of insurance products and a digital-first customer experience to more than seven million CAA members across the country. Read more.

Self-Service, Support & Quoting Capabilities Set Leading Carriers Apart
Keynova Group, the principal competitive intelligence source for digital financial services firms, is pleased to announce the results of its latest semi-annual Online Insurance Scorecard, an evaluation of 12 of the largest U.S. auto and property insurance carriers' website capabilities. Read more.

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires MGB Re
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is pleased to announce that its reinsurance division, Gallagher Re, has acquired Toronto-based MGB Re. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more.

Hub Acquires Mitchell Sandham Inc.
Hub International Limited, a leading global insurance brokerage and financial services firm, is pleased to announce  that it has acquired Mitchell Sandham Inc. and its subsidiary, Mitchell Sandham Group Benefits Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more.

Imperial PFS Partners With Quotey
Imperial PFS Canada, a leading provider of payment solutions, is thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with Quotey. By integrating Imperial PFS Canada's extensive experience in payment solutions with Quotey's innovative technology, the partnership creates a process for commercial brokers to offer streamlined payment solutions through the Quotey workflow. Read more.

First Conversational AI Insurance Platform Secures Funding To Transform How People Buy Coverage
Indemn, a pioneering insurtech platform, is pleased to announced it has closed a USD 1.9 million pre-seed funding round, marking its continued growth in delivering insurance products through natural conversation powered by AI. Read more.

Kia Taps LexisNexis To Offer Customers Personalized Driving Scores
LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Kia America are pleased to announce they have entered into a strategic agreement making Kia connected vehicle data available to U.S. auto insurers via the LexisNexis® Telematics Exchange in order to allow eligible customers to opt in to share their driving behavior data to receive a personalized driving experience and become more informed drivers. Read more.

Collinson Expands Travel Disruption Benefits
Collinson, a global leader in customer benefits and loyalty, and Starr Insurance, a global insurance and investment organisation with a presence across six continents, have joined forces to distribute SmartDelay+, Collinson's real-time parametric travel disruption insurance product. Read more.

Canadians Prioritize Travel Despite Economic Challenges
Vacation confidence continues to rise in the face of financial pressures, with seven in ten Canadians saying they plan to take a vacation in 2024, according to the seventh annual Vacation Confidence Study from Allianz Global Assistance. Read more.

CHES Launches Online Gaming E&O Insurance
CHES Special Risk is thrilled to introduce its latest expansion to its portfolio of professional lines' offering Game 360, a comprehensive Errors and Omissions insurance solution tailored for the rapidly growing online gaming industry. Read more.

ICTA NOMINATIONS

Improving The Commercial Quoting Process
Quotey is Canada's first digital insurance marketplace for commercial and farm insurance, connecting brokers to their insurance partners (insurers & MGAs) for hundreds of products. It transforms the capabilities of brokers: enabling them to obtain multiple commercial quotes in seconds rather than days or weeks, while also allowing them to instantly compare at the finest level of detail to support a process of selling on value rather than price. Quotey is a Canadian SaaS solution, licensed to 90+ brokerages across Canada. Read more.

The Cloud Platform Advantage: Guidewire
Each insurer serves its customers uniquely. That's why Guidewire offers a platform that enables each customer to keep its unique differentiation while we keep the service up to date as a part of the subscription agreement. Read more.

Extending Broker Connectivity Function
HTM has been working with Cognition+ to implement a new web-based platform built on Application Programming Interfaces with the goal of eliminating operational data silos to promote internal efficiencies and build the capability to share information securely and privately with stakeholders. In early 2023, HTM took the next step to enable Agent Access and Broker Connectivity for their sales channel. Read more.

In the InsurTech Spotlight this week:

Walnut Insurance
Walnut is an embedded insurance platform that makes insurance purchasing experiences digital-first, simple, and convenient – creating greater accessibility across life, P&C, and embedded product lines. Walnut currently offers more than 20 types of insurance products, provided by more than 15 different carriers. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

Featured job opportunities:

Sales Representative - Personal Insurance
Northern Insurance Brokers Inc.
Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Financial Security Advisor - Advice centre
RBC
Montreal, QC

From Doug Helping Customers – This Minute Insurance has often influenced customers to better manage their risks. Example: auto insurance. Years ago, self-reported distance driven, driving infractions, etc., influenced renewal premium. Then basic telematics technology provided additional driving habit data. As technology improved, feedback about each drive could be fed back to the driver. By adding gaming – comparison to a peer group – the potential to improve driver experience expanded. Apps on smart phones could capture yet more driver behaviour, and the opportunity for instant feedback. A camera (dashcam) detects driver attention; voice prompts offer real-time driver coaching. Yes, technology can help manage risk. The technology evolution continues. A recent announcement claimed more accurate detection of low-speed crashes. Some now offer immediate customer assistance when a severe crash is detected. In a recent article, “Oops! The Futurologists Were Wrong,” Matteo Carbone references Nationwide's experience with telematics: “These results come from a 10-year journey using the telematics data. Nationwide is firmly convinced that telematics is a permanent fixture in the insurance landscape and will persist in its evolution.” This is applicable well beyond auto insurance. Yes, knowing your insurance customer better brings positive results, for them, and for you. Explore more at ICTF2024, just three weeks away. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca