INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

New Partnership To Deliver Instant Insurance Verification For Car Dealerships
TSD, the world's largest provider of loaner and car rental software, and Axle, the leading universal API for insurance data, have announced a strategic partnership to bring instant insurance verification to dealerships and car rental companies across the US. Read more.

Chubb Launches New Platform To Give Agents Quicker Access To Flood Quotes
Chubb Personal Risk Services is pleased to announce the launch of a new self-service Flood Insurance System for agents in the U.S. that will seamlessly support its personal lines business for primary and excess flood and will provide quotes for low-hazard properties in under two minutes. This new platform will integrate with the Chubb Agent Portal and Masterpiece EZ Quote homeowners platform. Read more.

Auto Theft Spike Linked To Record-High Premiums
As Ontario confronts an alarming escalation in auto theft, MyChoice, a leading insurance comparison service in Canada, shares the results of a study it conducted to determine the correlation between carjacking rates and auto insurance premiums across Ontario cities. Read more.

Pet Health Insurance Industry Continues Exceptional Growth: NAPHIA SOI Report
The North American Pet Health Insurance Association has released its 2024 State of the Industry Report showing the North American pet health insurance sector grew another 21.9% in 2023. Read more.

BrokerLink Grows Again In Ontario
BrokerLink is pleased to announce the acquisition of M. Edward Powell Insurance Brokers Ltd., based in Oakville, and Russ Bastow Insurance Broker Ltd. of Ajax. The company also acquired the personal and small to medium enterprise commercial insurance book of business from Halpenny Insurance Brokers Ltd. All three transactions were effective April 1st. Read more.

Perseus Group Acquires Valeyo From Securian Canada
Perseus Group Software Corp., which is part of Constellation Software Inc., is pleased to announce that it has acquired Valeyo Inc. and its loan origination software (LOS) business from Securian Canada, Inc. The insurance portion of Valeyo's business will be retained by Securian Canada. As part of the transaction, Valeyo will be joining forces with Securian Canada to continue to provide an LOS and integrated insurance offering to the market. Read more.

Accenture Acquires Unlimited
Accenture is pleased to announce it has acquired Unlimited, the award-winning integrated customer engagement agency, which will become part of Accenture Song – the world's largest tech-powered creative group – enhancing its ability to scale its offerings, unlock greater value from generative AI, and drive marketing transformation, relevance, and growth for its clients. Read more.

Summit Announces Seed Round Investment
Summit is pleased to announce our CAD 3.5M Seed Round of Financing. The momentum generated from this funding reinforces our long-term vision to build the commercial insurance brokerage of the future. Read more.

IBC, IBAM Share Tips To Prepare For Spring Flooding
With the arrival of spring weather and the potential for heavy rainfall across parts of Manitoba, Insurance Bureau of Canada and the Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba are reminding Manitoba residents to prepare for the increased risk of flooding. Read more.

Public Sector Needs To Bolster Cyber Defenses
The (re)insurance industry should brace itself for potential attacks on the public sector targeting government and election infrastructure, warns CyberCube, the market leader of cyber risk analytics for the insurance industry. Read more.

Smart Health Benefits Coalition Grows With CALU
The Smart Health Benefits Coalition (SHBC) is pleased to announce it is growing, welcoming the Conference for Advanced Life Underwriting (CALU), Canada's professional association for leaders in the life insurance and financial advisory industry. Read more.

Economy To See Modest Growth In H1 2024: CFIB
The Canadian economy is expected to see positive growth in Q1 and Q2 2024, according to the latest quarterly report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Read more.

In the InsurTech Spotlight this week:

Segic
Segic's mission consists of helping organizations use a comprehensive set of technology and services that support every aspect of their benefit programs, from plan design to employee engagement. The platform's cloud-based design and accessibility as Software as a Service (SaaS) make it the perfect solution you can take full advantage of through savings in terms of the costs and effort usually associated with IT infrastructure and software development.
Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

Featured job opportunities:

Training Facilitator, Personal Insurance
KRGInsure, a division of RRJ Insurance Group
Lindsay, ON

Personal Lines CSR
InSureU!
Brampton, ON

From Doug On-demand insurance allows you to activate immediate coverage when you need it, manually or automatically (as by an app), often for short periods of time; this enables flexible and customized insurance solutions. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics facilitate real-time risk assessment and personalized pricing; this caters to evolving needs of consumers and enhances operational efficiencies. Market reports from Grand View Research and Verified Market Reports indicate premium of USD 955.3 million in 2022 and a CAGR exceeding 20% through 2030. Both individuals and businesses purchase it for auto, home appliance, entertainment, contractor insurance, and more; auto is largest at 23%. For ridesharing drivers, the driver is typically insured beginning when the app is turned on – waiting for a customer – until the (final) passenger's ride is completed. In Ontario, the FSRA has approved auto insurance products for 13 ridesharing, five carsharing and three delivery service companies. Innovation continues. In 2023, Zuno Insurance in India introduced SWITCH 2.0, their driver behaviour mobile app which now detects first movement of the covered vehicle and allows the driver to turn on the pay-as-you-drive coverage. In conclusion, on-demand insurance continues to grow and is increasingly dependent on or integrated with digital services. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca