INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Insured Drivers Still Prefer To Pay Out-Of-Pocket Rather Than File A Claim
While auto insurance is meant to be a financial safeguard for drivers, many are opting not to use it. In its latest analysis, LendingTree®, one of the nation's leading online marketplaces for loans, credit cards and insurance, found that 39% of insured drivers who've been in an auto accident or incident have bypassed their insurance for repairs. Additionally, 24% have filed a claim and later regretted doing so. Read more.

Shore Underwriting Joins Quotey Marketplace
Quotey is delighted to announce that it has expanded its commercial and specialty insurer marketplace to include Shore Underwriting's Management Liability product. Read more.

YouSet Announces Funding To Help Canadians Save On Home & Auto Insurance
YouSet, a Canadian startup taking the pain out of shopping for insurance, is pleased to announce it has raised an oversubscribed seed-stage investment round alongside the release of its highly anticipated new product, a feature that allows users to bundle home and auto policies from different insurers, now making it possible to unlock even lower prices. Read more.

CSIO Launches Comprehensive Cybersecurity Education Program
Cybercrime is on the rise and a major concern for Canadian businesses. CSIO has responded to the need to provide an industry-leading cyber learning program by launching the Cybersecurity Education Program. Read more.

Clearcover Drives Claims Efficiency by Partnering with ServiceUp to Redefine Car Repair
Clearcover, a next-generation insurance company, announces a strategic partnership with ServiceUp, a leading technology company streamlining automotive repairs. The collaboration aims to redefine the car repair experience by combining Clearcover's seamless claims process with ServiceUp's exceptional "white glove" service and delivery. Read more.

Fathom, Impact Forecasting Selected To Support Flood Hazard Initiative
Swiss Re and Aon are pleased to announce that flood risk intelligence firm Fathom and catastrophe model developer Impact Forecasting have been awarded a contract by Public Safety Canada to enhance its understanding of flood hazard across Canada. Read more.

SSRU Expands Residential Realty Program Through Strategic Initiative With Allied World
SSRU is pleased to announce a strategic initiative with Allied World Specialty Insurance Company (AWSIC), a subsidiary of Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, Ltd., to enhance their Residential Realty program by increasing capacity and carrier depth. Read more.

Small Commercial Insurance Customer Retention Hinges On Trust
Even in an environment of rising rates and premium increases, overall customer satisfaction and loyalty stay strong when customers trust their commercial insurance providers, according to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study. But overall trust levels vary widely by insurer. Read more.

Apollo Partners With Petsecure To Launch Pet Insurance
APOLLO Insurance, a Canadian digital insurance provider and leading innovator in the emerging embedded finance sector, is pleased to announce that they now offer pet insurance to their tens of thousands of customers, through a new partnership with Petsecure. Read more.

Insurance Guidance Amid Devastating Wildfires
With nearly 200 active wildfires in Alberta, including a devastating fire in the Municipality of Jasper, Insurance Bureau of Canada has deployed its Virtual Community Assistance Mobile Pavilion to provide insurance information to affected residents. Read more.

CHES Special Risk Expands In Edmonton
CHES Special Risk, a leading Canadian MGA, is excited to announce a significant expansion with the opening of a new office in Edmonton, Alberta, in response to growing demand for the tailored services it provides to brokers across Canada. Read more.

PLATFORM Expands Reach Across Western Canada
Platform Insurance Management Inc., a leading P&C insurance brokerage with a vertical focus on construction, infrastructure and development, is excited to announce the opening of a new office in Calgary. Read more.

In the InsurTech Spotlight this week:

Setter
Setter was born in 2016 as a home management concierge. Based in Toronto, the team's expertise lies in home construction and services, technology, and systems building, and has evolved their product offerings around Virtual Home Ownership with a mission to take the hassles out of homeownership. Owning a home is overwhelming, but Setter puts homeowners in control with tools, experts, and personalized plans to get their homes on autopilot. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

Featured job opportunities:

Personal Insurance / Private Client Services – Account Manager
KRGInsure, a division of RRJ Insurance Group
Toronto, ON

Senior Commercial Marketer, Special Risks
KRGInsure, a division of RRJ Insurance Group
Toronto, ON

From Doug The innovations continue – evolving from advanced analytics to AI, then to Gen AI, and now to Agentic AI. A definition from integrail.ai: Agentic AI goes beyond simple task execution. It's more autonomous, proactive, and capable of making decisions to achieve complex goals. Agentic AI systems operate with some independence, like a human agent. They can: • Set Goals: Agentic AI isn't just responding to prompts; it can set its own objectives based on a given context or problem. • Plan and Strategize: These systems can create plans and strategies to achieve their goals, adapting and adjusting as needed. • Learn and Adapt: Agentic AI learns from its experiences and the environment, improving its decision-making over time. • Interact: They can communicate and collaborate with other AI agents or humans to solve complex problems. Comparison: a non-agentic AI is like a calculator – it gives you an answer when you input numbers. Agentic AI is more like a personal assistant – it anticipates your needs, makes suggestions, and even takes actions on your behalf. How is agentic AI evolving? More next week. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca