INSURANCE INDUSTRY NEWS

Blink, Zurich Launch Flight Disruption Travel Proposition
Blink Parametric is pleased to announce that its flight disruption assistance solution is now available as 'FlyEasy' coverage on the Zurich Indonesia direct channel via the Zurich Edge platform. Leveraging parametric technology, the proposition has been designed to instantly activate coverage benefits upon confirmation of a flight delay. This seamless, fully-digital approach provides ultimate convenience to customers. Read more.

Silicon Valley Veterans Launch Stand Insurance, Using AI To Insure Climate-Impacted Properties
Stand, the company founded earlier this year to reimagine insurance for climate-impacted properties, is pleased announced the launch of its debut product: California homeowners insurance that insures and fortifies properties to be resilient to wildfire. Read more.

Coalition Introduces Cyber Health Rating
Coalition has released a new feature in Coalition Control called Cyber Health Rating which provides real-time insights about an organization's security health and clear guidance on strengthening it. By reflecting an organization's security improvements, it creates a clear connection between their security efforts and cyber risk reduction. Read more.

Lockton Unveils New Global Parametric Insurance Practice
Lockton, the world's largest independent insurance brokerage and people solutions consulting group, has announced the launch of its new Global Parametric Insurance Practice. This initiative brings together a team of experts, including data scientists and modelers, dedicated to developing efficient, customized parametric solutions to help clients protect against risks that traditional insurance often overlooks. Read more.

Skylark Labs, Mercedes-Benz R&D Achieve A.I. Road Safety Breakthrough
Skylark Labs, a pioneer in self-learning AI-powered safety innovations, in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI), has completed Phase I of its revolutionary Accident Hotspot Detection System. This breakthrough achievement demonstrates the system's unparalleled ability to predict and alert drivers to imminent accident hotspots in real time, marking a significant leap forward in road safety. Read more.

BrokerLink Announces Four New Acquisitions
BrokerLink is pleased to announce it is closing the year by welcoming four new acquisitions from Ontario and Alberta: Ontario Wide Insurance, Donnell Financial Services, Shuman Insurance, and Assurances Robichaud Insurance. Read more.

Aviva, Verisk Announce Property Claims Integration
Verisk and Aviva Canada are pleased to announce that Aviva will leverage Verisk's cutting-edge property estimation technology and insights for its claims handling solutions, enhancing accuracy and efficiency in processing for its partners and customers. Read more.

Roamly Expands Reinsurance Partnerships
Roamly, the global leader in digital insurance technology and solutions proudly announces the expansion of its reinsurance partnerships to include SiriusPoint, Spinnaker, Apollo, ICW, Vantage and Ladder Re. This robust panel of esteemed reinsurance partners underscores the strength and reliability of the Roamly Enterprise Platform and its comprehensive in-house capabilities. Read more.

Protecting Life & Health Insurance Consumers: FSRA
A new report by Ontario's financial services regulator, FSRA, suggests that the life and health insurance industry has more work to do to protect consumers. Read more.

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Encore Group
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has announced the acquisition of Waterloo, Ontario-based Encore Insurance Services Inc., d/b/a Encore Group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more.

Loonio Expands Into Insurance Sector
Loonio™, Canada's premier Interac® payment platform, is proud to announce its strategic expansion into the insurance industry. With a user base exceeding 10 million Canadians, Loonio is set to revolutionize payment processing within the insurance sector, offering unparalleled security, efficiency, and convenience. Read more.

BIG Recognized For Digital Innovation
Billyard Insurance Group is thrilled to announce that it has won the coveted Award for Digital Innovation in a Brokerage at the 2024 Insurance Business Canada Awards (IBCAs). Read more.

In the InsurTech Spotlight this week:

Trufla Technology
Trufla delivers a 360° digital strategy – a complete suite of digital solutions for modern insurance brokerages. From SEO and web design to lead management, branded mobile apps, data & analytics, and APIs, Trufla Technology helps brokerages take full advantage of their data to make data-driven decisions that will grow their business. Learn more.

Calling all InsurTechs! Click here to participate.

Featured job opportunities:

Vice President, Corporate Claims
SGI
Regina, SK

Financial Security Advisor
RBC Insurance Advice Centre
Montreal, QC

From Doug Innovation in technology is happening faster than ever. Insurance innovations translate technology into benefits for the insurance ecosystem and insurance customers. These improvements provide: • More and better data; • Sensors which capture increasingly complex and precise data; • Connectivity (moving data and information digitally, anywhere, anytime); • Tools, such as analytics and AI, to leverage the data. The only constant is change, which is accelerating. To meet employee, partner and customer expectations, we in turn are pushed to adapt more quickly. An example from “The Third Wave of AI” by Paul Caroll for Insurance Thought Leadership illustrates both scope and speed of change: • 1980s: Expert systems through analytics, neural networks, AI & ML, lasting four decades; • 2021: Gen AI and early AI Agents to help us, lasting two years; • 2024: AI Agents and Agentic Systems doing what we did. Change is coming: to our processes; to our jobs themselves; to our insurance ecosystem; and to the insurance product and service for our customers. Innovation: You can’t avoid it, so do it well and harness it to your benefit. Doug Grant, CIP Partner Insurance-Canada.ca