Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier discusses issues that are top-of-mind among regulators, including the amount of data in the public domain regarding consumers. While there are many positive uses of data, regulators are looking to make sure that insurance carriers are using it appropriately. Commissioner Altmaier, acknowledges the “good work” being done by companies like AAIS to educate consumers, regulators …

According to Re-Sure co-founder and CEO Gautham Pedditbhotla, consumers are looking for products that “suit their lifestyle”, such as usage-based insurance (UBI). He suggests consumers who do not own assets are not getting the coverage they need from traditional insurance products. Carriers are looking to offset losses in revenue due to the reduction in “asset ownership.” Opportunities are plentiful, depending …

According to Andrew Peet, Head of Operations at 360Globalnet, claims management and the insurance industry as a whole need to move with a “sense of urgency” to cut costs from the claims process while increasing satisfaction among policyholder and claimants.  The use of technology to create efficiency in the end-to-end claims process depends on the user’s ability to “think strategically” …

According to Sean Kevelighan, President & CEO of the Insurance Information Institute (III), says catastrophes, both natural and man-made, are having a large impact on personal lines insurance carriers. An increase in natural catastrophe has an impact on auto and homeowner’s insurance, and the “vastly underserved” flood market continues to be an issue. The auto insurance market is being impacted …

The biggest issues facing home insurance carriers today fall into two categories, according to George Hosfield, Senior Director of Home Insurance for LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Consumer expectation is driving changes to the customer experience as well as changes to the experience for agents. Mr. Hosfield says much of that is driven by “upstart insurtech” companies raising the bar, and general …

According to AAIS Product Manager Casey Brewer, the biggest issues facing auto insurers today revolve around technology and the speed of technological change. Technology is changing the nature of the risk to the vehicle, as well as driver behavior and distracted driving and the insurer’s operations. Ironically, the opportunities auto insurers have are related to the challenges. New technologies are …

Roger Morris, Chief Communications Officer with the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), says technology has been a disruptor  when it comes to insurance fraud.  Anti-theft devices have helped deter crime and provide better analytics to detect fraud. The industry also has to contend with hackers trying to defeat the system. Mr. Morris points to electronic devices that can open and start …

Pypestream Chief Customer Officer, Donna Peeples, discusses realities insurers face as disruptive innovation creates greater symmetry between insurance companies and consumers. According to Ms. Peeples, in recent years, “the pendulum of control has swung hard away from brands in favor of customers.” Over the past hundred years, insurance has been a “low interest, low involvement category.” Insurers need to thing …

  Over the past decade, a steady flow of disruptive forces has impacted the personal auto insurance market, including telematics, the sharing economy and autonomous vehicles. AAIS Auto Product Manager Casey Brewer discusses how they are reshaping the Personal Auto insurance market, and myriad challenges and opportunities it creates for carriers.   Telematics programs provide insurers with access to vast amounts …

“We have disruption all over… (and) the insurance industry deals with it.” That, according to Sean Kevelighan, President and CEO of the Insurance Information Institute (III), who spoke at the recent AAIS Main event in Florida. He notes that the insurance industry is accustomed to dealing with natural and man-made catastrophes, even technology, which a major disruptor right now. Mr. …

In part two of this special AAIS Advisory Report on the auto insurance market, John Kadous, VP of Personal Lines at AAIS, talks about how emerging exposure, technology and Big Data are impacting carriers’ approach to auto policies. With increasing uptake of telematics, we see more data is being generated and more underwriting tools for auto insurance carriers. Mr. Kadous …

In part one of a special AAIS Advisory Report on automobile insurance, Robert Gordon, SVP of PCI Policy Development and Research, speaks about economic and behavioral changes affecting the auto insurance market, including increased losses, distracted driving, “drug driving”, the “sharing economy” and autonomous vehicles. Mr. Gordon says 70 percent of consumers believe safer cars will mean fewer accidents and …

New augmented reality games like Pokémon GO have taken the world by storm. But there is real concern that avid players may “GET UP, GET OUT AND EXPLORE!” while driving. Even the Pokémon GO website reminds players to “never play while on a bike, driving a car…or anything else where you need to pay attention – for that matter. Esurance …

According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety released by the World Health Organization, over 1.25 million people die from traffic accidents each year, with millions more sustaining serious injuries. With behavior-based insurance quickly gaining momentum and offered by larger domestic insurers including Allstate, Liberty Mutual and Progressive Insurance, lesser known insurers such as ADI are seeking innovative ways to introduce telematics to …

More than 60,000 homes have been damaged in 20 parishes impacted by recent flooding in Louisiana. According to Louisiana’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness,  75% of homes are a “total loss” in Livingston. U.S. flood events are largely paid for by the FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and applicable primary insurance. The office of Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards …

In another edition of ACORD Tech Talk, Chris Ritter of Compare.com discusses how the ability for customers to comparison-shop online will continue to disrupt the insurance industry, first in the auto insurance sector and then in other peronal lines. For more on the technologies shaping the risk and insurance industry, visit the ACORD website.    

In this edition of ACORD Tech Talk, host Johnell Johnson speaks with Bolt Solutions CEO Eric Gewirtzman discusses the launch of Google Compare and how comparison shopping will affect the insurance industry. “Bolt Google Connect” enables insurers to quickly and easily participate in Google Compare, a comparison-shopping site that lets consumers compare rates from different insurance providers. Mr. Gewirtzman describes one …

In highlights from a recent “First Monday” episode, A.M. Best Managing Director, Analytics Greg Carter discusses the top issues affecting the European insurance markets, including technology, product design and regulation. According to Mr. Carter, there are several overarching issues impacting the UK and Europe markets, including the fragile economies in the Eurozone amid shifting regulations. He sees long-term opportunities for insurers …

In highlights from a recent “First Monday” program, A.M. Best Assistant Vice President Rosemarie Mirabella and Financial Analyst Frank Walko discuss evolving fixed- indexed annuity (FIA) product designs and the blurring of lines between FIAs and variable annuities. Recently, A.M. Best conducted a survey of the top 10 FIA writers, which represents roughly 70% of the overall market. Ms. Mirabella says, “The …

In highlights from A.M. Best’s First Monday series, A.M. Best Senior Financial Analyst Thomas Zitelli and Financial Analyst Frank Walko discuss how the U.S. Life/Health insurance market performed in 2014, exploring positive retirement market trends amid interest rate and reinvestment risks. While the Life/Health industry demonstrated the ability to handle its business very well during a slow growth environment, it …