Every company wants to be innovative, but few truly understand what that means. And within an industry undergoing an evolution, like insurance, the term is tossed around freely, and often misused as simple improvements are misclassified as innovations. It’s used to signify a change in process, a new way of thinking, a different leadership team or an improvement to a workflow — but in many cases, these adaptations are far from innovative. The question then becomes, what is true innovation? And once we define it, how do we unleash it in productive ways to advance the industry? A session at the r ..read more

Global insurtech funding experienced a significant drop in 2023, falling from $8.0 billion in 2022 to $4.5 billion, the lowest level since 2018, according to Gallagher Re’s Global InsurTech Report. This overall decline was propelled by a year-over-year decrease in both property & casualty (P&C) and life & health (L&H) insurtech funding, which fell 35.4% to $3.4 billion and 59.8% to $1.1 billion, respectively, the report stated. The number of deals also saw a downward trend, with a decrease to 422 in 2023 from 521 in 2022. P&C insurtechs secured 316 deals, and L&H insurt ..read more

The leaders of five insurtech firms recently shared their predictions for 2024 with Risk & Insurance. Some things are safe to bet on continuing in the new year, like the fast pace of change and macroeconomic challenges on a global scale. But what else can we expect to see after ringing in the new year? The experts we spoke with predicted changes to the ways we view risk, enhanced partnerships, and a focus on improving the claims journey for customers and insurers alike. Here are more of their predictions. The Changing Nature of Risk Jacqueline Legrand, CEO and co-founder of MAPTYCS, talked ..read more

Wearable ergonomics is a highly valued and invested category in the Insurtech industry. Workplace injuries cost over $40 billion annually, and that’s without considering the long-term health impacts on employees’ quality of life and the challenges faced by employers in managing labor capacity. Workers’ compensation insurance costs are influenced by payroll, industry classification and employer-specific claims experience. Controlling expected losses among the employee population is the only way to manage workers’ compensation costs, particularly for high-risk industries. This benefits employees ..read more

I’m old enough to remember when leading insurance publications offered headlines like “7 reasons the insurance agent is a dead profession” amidst the proliferation of Insurtech startups and their venture capital partners seeking to reorganize the insurance distribution channel. So is my 5-year-old. Retail Insurance Distribution: Defying Expectations and Thriving The good news for “traditional” agents and brokers is that their role in the channel has endured, and, if anything, retail insurance distribution has elevated itself among channel participants based on its resilience (think back to COV ..read more

As blockchain technology matures and more players in the insurance industry integrate it into their operations, many are wondering what kind of return companies are seeing on their blockchain investments. “That’s a very difficult question, because I actually don’t think the insurance industry broadly is using much blockchain,” said Siddhartha Jha, founder, chairman and CEO of Arbol Inc., a global climate risk coverage platform and FinTech company. “They’re still at a very early POC stage in many cases.” David Edwards, founder and CEO at ChainThat, a London-based insurance technology provider ..read more

In 2030, the world will look, feel and function in new ways. But how will the insurance value chain be affected by the new technology, ideas and regulations that will exist in seven years? Innovation is happening at a faster pace than ever — and this speed could drive significant changes in the insurance ecosystem. A revolutionary session at Insurtech Insights New York focused on what the future of the insurance value chain may look like in 2030. Breaking down the topic into navigating three parts of the value chain, the panelists focused their comments on distribution, underwriting and claims ..read more

Stopping claims before they happen is the ultimate goal of risk management. And while achieving an absolute zero claims status is impossible, moving to a reality where insurers, risk managers and policyholders work together to reduce the probability of loss is the goal of many predict-and-prevent risk management programs. Technology allows us to move risk management to the next level. A connected ecosystem can help stop claims before they happen — a topic that was covered at the Insurtech Insights conference in New York City. A multidisciplinary panel of experts tackled this issue and presente ..read more

In this age of growing technology and data influx, many carriers are starting to ask themselves if building out their own Insurtech solutions is the right next step — or should they buy them? Plenty of Insurtech partners are creating new solutions constantly, and there are many options available in the marketplace. But some carriers prefer to own their solutions from start to finish, finding advantages in the homegrown option. During this year’s Insurtech Insights Europe in London, one panel attempted to answer this common digital-age question: Build it or buy it? And if you build it, will the ..read more

Industry experts convened at the recent Insurtech Insights Europe event in London, held March 1-2, 2023. One panel of note met to discuss novel ways to address the climate catastrophe. This session tackled the topic of balancing the needs of the risk and insurance industry with innovative solutions designed to address the climate change problem from various angles. Susan Winkler, VP and executive drector of Connecticut Insurance and Financial Services, moderated the session. Winkler was joined on stage by Natalia Dorfman, CEO and co-founder of Kita; Tony Buckle, partner at UWX and former ..read more