RPC Insurtech in brief - May 2021
Welcome to the May edition from RPC of Insurtech in brief, providing you with a handful of snappy monthly updates from the industry.
1. Lemonade to Enter Car Insurance Market
The insurtech Lemonade intends to add car insurance to its current renters, homeowners, pet and life insurance offerings in the U.S.
It is preparing to launch its new auto insurance product 'Lemonade Car' within the year, and is inviting customers to register early.
Lemonade intends to use technology to pay claims quickly and reward safe drivers with better prices. It says that policies will be especially attractive to drivers of electric and environmentally friendly cars.
Lemonade initially offered homeowners products, adding pet insurance in the second half of 2020, and term life insurance in the first half of 2021. The launch of Lemonade Car will allow both existing and new customers to bundle their home, pet, and life policies with their car insurance.
The insurtech's business model is different from that of many traditional insurers in that it takes a fixed fee out of insureds' monthly premium payments to pay for reinsurance, and uses the rest for paying out claims. Any remaining money is given to a charity of the insureds choice.
2. Lloyd's Lab Reveals Sixth Cohort of 11 Insurtech Start-ups, Focusing on Product Simplification
Lloyd's sought companies that could help the Lloyd's market with four challenges: climate change and decarbonisation; geopolitics; data and modelling; and claims support services.
This tracks Lloyd's focus on climate change, and its recently launched first Environmental, Social and Governance Report.
The 11 companies selected are:
- Moonshot, an analytics firm that builds technology to map extremism, disinformation and organized crime.
- Verisk Maplecroft, which uses a combination of risk analytics and expert analysis to help companies manage risks that can undermine commercial value, damage brand reputation and disrupt global operations, investments and supply chains.
- Scrub AI, which specializes in automating the repetitive task of data cleansing or “scrubbing.”
- Supercede Technology, which helps cedents and brokers automate the creation of submission packs, for a more reliable presentation of risk to reinsurers.
- Safekeep, an AI subrogation solution that increases the number of recoverable claims by 37%, increases dollar net recoveries by 21%, and reduces effort by 90%.
- SettleIndex, a litigation risk platform that cuts the time and cost of resolving disputes.
- DistriBind, which uses AI to deliver efficiencies in delegated authority through automation.
- CarbonChain, which helps companies automate the accounting of their carbon emissions.
- Jupiter Intelligence, which provides climate risk analysis of multiple perils, in spatial resolutions from portfolio to asset level, globally and across flexible time horizons and climate scenarios.
- Tesselo, a geospatial intelligence firm delivering solutions to monitor natural resources (trees, soils, crop) and reduce climatic risks.
- Gaia, which has created an insurance product to make IVF treatments more accessible, affordable and personal. (Gaia has been invited to join the cohort, based on its innovative fertility solution, despite the fact that it is outside of the main four challenges).
Aon Collaborates with Insurer Partners to Protect Global COVID-19 Vaccine Shipments
Insurance broker Aon plc has introduced a new solution, through broad industry collaboration, that will provide supply chain protection for global COVID-19 vaccine shipments.
The solution provides transparent cargo insurance coverage for COVID-19 vaccines by combining sensor data and analytics. The offering enhances All Risk Marine Cargo insurance with timely payment for doses that fall outside of the agreed-upon temperature range while being transported or stored, enabling more effective risk management and claims support. Real-time reporting of any temperature deviation will also provide for the mitigation of losses and help maximize the number of doses that are administered to the public.
The offering is made possible through a collaboration with insurtech firm Parsyl, which will serve as the dedicated data platform for the solution on behalf of the insurers, and specialist underwriter Ascot Group acting as the lead underwriter, binding insurers Chubb European Group SE and AIG, with reinsurance support from Munich Re.
Other insurers include AEGIS London, Antares Managing Agency Ltd (a QIC Global company), AXA XL, AXIS Insurance, Beazley, Fidelis, MS Amlin and Talbot.
Aon will donate 100 percent of all revenues earned from this new solution in 2021 to a charity dedicated to eradicating the global human and economic toll of the pandemic.
Cover Genius and Icelandair to offer ‘Covid Plus’ insurance
Icelandair has announced its partnership with Cover Genius, the global insurtech, to offer embedded “Covid Plus” Cover for their worldwide customers, launching in Europe and Americas, to be followed by Canada.
The Icelandair “Covid Plus” Medical Cover will be available through integrating with XCover, Cover Genius’ global insurance distribution platform, and has been specially tailored for Icelandair global customers. It ensures that travellers and their travel companions are covered if they get COVID-19 or another illness or injury while travelling, or if they need medical assistance while they are overseas.
Customers can now purchase ‘Covid Plus’ Medical Cover when booking flights with Icelandair, with the coverage incorporated into the airline’s booking process for flights in Europe.
Icelandair will become the first airline to offer all their customers COVID protection through Cover Genius.