Humana expands Google partnership; Arch acquires Allianz MidCorp and Entertainment: Insurtech news

August 4, 2024 4:01 PM

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The following summaries are written by the Digital Insurance editorial staff.

Digital Insurance reviews a high volume of news leads every week for this and other stories. Please send press releases and other information to kaitlyn.mattson@arizent.com.

Humana expands partnership with Google

Humana announced a multi-year agreement with Google Cloud to modernize Humana's cloud infrastructure and deploy AI. The partnership builds on an ongoing collaboration between Google Health and Humana.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Jim Rechtin, Humana CEO, said in a statement: "Embracing technology solutions in healthcare can help lower costs and improve consumer experiences. At Humana, we plan to use the capabilities offered by Google Cloud to make it easier for our members and patients to have affordable access to the right care at the right time. Google Cloud's technology platform can make our contact centers more responsive, our provider networks simpler to navigate, healthcare coverage easier to understand and primary care better tailored to individual needs."

Arch acquires Allianz Entertainment insurance business

Arch Insurance announced it closed the acquisition of the U.S. MidCorp and Entertainment insurance business from Allianz. About 500 people have now joined Arch from Allianz MidCorp and Entertainment. The new Arch MidCorp and Entertainment businesses will report to Mark Lange, the chief middle market executive.

Travelers introduces Quantum Boat 2.0

The Travelers Companies launched Quantum Boat 2.0, enhanced boat insurance that includes personalized coverage options and a new platform for agents to easily quote and bind coverage. Policies are currently available in Arkansas, Arizona, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

Michael Klein, EVP and president, personal insurance at Travelers, said in a statement: "We built Quantum Boat 2.0 on a highly intuitive platform to help agents increase efficiency and enhance customer service."

Odie partners with Insuritas

Odie Pet insurance announced a partnership with Insuritas, an embedded insurance provider focused on financial institutions, to integrate Odie products into Insuritas' platform.

Jeffrey Chesky, president and CEO at Insuritas, said in a statement: "This exciting development is just another key example of Insuritas' commitment to provide diversified non-interest income for our financial institution partners. For over two decades, BUNDLE has empowered banks and credit unions to offer essential insurance products that meet their customers' needs. We are extremely pleased to incorporate Odie's pet insurance coverage into an already comprehensive portfolio of protection products."

NYSIF expands mobile app for workers claims

The New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) has expanded its NYSIF Claim mobile app to serve short-term disability and paid family leave claimants, including access to real-time information.

Designed based on extensive data analysis of the most common inquiries, the new app enables short-term disability and paid family leave claimants to easily access their claim number and status, case manager contact information, benefit payment dates and amounts, as well as opt in to notifications about claim payments and important dates. The app provides the ability to email or call case managers and select direct deposit for benefit payments.

Cytora, Gamma Risk partner to leverage location risk identification capability

Digital risk processing platform Cytora partnered with Gamma Risk, a location intelligence systems provider, to make it possible for insurers to more quickly identify location risks.

Gamma Risk's Perilfinder technology will be integrated into Cytora's underwriting productivity tool.

"Perilfinder's sophisticated risk assessment capabilities, including its intuitive scoring and detailed map visualization, perfectly complement our mission to optimize underwriting workflows," said Juan de Castro, COO at Cytora. "This integration will enable insurers to perform more accurate risk evaluations and make better-informed decisions, thereby enhancing their competitive edge."

Bold Penguin, RT Specialty partner on E&S insurance

Digital insurance quote platform Bold Penguin is making commercial excess and surplus (E&S) insurance from RT Specialty available on its Terminal carrier panel.

The partnership of Bold Penguin and RT Specialty is meant to meet growing demand for E&S insurance by providing agents with enhanced tools and resources to better serve their clients.

"Our team received strong feedback from our customer base on the importance of integrating RT Specialty," said Nicole Farley, vice president of carrier operations at Bold Penguin. "Our agents can now receive online quotes for standard and E&S lines through the Bold Penguin Terminal in just minutes."

Will Jacob, chief underwriting officer at The Connector by RT Specialty, said, "Bold Penguin understands the insurance space as much as they do technology, which is hugely important, underpinned by an entrepreneurial spirit and urgency that mirrors the culture at RT – we couldn't ask for a better business opportunity."

Akur8 signs Mutual Capital Analytics as pricing model user

Data and analytics company Mutual Capital Analytics (MCA) has chosen the Akur8 machine learning pricing solution to build its pricing models. Akur8 uses machine learning and AI to price insurance. MCA builds analytical solutions for regional insurance companies.

"This partnership will enable MCA to streamline model creation and validation, identify critical risk areas, and deliver accurate insights, ultimately helping their clients excel in an ever-competitive market," stated Samuel Falmagne, CEO at Akur8. "This partnership also underscores our ongoing expansion within the U.S. market."

New York Dept. of Financial Services issues guidance to protect consumers from algorithmic discrimination

Consumer Reports praised the New York Department of Financial Services for the guidance it recently issued that outlines steps it expects insurance companies to follow in order to protect consumers from algorithmic discrimination when it comes to underwriting and pricing for insurance. This is the first time a state has defined the obligation insurers have to identify less discriminatory models when using algorithms for underwriting and pricing for consumers.

"While AI provides benefits for both insurers and consumers, these technologies also pose some serious risks, including the potential for discriminatory pricing and underwriting decisions that harm consumers," said Jennifer Chien, senior financial fairness policy counsel for Consumer Reports in a press release. "As insurers continue to use AI to make decisions about consumers, we need to make sure these systems are designed to minimize bias and prompt positive outcomes for everyone. New York's action positions the state as a leader in efforts to ensure transparency, accountability and fairness in insurance underwriting and pricing."

Coalition introduces active cyber insurance in Germany

Coalition has announced the launch of its Active Cyber Insurance in Germany through its subsidiary, Coalition Insurance Solutions GmbH.

Cyberattacks and IT system breakdowns are among the top threats to German companies. "German businesses are frequently targeted by cyberattacks, forcing them to spend significant time and resources dealing with the aftermath," said Joshua Motta, Coalition's Chief Executive Officer and co-founder in a press release. "Active Cyber Insurance doesn't just provide a safety net; it empowers businesses to actively defend against these cyber threats. We're excited to expand this unique solution to Germany in our quest to protect more organizations worldwide."

Coalition now offers insurance products in Germany with capacity provided by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE in a multi-year agreement.

"As our Allianz Risk Barometer 2024 has shown again: cyber risks are among the biggest threats to companies worldwide," said Michael Furtschegger, Allianz Commercial's Regional Managing Director, Germany & Switzerland in a release. "We are now complementing our established cyber product for complex risks of all kinds and multinational requirements with Coalition's Active Insurance market offering. This enables us to provide our German customers with even better support in managing their cyber risks in a targeted manner, recognizing losses quickly and, in the best case, avoiding them altogether."