Lyft's new partnership, CATIC enters Texas: Top insurtech news

September 25, 2024 4:17 PM

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Lyft teams up with Smartcar

Lyft is partnering with Smartcar, an API platform for mobility businesses, on electrical vehicle range anxiety. Rides in Range, a new feature on Lyft, uses battery data retrieved via Smartcar to notify drivers to charge after completing a trip and when the battery is expected to fall below 20%.

"At Lyft, we're all about making life easier for drivers on our platform, and we know that range anxiety is a big deal for those with electric vehicles. That's why we're so excited about our new 'Rides in Range' feature, thanks to our partnership with Smartcar," said Ciara Chow, Lyft product manager, in a statement. "Now, our drivers can take on rides without constantly worrying about their battery levels. It's a game changer that helps them focus on what they do best – providing great rides for people who need them."

AWS continues partnership with Smarsh

Amazon Web Services is partnering with Smarsh, a company that captures, archives and monitors business communication data. The five-year agreement will bring Gen AI tools to financial services through Smarsh Enterprise Platform applications.

Scott Mullins, general manager of financial services at AWS, said in a statement: "Using AWS and Smarsh, financial institutions can now use generative AI to drive more data insights that will help automate compliance and enhance risk detection to navigate an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.

Sure and SageSure launch commercial product for California businesses

SureChoice Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange ("SURE"), a policyholder-owned reciprocal exchange, has partnered with managing general underwriter SageSure, to launch its first non-admitted business owners policy (BOP) in California.

To date, the state has experienced 6078 wildfires, and with more insurers leaving the state, the BOP policy provides business owners with another coverage option. The program can serve more than 400 businesses across 8 different lines of business.

"By introducing the new BOP product, SURE is demonstrating its commitment to the California market," said Ed Konar, president of SURE. "After bringing dwelling fire and surplus lines homeowners coverage to California earlier this year, the BOP program is SURE's third solution to help address the demand for reliable coverage in the state."

CATIC announces operations in Texas

CATIC, insurance underwriter and professional services firm, is now licensed and operating in the state of Texas, issuing title insurance policies and related services for property owners and lenders.

James Czapiqa, CATIC's financial CEO, said in a press release, "Operationalizing Texas has been a long-term, key strategic objective for the company. CATIC is a company founded on the fundamental principle of servicing the independent agent exclusively. CATIC does not compete with its agents. It does not have any direct agency operations or any affiliated businesses. It has only one objective, to serve the independent agent, and we are looking forward to now being able to help the great independent agents of Texas grow their business and preserve their important role in the real estate eco-system."

Upstream Works announces new suite of AI capabilities

Upstream Works, an omnichannel contact center solutions company, announced the launch of its Omni AI Hub and Upstream Works AI. These new solutions enable on-premise, hybrid and cloud contact centers to use AI for automation and customer experience.

According to the news release, the Upstream Works Omni Hub includes a centralized framework and suite of AI capabilities for contact centers, automation of conversation summaries and transcriptions, agent assistance and performance analytics, among other new features.

Assuria N.V. implements Equisoft tools in digital transformation

Assuria announced that it is implementing Equisoft's policy administration system and advisor tools to accelerate the insurer's digital transformation. The solutions include cloud-based policy administration solution Equisoft/manage and the Equisoft/illustrate and Equisoft/apply digital sales and service solutions.

"At Assuria, we're looking for solutions that are best-in-class around the world and partners who bring both global and strong regional experience. Equisoft's strong reputation and modern platform gives us a solid foundation from which to grow quickly and adapt to changes in the market," said Mario Merhai, CEO of Assuria, in the announcement.

WTW expands Radar software

Global advisory, broking and solutions company WTW has expanded its Radar software to enable real-time Python execution. Radar can be used to apply Python to insurance functions for personal and commercial lines, including pricing, underwriting and claims. Radar also provides a secure environment for oversight and regulatory compliance, according to the company.

"Current governance, risk, and control frameworks have struggled to keep pace with the unprecedented growth of open-source adoption, with in-house solutions exposed to significant risk and expense," said Pardeep Bassi, Global Proposition Lead, Data Science at WTW, in a press release. "Radar overcomes this barrier by enabling insurers to benefit from the flexibility and innovation of open source but in a controlled, robust manner that supports business-critical decisions and generates real value at scale."

Previously, insurance companies who wanted to use Python technology had to use expensive, custom solutions or open standards that require compromises, according to Laura Doddington, head of personal lines, insurance consulting and technology at WTW North America.

Workers comp insurer RAS signs on to CLARA AI platform

Workers comp insurance and loss mitigation management company Risk Administration Services (RAS) has chosen AI technology provider CLARA Analytics and its CLARAty.ai platform to enhance its claims processes, the companies announced. RAS is the parent company of workers comp underwriter The Dakota Group.

"Our performance year in and year out is among the best in the industry, but to maintain our standards, we persistently look forward. For us, this means implementing AI strategically across the claims life cycle," said Jennifer Hertzfeld, Senior Vice President, Claims at RAS, in a press release. "With CLARA, we can empower our adjusters with amazing insights so that they may repurpose their time on tasks that make the greatest impact."

Breckpoint takes on Gradient AI SAIL machine learning data tool

Self-funded insurance provider Breckpoint has adopted Gradient AI's SAIL solution to enhance its underwriting of self-funded employee benefits programs.

"We needed a tool that could significantly enhance our risk assessment capabilities, particularly in areas where detailed group-specific data was lacking," said Derek Atkinson, chief revenue officer at Breckpoint, in a press release. "SAIL has helped us to better define risk, which is critical when underwriting populations that don't have sufficient data. These insights have been invaluable in refining our risk assessment and pricing strategies."

SAIL uses advanced machine learning algorithms, applied to an extensive data set of medical, prescription and lab data, to yield insights into group health risks, according to the release. Breckpoint is using SAIL to better understand group risks and fill data gaps for new business. This supports more precise pricing of plans.

ZestyAI, West Bend Insurance expand partnership

Property risk analytics solutions provider ZestyAI has expanded its partnership with West Bend Insurance Company. In the partnership, West Bend will now use ZestyAI's Z-PROPERTY property risk analytics platform to make its personal lines underwriting and renewal processes more precise.

"By expanding our use of Z-PROPERTY for our personal lines business, we can gain deeper insights into the properties we insure, allowing us to mitigate risks more proactively and efficiently," said Jonathan Schulz, AVP, personal lines at West Bend Insurance, in a press release.

Carpe Data, Hastings Direct build on injury claims platform

Data solutions provider Carpe Data has expanded its partnership with U.K.-based insurance provider Hastings Direct, after collaborating on a program for undetected injury claims. Hasting reduced expenses and accelerated claims resolution using Carpe Data's Online Injury Alerts.

"We invest considerably in data and technology to fight fraud. Expanding our use of Carpe Data fits with our strategy squarely," said Matthew Stevens, anti-fraud director at Hastings Direct, in a press release.