Newly constructed apartments stand in the suburb of Putney Hill in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017. Australian house values increased at the fastest pace in seven years in 2016, as record-low interest rates helped fuel demand for property despite warnings such price increases may be unsustainable. Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Allianz SE has agreed to become a stakeholder in AI-powered insurtech company Lemonade, with a promise to quickly expand the carrier’s worldwide market reach.
The investment follows three funding rounds totaling $60 million for the high-profiled startup since December 2015. No details of the deal were disclosed.
"We follow the insurtech space closely and globally, and have seen nothing to match Lemonade in terms of technology, user experience and business model innovation,” said Solmaz Altin, Allianz’s chief digital officer, in a statement.
Like many carriers, Allianz is on the hunt for the next big thing in insurance technology. Its insurtech unit, Allianz X, is tasked with finding startups that can transform the digital experience of its customers. The German insurer now joins General Catalyst, Tusk Ventures, XL Innovate, among others, as minority stakeholders in Lemonade, which launched in New York last year but plans to be in almost all U.S. states by the end of 2017. It was approved to operate in Illinois earlier this month.
"Allianz is rightly regarded as one of the most forward thinking companies in our industry," said Daniel Schreiber, cofounder and CEO of Lemonade. "Despite their unparalleled reach and resources, Allianz has no competitive business with Lemonade, and we look forward to deepening our relationship with them in the years to come."
After the California wildfires, other state governments are reacting to wildfire mitigation and related insurance coverage issues, proposing bills or announcing plans for action.
The state's insurance crisis, worsened by the L.A. wildfires, has people talking about measures including mitigating risk, price signaling and even moving residents out of risky areas.
Digital Insurance's recent survey found insurance professionals are planning to spend more on tech, like artificial intelligence, but are wary of unseen risks.
The nation's largest homeowners insurance providers imposed rate hikes in double-digit percentages last year, led by Farmers' 53.5% increase in Maryland.
Jodie Wallis, global chief analytics officer at Manulife, which operates as John Hancock in the U.S., spoke with Digital Insurance about how the company is deploying GenAI.
