Around the P&C insurance industry: Jan. 3, 2019

News from BELFOR, Lloyd's and The Hanover.

News from BELFOR, Lloyd’s and The Hanover. (Photo: Shutterstock)

BELFOR Property Restoration announced that it is partnering with Litton Entertainment and ABC to launch a new educational docu-series, RESCUE HEROES, which will star BELFOR’s CEO Sheldon Yellen and ABC News’ Ginger Zee. The show — which premieres on ABC stations nationwide on January 5 — will highlight the untold stories of first responders who brave disasters like hurricanes, fires and tornados to rescue victims and restore communities.

The Hanover Insurance Group announced it has completed the sale of Chaucer Holdings Limited, the major portion of its Lloyd’s international specialty business, to China Reinsurance (Group) Corporation (“China Re”). The Hanover’s board of directors approved a new $600 million share repurchase authorization.

AIG announced that AIG Life Limited, a UK subsidiary of AIG Life & Retirement, has completed the previously agreed acquisition of Ellipse, a specialist group life, critical illness and income protection provider in the UK, from Munich Re. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

At the 2018 Insurance Business Canada Awards, CNA Canada was selected as the winner of The DKI Canada Award for P&C Insurer of the Year. Over 500 attendees celebrated the insurance industry’s successes and witnessed the reveal of winners at the 3rd annual awards gala on November 29, 2018 at the Liberty Grand Toronto.

To help insurance agencies recruit top-tier talent, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or Big “I”), in partnership with IdealTraits, has launched Big “I” Hires, a one-stop resource that offers a variety of hiring resources. In a statement, Big “I” Chairman-Elect Jon Jensen said Big “I” Hires was birthed from conversations he’s had with insurers across the country who say finding qualified new recruits is their top challenge.

Three U.S. insurtechs recently demonstrated the power of its solutions at Lloyd’s of London’s Inaugural Innovation Lab Demo Day. DropInLayr, and Parsyl were of ten companies selected earlier this year as part of a 200-team process to participate in Lloyd’s innovation accelerator. As a part of the initial ten-team cohort, they were provided 10 weeks of access to develop its platform and solutions in conjunction with Lloyd’s and amongst some of the world’s most exciting insurance innovators.

SoftBank is investing $500 million in Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT). Top insurers including State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Discovery, Admiral, QBE and AIG rely on CMT’s technology to assess driver risk for pricing, incentivize safe driving, reduce crashes and claims, and automate claims processing.

Related: Around the P&C insurance industry: Dec. 19, 2018