Around the P&C insurance industry: October 16, 2019
News from FM Global, Jupiter, AAIS, RGS and more.
After two years of construction, commercial property insurer FM Global has opened a US $16 million Electrical Hazards and Gas Detection Laboratory at its famous 1,600-acre Research Campus in West Glocester, Rhode Island. At the Research Campus, engineers perform experiments involving industrial property hazards in order to find solutions to build safer, more resilient structures and better guide clients. The new facility is designed specifically for testing industrial grade electrical and gas detection equipment with greater precision and certifying those products that are explosion-proof, flameproof and suitable for use in hazardous locations under extreme conditions.
Data analytics provider Verisk announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BuildFax, a provider of property condition and history data, from its shareholders. The majority shareholder of BuildFax is DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust). BuildFax will become part of ISO, a Verisk business, and will enhance ISO’s existing property data and analytics. BuildFax uses building permit, contractor, and inspection data to provide information about the condition of properties to international insurance and financial institutions. Verisk says the data from BuildFax will enhance ISO’s robust property analytics while helping underwriters gain insight into changes in the buildings they insure.
MS Amlin announced it has exited the aviation insurance market, effective from October 14 when it ceased underwriting aviation insurance renewals or new business. This change excludes the aviation hull war portfolio which will continue to be underwritten by the existing war team. MS Amlin’s decision to exit the aviation insurance market follows its recent announcement of the results of a comprehensive long-term strategic review. MS Amlin says this strategy will enable it to devote more capital, investment and management time on areas of focus to support its growth ambitions. The aviation insurance portfolio’s runoff will be managed internally rather than outsourced under a Reinsurance To Close (RITC) arrangement.
Jupiter, a provider of predictive data and analytics for climate risk, announced an agreement with the Hawaiian Electric Companies to provide ongoing climate risk analytics services for generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure across five major islands of Hawaii. Jupiter also recently announced a capital investment from Elemental Excelerator (Elemental), a global infrastructure innovation accelerator. The funding, as part of Elemental’s Demonstration Track, will enable Jupiter to accelerate deployment of its flood and wind risk analytics services in the Pacific, beginning in Hawaii. Jupiter’s work with Hawaiian Electric will be part of an overall infrastructure resiliency and planning effort, assessing risk arising from perils like wind and flooding related to changing climate conditions on a 50-year time horizon.
Insurance agency software provider Indio Technologies is the newest company partner of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America’s (the Big “I”) Agents Council for Technology (ACT). ACT was established in January 1999 by t the Big “I” to provide a forum to address the critical workflow and technology issues facing the independent agency system. ACT aims to help participants understand the perspectives of the other stakeholders in the process and provide networking opportunities with the participants who are shaping the future for the industry on these issues.
AAIS (American Association of Insurance Services), a not-for-profit insurance advisory organization, announced the formation of three working groups, comprising leaders from across the industry that will focus on extending its openIDL blockchain platform across the insurance ecosystem. Distinct working groups will work together to develop applications addressing auto, homeowners and flood insurance. openIDL, the open Insurance Data Link, is a blockchain platform administered by AAIS that enables permissioned-based statistical data collection and sharing while protecting data.
Sapiens International Corporation, a global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Cálculo, a vendor of insurance consulting and managed services, and a core solution to the Spanish market. Cálculo was established in 1966 and possesses over 150 insurance experts and 25 insurance company customers in Spain.
RSG Transactional Risks Europe and CLS Risk Solutions have formed a strategic partnership in the UK to offer a combination of Warranty and Indemnity Insurance (W&I) and Ownership and Use insurance (O&U) that offer buyers of Real Estate assets comprehensive transactional risks protection up to limits of £275m per transaction. Ian Theato, CEO, RSG Transactional Risks Europe, said in a statement, “The main driver behind the strategic partnership is to ensure that buyers of real estate assets are utilizing the most efficient and relevant capacity for each set of risks that may arise from the purchase. RSG can now offer W&I and O&U under one solution while the limit of indemnity between the two products is separate. Therefore, claims arising from a public law issue, for example, do not erode the indemnity limit for breaches of warranties.”
Integrity Marketing Group, LLC (Integrity) announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Drennan Insurance Marketing, Inc., an insurance marketing organization headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. As part of the deal, the Drennan family will become owners in Integrity. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Drennan Insurance Marketing provides a spectrum of products for the senior market, including Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplements, final expense, long term care and annuities.
EXL, an operations management and analytics company, announced it has won the NASSCOM Annual Technology Conference Award 2019 in the category of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for its AI-powered healthcare solution, Digital Clinical Assistant (DigiCA). The NASSCOM NATC awards acknowledge leading industry deployments in disruptive technology across the categories of AI/ML, IoT, blockchain and emerging technology. EXL was noted by NASSCOM for designing an agile and highly scalable differentiated solution to a reoccurring market problem by harnessing reusable digital components through its Digital Intelligence Platform. The platform leverages an integrated studio that includes automation, embedded analytics, AI and customer interaction technologies to orchestrate digital solutions, EXL said.
CopperPoint Insurance Companies, a western-based regional commercial insurance company, announced an agreement to acquire Alaska National Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary Alaska National Insurance Company (ANIC), an Alaska domiciled workers’ compensation and commercial insurance carrier. As of mid-year, Alaska National Insurance Company has a statutory surplus of approximately $550 million. In 2018, the company had gross written premium of $250 million and the combined companies will represent approximately $650 million in premium and an asset base of nearly $4.8 billion.
FRISS, an AI-powered fraud and risk solutions provider for the P&C insurance industry, announced to have extended their partnership with Munich Re to now globally support insurers in their fight against fraud. Extension of the contract follows on the cooperation in Latin America and Iberia, where both parties work to fight fraud and mitigate risks for P&C insurers. The parties now agree to support insurance companies worldwide.
Berkley Design Professional (Berkley DP), a division of Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company, now offers Per Project Primary (PPP) Limits of $1 million for Berkley DP policyholders. This $1 million limit applies to every project covered under their professional liability policy from the retroactive date through the end of the policy period. For additional premium Berkley DP policyholders have $1 million limits for every project their firm has ever designed and for which coverage applies.
MAPFRE, through its asset-management company, MAPFRE AM, has finalized a strategic alliance with New York-based Boyar Asset Management, to strengthen both its research capabilities and returns in this asset class. Founded in 1983 by value investor Mark Boyar, Boyar AM manages client portfolios for both institutional and high-net worth clients. Under the terms of the agreement, MAPFRE, which has more than $500 million in U.S. equities under management, will provide Boyar with the possibility of incorporating its experience with European stocks into Boyar’s analysis, as well as its philosophy of using environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria when selecting companies in which to invest. The company also plans to distribute Boyar’s asset management capabilities globally.