Around the P&C insurance industry: September 16, 2020

The Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA) announced the formation of the Insurance Industry Diversity Foundation (IIDF) during a Virtual Annual Marketplace panel discussion on diversity and inclusion. The IIDF’s mission will be to promote and attract diversity in race, gender, sexual orientation and disability and to influence meaningful progress in the diversity of the insurance industry and its talent pipeline. A recording of the panel discussion and announcement is available from WSIA.

West Point Insurance Services launched InsurTest, a testing and automation service specifically designed for small to mid-size insurance carriers, managing general agents and program administrators. InsurTest features a User Acceptance Testing program that eliminates project delays and errors without draining budgets or overburdening in-house staff, and an automated regression testing program to eliminate manual steps and redundant processes — without requiring insurers to make costly system replacements.

InsurTech NY announced its Virtual Matchmaking Expo, a dedicated virtual job fair and networking event for InsurTech startups and insurance industry professionals, to be  held on October 29, 2020.

Risk Strategies acquired Securitas Insurance Partners, LLC, a specialty brokerage focused on the retail insurance and risk management needs of venture capital and private equity-backed portfolio companies. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

NetDiligence^® announced a webinar series for the global cyber reinsurance market. The four-part Risk & Reinsurance series, which takes place on September 29, 2020, is sponsored by CyberCube Analytics.

J.S. Held acquired Perry Associates, LLC, a construction consulting firm that provides commercial management and project scheduling support, construction claims and time impact analysis, and expert services. This acquisition expands J.S. Held’s Construction Advisory Services Practice in the Northeastern United States.

NFP acquired McKinley & DiMarco Insurance Services, Inc., in a transaction that closed on July 17, 2020. McKinley & DiMarco will help NFP expand its offerings within Austin, Texas. The firm will be part of NFP’s central region, and Jason McKinley and Stephen DiMarco, principals of the firm, joined NFP as vice presidents within the P&C division, reporting to Kevin Brown, managing director.

QBE‘s Premiums4Good impact investment initiative has been awarded by the Business Intelligence Group in its 2020 Sustainability Awards program. The Sustainability Awards honor those people, teams and organizations who have made sustainability an integral part of their business practice or overall mission. Premiums4Good delivers risk-adjusted returns and business value, while also seeking to deliver positive social and environmental impact. This program is a collaboration with customers and partners to invest in projects that drive a better future for people and the planet.

Cinch Home Services partnered with Notion, a Comcast company. With a focus on providing peace of mind to users, Notion offers intuitive, multifunctional sensors that monitor for the opening of doors and windows, sounding of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, water leaks, and temperature changes. Through this collaboration, Cinch will provide homeowners and renters around the nation with added control over their homes, as well as an even more robust breadth of services and options.

IMA Select acquired Phillip Gira Insurance Agency, a commercial and personal insurance agency located in Denver’s Glendale/Cherry Creek neighborhood, on September 1, 2020. IMA specializes in property and casualty insurance, employee benefits and surety bonds.

Verisk, the insurance data analytics provider acquired Franco Signor, a Medicare Secondary Payer service provider. Franco Signor will become part of Verisk’s Claims Partners business, a provider of MSP compliance and other analytic claim services. Claims Partners and Franco Signor will be combining forces to provide the single best resource for Medicare compliance.

HODINKEE announced the formation of HODINKEE Insurance Agency, which has a new offering that allows users to insure their watch collections online with Chubb.

Hub International Limited acquired the assets of Todd & Associates, LLC. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Todd & Associates is an independently owned agency with more than 100 years of combined experience in the insurance industry, including medical professional liability insurance.

Related: Around the P&C insurance industry: September 9, 2020