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

Beach & Associates became “Acrisure Re” and “Acrisure London Wholesale,” further aligning under the Acrisure brand. The Beach re-brand, and the core reinsurance capabilities of Acrisure, emphasizes the significant value chain opportunity as a foundation of Acrisure’s tech-enabled strategy.

Hub International Limited acquired the assets of Chelsea Insurance Agency LLC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

AAIS received approval from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation for its new predictive model. The AAIS Fire Loss and Mitigation Evaluation Score (FLAMES) is a significant improvement on existing methods of quantifying the expected severity of fire losses. By moving away from checklist approaches to assess fire protection efforts, AAIS believes FLAMES can encourage fire departments to prioritize collaboration and coordination in both response and mitigation efforts beyond the boundaries of their respective jurisdictions.

Oswald Companies and RCM&D signed a definitive agreement to strategically merge and launch Unison Risk Advisors. The transaction is expected to close on or before Dec. 31, 2020. Both firms will maintain independent brands, operations and management, while merging under the umbrella of Unison Risk Advisors, dba of The JBO Holding Company, to expand service capabilities and specialty practice areas.

Next Insurance, an InsurTech company focused on small-business insurance, purchased Juniper Labs, an innovative provider of alternative open data and underwriting technology focused on small businesses. Together, Next Insurance and Juniper Labs will continue to develop enhanced machine learning capabilities and tools to strengthen the omnichannel customer experience. This is Next Insurance’s first acquisition and follows the close of its $250 million Series D financing round, finishing with a $2 billion valuation.

Coalition announced the availability of two new technology solutions to its partners, enabling them to quickly and easily integrate with Coalition, creating a turn-key solution for brokers and organizations to offer cyber insurance to their customers. First is an API that allows partners to integrate Coalition’s insurance products and underwriting engine directly into their platforms. The API helps partners create a digital experience customized for their own users and customers. Coalition also released its Coalition-hosted, co-branded, Partner Portal that allows partners to offer Coalition products to their customers with no integration work required. With the Partner Portal, partners can offer their customers insurance policies in as little as one day.

IICF raised over $880,000 at its 14th annual Northeast Virtual Benefit Event on Wednesday, Dec. 9. Donations from the event support nonprofits and charities focused on education, at-risk children and the environment, in addition to supporting organizations providing food and vital services during the pandemic to those struggling in the New York tri-state region. The event gathered more than 380 insurance professionals and leaders in philanthropy.

USI Insurance Services acquired Sitka, Alaska-based Venneberg Insurance. Founded in 1984, Venneberg Insurance is an independent risk management and insurance agency serving businesses and individuals throughout Southeast Alaska. All of the agency’s employees, including Mike Venneberg, owner and principal, will be joining USI. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

RIMS Ontario Chapter presented the Donald M. Stuart Award to Elizabeth “Betty” Clarke, manager of corporate risk and recovery for the City of St. John’s. The Donald M. Stuart award is widely recognized as Canada’s highest honor within the risk management field, and since 1979, the award has celebrated Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to the profession.

Karen Clark & Company announced that the KCC Flood Model has been certified by the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology. The KCC model is the only flood model that has been found acceptable by the Commission and covers coastal flooding from storm surge and inland flooding from extreme rainfall. The model includes a catalog of over 100,000 flood intensity footprints created and stored at 30-meter resolution along with thousands of vulnerability functions accounting for important property features, such as building construction, height, first-floor elevation and other secondary characteristics.

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