Around the P&C insurance industry: September 22, 2021

RIMS implemented new guidelines that will require anyone who wishes to attend a RIMS in-person event to show that they are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. The requirement is effective immediately for all events managed by RIMS staff, including the upcoming RIMS Enterprise Risk Management Conference and its Annual Conference & Exhibition scheduled for April 10-13, 2022, in San Francisco.

PURE Programs, LLC partnered with Trisura Specialty Insurance Company to offer insurance solutions to high-net-worth homeowners who fall outside the admitted market. This offering is designed for owners of coastal properties, homes with unique commercial exposures, vacant homes pending occupancy and other challenging risks. Qualifying new and renewal homeowners business issued by PURE Programs in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey and South Carolina will now be underwritten by Trisura.

ClaimsPro acquired CJ Hester, a multistate independent insurance adjusting company that provides claims services and special investigations throughout the Southeastern U.S. Through this acquisition, ClaimsPro will increase its service capacity by offering clients access to a broader geographic reach across these states.

Rogue Risk LLC partnered with Obie, a startup provider of instant insurance for landlords and real estate investors, under which Rogue Risk will partner on Obie’s non-core, direct business, excluding habitational coverages.

Origami Risk expanded its online solutions to help employers address exposures related to COVID-19 with the addition of new functionality to track employee vaccinations, boosters, post-vaccination protection waiting periods and weekly testing for employees who waive taking the vaccine.

CoreLogic acquired Next Gear Solutions, a market leader in digital workflow platforms and solutions for the property restoration industry. The combination provides insurance carriers and contractors a compelling choice to enhance and transform the claims experience for policyholders, according to the acquiring firm.

NSI Insurance Group, an independent insurance agency specializing in risk management, employee benefits and insurance services for businesses and individuals, made its third and fourth acquisitions in the past 15 months, with the purchase of White Cloud Insurance and Express Insurance, both in Miami. NSI Insurance Group now has four offices throughout South Florida.

ACORD announced the results of its 2021 ACORD InsurTech Innovation Challenge. The winner, handdii, is a digital property claims experience connecting the policyholder, insurance company and contractors from claim registration through to the finalization of repairs. Handdii joined Intelligent AI as the winners of the 2021 AIIC New York and London, respectively.

Insured.io released insured.io Insights, which expands the capabilities of the insured.io Customer Engagement Platform. Utilizing the expanded capabilities available through the insured.io Insights portal, insurance organizations can now easily track customer engagement across all channels.

Hippo launched its builders program to further simplify the home purchase process and deliver home insurance directly to buyers of newly built homes. As modern homebuyers seek simplified digital options to streamline their home purchase experience, the company reports that Hippo Insurance Services has developed a customer-focused solution that brings tailored insurance coverage and seamless purchase options directly into the digital mortgage and title process.

WSIA is asking attendees of upcoming fall 2021 events, including the U40 Annual Meeting, Annual Marketplace and on-site education programs, to provide proof of either a COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of the event.

Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, a unique nonprofit organization dedicated to helping communities and enriching lives, is hosting its annual Week of Giving from Oct. 9-17, 2021. This effort celebrates the insurance industry’s year-round dedication to volunteering and community service by gathering insurance professionals from across the globe for a week of giving back to local communities through service projects.

Oakbridge Insurance Agency LLC announced a new partnership with Snider Killingsworth Insurance & Risk Management, strengthening Oakbridge’s footprint in Georgia, particularly within the growing metro Atlanta region and setting the stage for continued expansion in the Southeast U.S.

National Association of Professional Insurance Agents asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to delay implementing the National Flood Insurance Program’s new Risk Rating 2.0 methodology, which is scheduled to go into effect on October 1.

Alera Group acquired The Brokerage Commercial Insurance Services, Inc., a commercial insurance brokerage firm specializing in general liability, property, commercial automobile and workers’ compensation insurance.

USI Insurance Services acquired Insurance and Capital Management LLC, an independent insurance brokerage operation that specializes in insurance and risk management for offshore fishing maritime operations. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies presented its Chair Award to Sandy Parrillo, retired president and CEO of Providence Mutual Fire Insurance Company, for her decades of service to the mutual property & casualty insurance industry and her community.

Farmers Insurance announced plans to use a digitally controlled mobile robot to assist with in-field catastrophe claims handling and non-catastrophe property inspections, helping to improve the safety and efficiency of both while becoming one of the first national P&C insurers to deploy a robotic quadruped.

Concierge Cyber announced the expansion of its cyber emergency response team, dedicated third-party experts offering its members immediate access to professional resources for incident response with or without cyber insurance in place. Concierge Cyber has bolstered its independent network of cyber risk advisors to offer cyber response services for brokerage and agency clients who either cannot obtain cyber insurance or fill policy coverage gaps.

H.W. Kaufman Group expanded into South America by acquiring Prospect Brokers Chile, based in Santiago, Chile. The acquisition resulted in rebranding Prospect Brokers Chile as Chesterfield LatAm and relocating to a larger office location to accommodate growth. Chesterfield, a Lloyd’s insurance and reinsurance broker in London, is a subsidiary of Kaufman.

Karen Clark & Company released Version 1.0 of its high-resolution U.S. Wildfire Model. This advanced and fully probabilistic model provides exceedance probability curves, PMLs, and AALs down to the location level and can be used to develop underwriting and pricing strategies that account for the impacts of climate change.

Distinguished Programs announced the addition of coastal coverage to its builders risk program. Distinguished has partnered with Palomar Holdings, Inc. to bring comprehensive coverage to these harder-to-insure properties.

HONK Technologies announced its accident scene information services solution, FirstOnScene. With FirstOnScene, insurance carriers can receive photos, video and information detailing vehicle damage while the vehicle is still on scene. As a result, carriers can reduce the claim cycle time by three to five days, cutting the time required to settle roughly in half.

Related: Around the P&C insurance industry: September 15, 2021