Around the P&C insurance industry: July 27, 2022
News from Counterpart, Corvus Insurance, J.S. Held and more.
Counterpart launched its Excess insurance product for small businesses. Backed by Aspen, the Excess policy is another offering to support small businesses in a time of heightened litigation. Counterpart is the first management liability provider to utilize proprietary data and cutting-edge technology in response to the increasing settlement and legal expenses, which can easily bankrupt a small business. Claims expenses have spiked in recent years due to plaintiff friendly legal environments and unrestrained legal fees.
Corvus Insurance partnered with SiriusPoint Ltd., the global specialty insurer and reinsurer, and R&Q Accredited, the leading program management solution provider. The enhanced program, with R&Q Accredited continuing as the fronting insurer, follows an initial investment and multi-year underwriting capacity partnership announced in September, 2021.
J.S. Held acquired Kodsi Forensic Engineering, a forensic engineering firm based in Ontario that specializes in accident reconstruction services. This acquisition supports the expansion of J.S. Held’s Accident Reconstruction Practice and the firm’s strategic growth throughout Canada.
Duck Creek Technologies partnered with OpenText. Through this partnership, Duck Creek customers can now connect to OpenText Exstream via the Duck Creek Content Exchange, allowing Duck Creek users to leverage on-demand, personalized documents and communications developed with the full capability set of OpenText Exstream.
Charlee.ai and the provider of the SaaS-based, process-driven litigation management platform, ClaimDeck, announced a newly formed partnership. According to the Insurance Litigation Report 2022 by Lex Machina Inc., insurance lawsuit frequency increased approximately 47 percent over the last five years. Litigation challenges insurers and claims organizations in an environment where it is already difficult to organically achieve profitability.
Virtus LLC partnered with Kemmons Wilson Insurance Group LLC, a Memphis-based agency focused on the hotel, hospitality and lodging sector. The addition of KWIG will supplement the existing industry specialization strategy Virtus has established in the real estate, private equity, construction and restaurant sectors.
Pathpoint collaborated with insurance provider Markel. The collaboration will expand Pathpoint’s ability to help agents and brokers quickly and efficiently quote and bind E&S business with A-rated carriers. Markel’s insurance companies, which are rated A+ by A.M. Best, focus on small to medium Property and Casualty risks for both admitted and non-admitted markets, making it a good fit for Pathpoint’s client base. Markel’s first products available on Pathpoint are within the vacant buildings & land vertical and contractors’ general liability, and are slated for launch in Q3, 2022.
Openly launched Openly Insurance Company, an insurance carrier licensed in 17 states. Only weeks after announcing its $75M Series C funding round, Openly continues to expand its presence in the insurance industry and offer its premium, transparent and comprehensive coverage options to more agents and homeowners.
NFP announced it will open a new corporate office in downtown Toronto. NFP has signed a 10-year lease for 13,000 SF in First Canadian Place, the state-of-the-art Class A office complex located in Toronto’s financial district. This long-term commitment reflects the company’s growth in Canada over the last three years, where revenue has expanded by 110%, and its focus on continuing the positive momentum.
Smart Communications ranked as the Leader with the highest score in the 2022 Aspire Leaderboard for Vendor Hosted SaaS Customer Communications Management. In addition to being named a Leader in this category, the company was also positioned as a Leader in both the Aspire Leaderboard for AnyPrem CCM Software and Communications Experience Platform categories.
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