ILC ARTICLE

Breakfast news 20 October

19th October 2021

Motor

Don’t let data get lost in translation

Insurers have been challenged to regard data and analytics as an inseparable pair, and put both at the heart of the claims process or risk being left behind by others who do.

Tom Helm, head of claims consulting at Willis Towers Watson, delivered this message at ILC’s Exclusive Motor Claims Conference, held at London’s prestigious Landing FortyTwo on 7 October 2021.

Shabho steps into European role

Enterprise Holdings has named Khaled Shabho as Senior Vice President for Europe. He has held a similar role for the UK and Ireland since 2018 and will now be responsible for driving the company’s shared mobility solution across the continent.

Shahbo, who is also charged with expanding the 1,300-strong EMEA network, takes over from Mike Nigro, who is retiring after 38 years with the company.

Telematics paying dividends for drivers

New research has found that more than a quarter of the cheapest motor insurance quotes now come from telematics companies. The latest Consumer Intelligence Car Insurance Price Index found that 27% of the five cheapest quotes are telematics-based.

The Index also found that average premiums are now 11.4% below pre-Covid levels, having fallen by 9.4% in the last year alone to an average price of £751.

Premiums continue downward trajectory

Comprehensive car insurance policies have fallen in six of the last seven quarters, according to the latest Willis Towers Watson/Confused.com Index.

It found that motorists are now paying £97 less than a year ago, which represents a fall of 16%. After another fall of two per cent in the third quarter of this year, premiums are now the cheapest they have been since mid-2015.

Cazoo consolidates commercial vehicle strategy

Cazoo has made another stride toward its plan of adding commercial vehicles to its online retail portfolio by acquiring Vans365, which buys and sells hundreds of vans monthly.

The deal, valued at £6.5m and subject to FCA approval, will combine Cazoo’s online platform with Vans365’s reputation and expertise in the commercial vehicle sector.

Register now for the highlights from The Exclusive Motor Claims Conference

The event included a spectacular line-up of speakers from across the industry, discussing the day’s most pressing topics, such as understanding data, evolving market dynamics, legislative reforms, and the many moving parts needing to fit together to provide a seamless motor claims journey.

ClaimsTech

BT firms up cyber security

BT has launched its most sophisticated cyber defence platform yet, after identifying a 50% rise in malware traffic over the last six months.

Eagle-I uses AI and automation to predict, detect and neutralise security threats before they enter the network, and has been designed to learn from each intervention so that it constantly improves its threat knowledge and customer protection.

DiVA is pitch perfect

Digilog has launched a new Digital intelligence Voice Analysis solution that incorporates machine learning to help claims handlers validate information within a conversation. DiVA analyses responses and voice patterns to display a low-risk or high-risk message, with an audible alert to indicate a potential intention to deceive.  

Digilog has now introduced machine learning to the application to enable it to continuously learn and improve accuracy.

Good data more critical than ever

The value of Verisk’s accurate and up-to-date pricing data has become even more valuable as supply chain disruptions and shortage of raw materials continue to cause unprecedented variations and price fluctuations.

Its data is sourced from suppliers at a regional rather than national level, ensuring partners are able to continuously monitor surges in demand and local nuances.

German-first for Axa

AXA Partners Germany has appointed Swedish insurtech Upptec to assist with its data-driven claims automation roll-out. The partnership will be the first of its kind in Germany and the claims valuation will centre around all household electronics for its initial implementation.

New solution enables virtual audits

Verisk has developed a new platform to enable insurers to carry out full audits virtually. PAASvirtual is a fully customizable, cloud-based platform that enables auditors to engage with commercial lines insurers and their policyholders in real-time, conducting and recording VPA meetings online, while also sharing photos, forms and documents in a single place.

Home

Home Claims Conference Agenda Confirmed

The first section of ILC’s Home Claims Conference focuses on challenges regarding Covid-19, the environment and regulation with a keynote from The AA’s Gary Barker, a panel discussion with Mike Lawson, Neil Stothert, Jeremy Sykes and Laura Lazarus as well as a focus on the reality of supply issues with Steve Gelder.

Howden acquires Aston Lark

International insurance group Howden will acquire Aston Lark from Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Bowmark Capital, subject to regulatory approval.

The acquisition of the independent, specialist complex commercial and private client broker marks marks Howden’s largest acquisition to date and creates a UK business managing over £6bn of gross written premium for more than 1.7 million policyholders.

Syndicate secures Lloyds approval

Specialist insurer Beazley has received in principle approval from Lloyd’s to establish Syndicate 4321, which will focus on offering additional capacity to businesses that perform well against ESG metrics.

Led by Will Roscoe, Head of the Market Facilities Division, the Syndicate will launch on 1 January and will underwrite on a multi-line basis, initially accepting D&O, healthcare, financial institutions, London market US cyber, property, marine hull, marine cargo and aviation business.

Market News

Rising Star interview with Norman Macksoni – Central Dispatch & Logistics Manager

“Every day presents its own unique challenges, which is something I thrive on. There are bodyshops and recovery agents we visit every couple of days and there are the specialist collections such as a complete burnout vehicle on the fairway of a Golf Course. You can imagine the challenges that we faced on that one!”

Read more here

Davies announces IRS acquisition

Insurance services and tech provider Davies has announced it will acquire Insurance Risk Services, which provides tech-enabled inspections to support underwriting decision-making in the property and casual insurance sector.  

Based in Florida, IRS has a nationwide network of more than 1,000 field inspectors. It will now form part of Davies’ global insurance services business.

FCA seeking a new chair

Charles Randell has announced he will step down as Chair of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) next spring. He helped the FCA transform into a data-led regulator, while also helping the FCA steer the UK departure from Europe with minimal disruption.

Allianz signs environmental charter

Allianz has signed the Sustainable Procurement Charter to further support the reduction of its own environmental impact and that of its supply chain. Between 2010 and 2020 it cut waste by 89%, CO2 emissions by 79%, and paper consumption by 61%.

With this charter, Allianz aims to encourage suppliers to reduce carbon emissions, recycle waste, use renewable energy and consider biodiversity elements for their premises.

SCOR commits to low carbon support

Willis Towers Watson has confirmed that SCOR has become the latest insurer to support the Climate Transition Pathway (CTP) solution. As such, it will assist organisations wishing to transition to a low carbon economy.  

Meanwhile, employers are realigning their employee benefits programmes to a suit a modern workforce, with 64% of respondents to a Willis Towers Watson survey citing that home working is a key factor driving this change.

Blackrock joins MGAA

Specialist Irish liability and property insurer MGA Blackrock Insurance Solutions has become the first Irish company to join the Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA). This is part of the MGAA strategy to expand into the country.

Blackrock is owned by insurance intermediary Specialist Risk Group (SRG) which acquired the business in May this year.