Start thinking differently in the everyday
Any questions? Contact us
Summary
Our new periodic round-up of the pulse of new ideas in the global insurance industry. We cover monthly highlights, top innovation themes and Ninety’s Idea Pulse dashboard and innovation analysis for the month. The monthly dashboard monitors monthly innovation trends by business lines and regions and to Ninety’s innovation taxonomy as well – the Ten Types of Insurance Innovation.
A freelance analyst and researcher. Dolly has assisted clients globally in the areas of market opportunity assessment, market entry strategy, go-no-go analysis, and competitive assessment.
Officially announced, ready to market innovations, VC investments and collaborations from leading insurers, reinsurers and brokers form the basis of our analysis.
We also showcase five case studies of innovations from a cross-section of business lines and innovation themes. For the most part, the case studies chosen are representative examples of commonly recurring themes of the month rather than examples that focus on novel ideas or one-of-a-kind solutions.
In addition, we will also highlight examples of future innovation as seen through the lens of research and venture investment in emerging risks and technologies.
In November, Ninety recorded a total of 54 new ideas and announcements from insurance businesses around the world, not counting insurtechs.
New Products/Services, which has been the leading trend since August 2022, continued to dominate the industry. We saw increased focus on launch of new products/services in the automotive segment such as inspection services for EV chargers, no-frills car insurance, and insurance cover to help auto dealerships tackle the rising cost and instability of dealership inventory coverage.
The November data also indicates insurance companies’ heightened interest in adopting/improvising underwriting process and capabilities in order to better analyze risk in their books, reduce expenses, and improve profitability.
With autonomous and connected vehicles market gaining traction, several insurers focused on innovations in this segment. The key innovations include:
AXA Hong Kong and Macau (in partnership with Chung Shing Taxi and TaxiSafely) launching Hong Kong’s first Internet of Vehicles project;
French mutual insurer MACIF Group backing beti, an operator of hybrid automated mobility networks in tourist areas and sparsely populated territories.
In terms of insurance segments, Personal P&C topped the leader board with 41% share, closely followed by Specialty, Reinsurance & Lloyd’s with a share of 39%.
In terms of region, Europe topped for the second consecutive month, with a share of 48%. Nevertheless, North America was only slightly behind with a 45% share during the month.
Officially announced, ready to market innovations, VC investments and collaborations from leading insurers, reinsurers and brokers form the basis of our analysis.
Now, the insurer is extending this offering to include commercial clients. The solution includes various bundles as well as individual products and services that customers can put together. Installation, user setup, and local registration are offered as optional add-ons.
Assurant has signed an agreement with Atlanta-based RangeWater Real Estate, a fully integrated multifamily real estate company, to be their preferred provider of renters insurance.
The agreement will grow the distribution of Assurant’s Cover360 product, which enables renters to conveniently pay for renters insurance with their rent, giving property management companies the potential to increase participation in their renters’ insurance program and eliminate coverage gaps.
Cover360 is a solution that evolved from Assurant’s Point of Lease (POL) product. It enables property management companies to offer renters insurance to residents by directing them via text or email to enroll via an online portal once they have signed a lease. There they can either purchase Assurant’s Pay with Rent policy that is conveniently bundled with their rent – or upload coverage from a 3rd party provider.
Nationwide has entered into a partnership with Human API, a leading health data platform, to improve the life insurance buying experience by maximizing the use of digital health data to accelerate the underwriting process.
Human API’s Health Intelligence Platform connects electronic health data from thousands of sources in the US, servicing millions of Americans. This platform enables Nationwide to rapidly acquire consumer’s rich, digital health data and eliminate the need to wait weeks for labs or exams.
Human API and Nationwide have built a fully integrated process where only HIPAA-compliant health data that the applicant has agreed to release is automatically ordered and delivered. Using digital health data instead of traditional attending physician statements, labs, and exams during underwriting is especially attractive to those who may have previously put off buying life insurance due to the cumbersome process.
Global broker WTW and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have announced the United States’ first-ever coral reef insurance policy. The policy will provide coverage for rapid coral reef repair and restoration in Hawaii following damage from hurricanes or tropical storms.
The Hawai‘i policy is triggered at windspeeds of 50 knots (57 mph) if sufficiently close to reefs and can provide payouts up to a maximum of $2 million to allow rapid reef repair and restoration after storm damage. The policy will be in place through the 2023 hurricane season.
The Hawai‘i policy adds tropical storms as a covered event, in addition to hurricanes covered in the Quintana Roo and MAR Fund policies, because in Hawai‘i, tropical storms can cause significant damage without making landfall.
Reinsurance giant Swiss Re and carbon removal tracing platform Carbonfuture, have signed a multi-year offtake agreement to support high-quality standards in the biochar carbon removal market.
The renewed partnership between one of the world’s leading reinsurers and MRV platform and carbon removal credit marketplace Carbonfuture shows that managing risks in the carbon removal market is a priority for market participants. Strong demand signals for high quality solutions as the one offered by Carbonfuture will help ensure the integrity of the carbon removal industry as it grows as well as ultimately accelerate mainstream adoption of carbon removal towards reaching net zero.
beti, Macif, NAVYA and VINCI Construction through its subsidiary SVMS, have been awarded the Automated Road Mobility tender launched by the French government as part of its 4th Investment of the Future Program (PIA4) – France 2030.
The tender was launched in response to the fact that 85% of the rural population of France does not have direct access to public transportation. The consortium made up of beti, Macif, NAVYA and VINCI Construction aims to provide a concrete solution to the challenges involved in providing inclusive mobility to people and goods in rural areas.
Seven automated vehicles, four of which will be driverless, will be rolled out in France for the first time.
The joint project will provide the Crest Val de Drôme rural area with an Inclusive Automated Mobility Network, which consists of seven self-driving shuttles deployed over a route of 50 km2.
The members of the consortium will pool their skills to deliver a turnkey solution which covers developing self-driving shuttles, building the infrastructure and operating the service to meet the needs and expectations of the end users and stakeholders, including the local communities, companies, associations, inhabitants and users.
Munich Re has launched a new research and development facility in Shanghai, known as the Munich Re China Innovation R&D Centre.
According to Munich Re, the centre will allow it to strengthen its in-market knowledge and technology capabilities and build a strong network with clients across various industries in China. The R&D centre will help bridge the supply and demand gaps that exist for new industry risks and support the long-term development of China’s insurance and reinsurance sector.
The Munich Re China R&D Centre will work closely with local insurance companies and various industrial partners.
The R&D centre will have resources dedicated to various innovation topics and their implications for insurance. These include new energy vehicles, battery, clean energy, green buildings, new agriculture and carbon trade.