“Alexa, what’s an annuity?” Insurance company Aviva is using Amazon Echo January 4, 2017 "Alexa, what's an annuity?" Now your Amazon Echo can tell you the answer to burning questions about insurance and guide you through the unfamiliar jargon of the industry. The Insurance giant Aviva has developed a so-called skill (like an app for smartphones) for the voice activated speaker which proved a big hit for Amazon over Christmas. Read more: [...]
Big data should be used to discriminate on motor insurance premiums, says FCA chief executive November 22, 2016 Insurers should use big data to identify and reward good drivers, according to the head of the UK's financial watchdog. Speaking today at the Association of British Insurers' (ABI) annual conference, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) boss Andrew Bailey said the "revolution in our ability to capture and use information" should be encouraged by regulators in certain [...]
Here’s why Facebook shares are down despite an impressive revenue rise November 3, 2016 Facebook’s shares fell as much as six per cent in after-hours trading on Wednesday, despite the social media giant beating expectations with its latest results for the third quarter. Total revenue came in at $7bn (£5.7bn) – up 56 per cent year-on-year and ahead of Wall Street expectations of $6.9bn – with advertising making up [...]
Facebook data and privacy rules sink Admiral’s insurtech plans November 2, 2016 Facebook has sunk plans by Admiral to offer a reduced car insurance premium based on users posts on the social network. It turns out the insurance firm has fallen foul of Facebook's terms of use, which stipulate that data from Facebook can't be used for assessing eligibility. That's exactly what Admiral wanted to do, using posts [...]
Lineker-backed insurer scores £1m in funding October 18, 2016 Internet of Things insurer Neos has hit the back of the net with £1m in initial seed funding, valuing the business at £8.4m. The company – a so-called insurtech startup – counts Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker among its backers and the latest funding round adds insurtech fund Eos Venture Partners. Neos is [...]
Insurtech investment in the UK has tripled September 6, 2016 Investment in the insurance technology sector – part of London's world leading fintech scene – is booming. More than $22m (£16.5m) has been ploughed into insurtech so far this year – nearly triple the amount invested in the whole of last year and faster growth than any other country in the world. The research from Accenture and CB Insights, [...]
UK fintech funding has fallen – but don’t panic just yet August 18, 2016 Cash being ploughed into the UK's fintech startups fell in the latest quarter – but don't panic just yet. The value of funding declined by 12 per cent to $103m (£78.4m) in the second quarter of the year, however, the number of deals being done in one of the hottest sectors remained steady, the latest figures from KPMG and CB Insights [...]
This insurer is calling the shots in the war for tech talent August 11, 2016 Finding appropriately skilled staff for technology projects is a problem which plagues many businesses, but one insurance company has told City A.M. it seems to have it sussed. Gary Hoffman, chief executive officer of Hastings Group Holdings, revealed the company was increasingly looking beyond other insurance firms to sniff out the best talent and turning to tech giants, such [...]
Inzura becomes the lastest company on the insurtech scene August 9, 2016 Inzura – a new digital insurance platform – is set to begin using smartphone data and photo recognition to calculate policies. It’s thought insurance companies will be able to take on less risk by fine-tuning policies. "We believe the smartphone will play a central role in the much-needed digitisation of insurance," said Richard Jelbert, chief executive of [...]
How artificial intelligence, peer-to-peer technology and blockchain are changing the insurance industry forever July 14, 2016 Just as fintech is transforming the banking world, “insurtech” has set its sights on the insurance industry. There are firms like Trov, which provides insurance on-demand and enables consumers to catalogue insured belongings. Buzzmove uses home removals data to create a new distribution model for insurance – people are more likely to renew or buy [...]