Digital Insurance
Axa invests in 'pioneering' blockchain technology specialist Blockstream
Axa Strategic Ventures, the €230m (£175m) venture capital fund set up by the French insurance giant, has today announced it is co-leading a $55m (£37.5m) Series A funding round for Blockstream.
C-Suite: Traditional behaviour is incompatible with technological paradigm
Matthias de Ferrieres is sceptical if the industry will have a digital awakening this year.
Blog: Towards the uberisation of claims?
Discussion in the insurance claims sector is increasingly about how customer care can be improved while keeping expenses down. And all eyes are turning to smart technology, believed to be capable of playing a role here.
In Focus: Digital Insurance - Q&A with Daryl Henwood, Hitachi Solutions
Hitachi Solutions' CRM industry lead for financial services Daryl Henwood, pictured, on the pitfalls insurers need to avoid with their customer engagement strategies; and what they can learn from the disruptors in other sectors.
Blog: Five technologies brokers should consider for 2016
With interest rates set to remain low and ongoing compliance demands taking their toll, few brokers are totally out of the woods post-recession. You'd imagine that not many are in the mood for spending...
Blog: What happened to the Friends Reuniteds of the insurance .com boom?
We are currently living in an age where digital start-ups are very much in vogue.
Aviva Ventures backs UK parking app
Aviva's innovation fund, Aviva Ventures, has invested $1.5m (£1m) in an app that helps UK drivers find parking spaces.
BI remains top global risk while cyber is UK's biggest threat
Business interruption is the top global risk for the fourth year running, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2016, with cyber attacks, geo-political instability and technology failure identified as new possible drivers of BI losses.
Blog: From AIG to Zurich, five predictions for insurers in 2016
Now that we have all had a chance to get back into our pre-Xmas routines; quit our cous-cous diets and break our new year’s resolutions, I thought it would be a good time to look into my crystal ball and predict how the year might pan out for insurers.
Europe: What the new privacy regulations mean for insurance services providers
It's almost upon us. After an epic journey, the much vaunted overhaul of European data protection rules has arrived, placing a tougher compliance burden not only on insurers, but also on companies that provide services to them.
FCA urges further improvements on mobile phone insurance
The Financial Conduct Authority’s follow-up review into mobile phone insurance found while some firms have improved, there were still many who were not providing fair outcomes for customers.
Europe: What's driving telematics growth
Alongside North America, Europe so far represents the vast majority of all insurance telematics policies, with Italy and the UK leading the pack.
Insurers shifting towards wholly digital sales process, Accenture finds
More than half of insurers globally expect to have a wholly digital sales process in the next three years, according to research from Accenture.
Six UK finalists in London start-up programme
Technology incubator Start-up Bootcamp has announced the 10 international start-ups that will join its London programme in 2016, including six from the UK.
Impact Forum: Apple to launch electric car in 2019 predicts government adviser
Technology giant Apple has been tipped by a government adviser to launch into the motor market by 2019.
Europe: Cyber thieves - the nightmare before Christmas for insurers
The nights are drawing in, Christmas is coming, and retailers are getting fat on the back of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which have boosted annual high street sales this year to record levels.
Blog: Why Lloyd's is losing out on insurance technology innovation - and how it can fix this
While the founder of Lloyd's might be amazed by how far Lloyd's of London has come in a little over 300 years, this insurance market is no longer the pioneer of the industry that it once was.
Claims Club: Mobile phone payments key to improving satisfaction scores
Insurers need to wake up to the growing trend of customers using their mobile phones as a “unique” ID, which could help speed up claims payments and improve satisfaction scores.
Claims Club: Ex-Lloyd's CEO Ward urges wider tech focus
Insurers are too interested in “hygiene” factors at the expense of how technology might impact their business.
Tokio Marine Kiln appoints Hoad as head of innovation
Tom Hoad, an underwriter in Tokio Marine Kiln's emerging risk division, has been appointed as head of innovation at Tokio Marine Kiln's London office.
BGL opens digital, tech and media hub in Shoreditch
The BGL Group has opened a new office hub in London in the form of its Shoreditch digital, data, technology and media hub.
Blog: £700m earmarked for court efficiency reforms in the Spending Review
Chancellor George Osborne yesterday brought to an end speculation about whether funds for radical technology-driven reform to the court service would be made available.
Allianz teams up with Chinese internet giant for digital venture
Allianz is to create a digital insurance company for the Chinese market, a joint venture with local internet giant Baidu and Asian investor Hillhouse Capital Group.
Benefits of blockchain championed to slow starters in the UK
The UK insurance industry is "woefully behind" in its take up of blockchain technology, which commentators say will radically change the way insurance contracts and settlements are handled as well as potentially reducing insurance fraud.