Ninety’s iii Circle January 2022 Edition

Ninety’s Insurance Innovation Insights Circle is our monthly round-up of new ideas in the global insurance industry.  We cover headlining innovations, top innovation themes and innovation analysis for the month. Ninety’s Idea Pulse dashboard provides visual indicators of monthly innovation trends by business lines, regions, and Ninety’s innovation taxonomy – the Ten Types of Insurance Innovation. 

The data for this report is compiled from officially announced, ready to market innovations reported from leading insurers, reinsurers, and brokers across the world. 

Our monthly round-up includes a showcase of 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. 

Starting this month, we will also highlight examples of future innovation as seen through the lens of research and venture investment in emerging risks and technologies.

January Highlights

• In January, Ninety recorded a total of 55 new ideas and announcements from insurance businesses around the world, not counting insurtechs. 
• January re-affirmed the industry focus on major themes of the previous year. In particular, the move towards risk avoidance and risk management, sustainability and climate action look set to drive the innovation agenda in 2022. 
• Digital platforms and processes, data insights and connected technologies were leading technology themes in January. New products and innovation arms also continue to be in focus. 
• Venture investments started on an upbeat note in January with VC arms of Tier 1 firms funding start-ups in deep tech, insurtech, fintech and mobility.

The Top Innovation Themes in January

Insurance Idea Pulse Dashboard: January 2022

https://ninety.com/2019/08/08/ninetys-ten-types-of-insurance-innovation/

Ninety’s Analysis

• As economies and industry look to move out of the pandemic crisis, insurance innovation also has taken a forward-looking turn. If January is any indication, mega trends in the future of work, mobility and living, technology, climate change and cyber threats will drive innovation in 2022.
• VC activity among insurer investment arms is also making a shift towards emerging technologies and adjacent products and services – signalling the growth of ecosystem strategies and bets on future technologies that are set to dominate in this decade.
• Personal P&C and Commercial P&C together accounted for close to 50% of innovations announced in January. Specialty, Reinsurance & Lloyd’s led the overall list with over 30% of innovations. Life and Health together accounted for 20% of all data, a decrease compared to last year when the pandemic was still at its peak.
• The US, UK and rest of Europe accounted for 94% of new ideas and announcements in our dataset.

Five Innovations That Made Headlines in January

John Hancock to offer life insurance customers Vitality points for safe driving with Allstate partnership.

John Hancock announced that life insurance customers participating in the John Hancock Vitality Program are eligible to receive Vitality Points for safe driving. John Hancock Vitality members are eligible to earn 300 Vitality Points per year for achieving safe driver status through a qualified telematics safe driving program. 

Allstate’s Drivewise is the first safe driving program eligible for Vitality Points, with other programs to be added in the future. To qualify for Vitality Points through Drivewise, members can submit proof of safe driving status via an Allstate Drivewise cash back reward email or a recent bill from Allstate showing the safe driving discount.

The announcement builds on John Hancock’s existing relationship with Allstate. In 2021, John Hancock became one of three carriers to offer its life insurance products through Allstate.

The John Hancock Vitality program was launched in 2015 and leverages Vitality’s shared value insurance model that incentivises customers to lead healthier lifestyles, with rewards accumulated through Vitality points.

Tryg Norway to offer Sidekick, a dynamically priced EV insurance product for young drivers.

Tryg, one of the largest non-life insurance companies in the Nordic region, has partnered with insurtech Greater Than to offer AI based pricing for electric vehicle (EV) insurance in Norway. Tryg Norway’s product Sidekick is tailored for younger drivers aged 18 to 30 years old. 

The offering is based on Greater Than’s AI technology, that predicts accident probability and CO2 impact per driver in real-time. Unlike average telematics or usage-based insurance products, Tryg Sidekick enables an embedded insurance offering for EV owners through app2car connectivity, reducing costs by up to 30 per cent by driving safer. 

Per Greater Than, the new offering meets the fast-growing demand for personalized premiums compared to the traditional pool pricing model for EV’s. Norway is the world’s largest market for EVs with electric car sales growing to 65% market share in 2021 and projected to reach 75-80% in 2022.

CUNA Mutual launches automotive e-commerce platform for credit unions.

CUNA Mutual Group, a broad financial services provider, and CarSaver, an automotive e-commerce marketplace and fintech platform have partnered to launch an online platform proposition for credit unions. The platform enables members to buy, finance and insure new and used cars entirely online. CUNA Mutual works with 95% of the credit unions in the U.S.

In addition to the newly formed partnership, CMFG Ventures, the venture capital arm of CUNA Mutual, has invested in CarSaver. 

Launched in 2016, CarSaver is a leading online automotive marketplace for new and used cars. Customers can buy, finance, lease, sell and trade, all the top brands of new and used vehicles through a 100% online process. CarSaver licenses and white-labels its enterprise platform to car companies, EV distributors, dealers, and lenders and is used by leading brands including Walmart, Nissan, iHeartMedia and SHOP.com.

Aviva to pilot SimpliSafe smart security technology to protect commercial business premises.

Aviva is partnering with security systems maker SimpliSafe to help commercial businesses reduce the severity of, or prevent, potentially costly insurance claims on their premises – such as unwanted entry, water damage and fire.

As part of an initial pilot, qualifying Aviva commercial lines customers can receive a custom SimpliSafe security system at no extra cost*. The system includes smoke, water and temperature sensors, an array of security sensors and a HD camera. As part of the offer, eligible customers will also receive two complimentary months of SimpliSafe’s Pro Premium professional monitoring plan.

The partnership is designed to support a variety of industries, including Offices, Retail, Wholesale, Industrial and more, and for both, single and multi-premises businesses. Unlike traditional hardwired alarm systems that require a technician to visit the premises, SimpliSafe’s security systems are wireless with a cellular back-up and can be easily installed by anyone in less than an hour, meaning less disruption to businesses. 

Aviva states the rationale for the investment is to help customers to potentially reduce the quantity or severity of claims, limiting unwanted disruptions in the future. Aviva also plans to use the data captured to get insights on customers who adopt and utilise security devices for protecting their business. 

Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance re/insurers commit to further climate targets.

Members of UN-Convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance have committed to a further set of climate targets that aim to keep global warming below 1.5°C. The Alliance is formed of 69 asset owner members, including Swiss Re, Munich Re, SCOR, Zurich, AXA, QBE, Generali, L&G and Aviva.

The new guidance states that the decarbonization range for absolute portfolio emissions reductions from 2020 to 2025 should range between 22% to 32%. To date, 30 members have already set 2025 targets. Additionally, emissions reductions for the period 2020 to 2030 should range between 49% to 65% or beyond, following the same approach. 

The focus of the Protocol is set around portfolio emissions, also known as Scope 3 emissions (or ‘financed emissions’), which typically represent the vast majority of an asset owner’s emissions (95-97%) in their respective portfolios. The Protocol has also expanded its scrutiny over assets classes and sub-portfolio targets. Previously, Alliance members needed to set targets across listed equity, publicly traded corporate bonds and real estate assets. It covers a new asset class – infrastructure – both equity and debt. The target setting scheme for infrastructure is in line with the carbon accounting framework for project finance laid out by PCAF (Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials).

Future Innovation – Research & Ventures