This week, a new J.D. Power report found that P/C insurer digital investments haven’t helped offset customer dissatisfaction with rising premium rates. Arturo, IVANS and Hippo all formed new partnerships. A private equity firm has acquired a company that sells direct-to-consumer auto policies online.
Digital investments by the P/C insurance industry haven’t been enough to offset customer unhappiness with rising premium rates, J.D. Power found in a new report.
“Although insurers keep upping the ante on technology, improvements are being offset by frustration among customers who are going online to shop for a better rate—and not finding one,” Robert Lajdziak, director of insurance intelligence at J.D. Power, said in prepared remarks. “We’re also seeing a clear trend in which more than half of digital insurance shoppers are choosing not to use digital tools or educational resources to help them through the shopping process. This further exacerbates the decline in customer satisfaction.”
The findings are included in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study, released on May 24, which found overall customer satisfaction with insurers’ digital offerings dipped in 2022, even with major investments in mobile apps and customer-facing websites.
Among the major findings: overall customer satisfaction with the P/C insurer digital shopping experience dropped to 499 out of 1,000, a 16-point plunge from last year. Customer satisfaction with the digital service experience hit 705, down 1 point from 2021. The reason for the drops: customers are frustrated with rising rates and their inability to find new polices with cheaper premiums.
Approximately 54% of insurance shoppers did not use any shopping tools online during their quote processes, the study also found.
Arturo, an AI-focused property data analytics startup, has linked up with ICEYE, a SAR data provider, to help insurers predict flood damages before, during and after a flood event.
ICEYE owns what it said is the world’s largest SAR satellite constellation. It combines the data from spaceborne sensors with other information sources on the ground to produce a precise framework of how bad a flood is anywhere globally.
The idea is that combining ICEYE’s capabilities with Arturo’s AI-fueled property analytics will help insurers figure out the extend of flood-related property damages almost in real time. Combined, the technology will help insurers estimate and triage flood damages, evaluate the ongoing risk and estimate claims payouts across portfolios.
The partnership will also help insurers mobilize efficiently to support policyholders.
“This collaboration enables insurers to see down to the property level what type of flood damage a home will have and get the policyholder the financial assistance they need to quickly repair the home,” Arturo Chief Strategy Officer Neil Pearson said in prepared remarks.
IVANS partnered with the insurtech Tarmika in a relationship that will expand the company’s access to carriers and MGAs for its agency technology.
IVANS connects thousands of independent insurance agencies and hundreds of MGA and insurance partners and the insured with the latest technology, with an eye on improving the experience for all involved.
Tarmika is an insurtech that streamlines the quoting process for independent agents. It is designed to help insurers expand their distribution channels, add new business and give customers enhanced benefits by securely exposing their data and services. Its partnership with IVANS will be via the company’s IVANS Distribution Platform.
Hippo’s First Connect insurtech marketplace platform will start offering cyber insurance underwritten by Blink, a suite of Chubb-based consumer insurance products.
First Connect Insurance Services is a Hippo subsidiary designed to provide independent agencies access to national insurtech carriers with no access fees. Blink by Chubb offers personal insurance products distributed through employee benefits, direct-to-consumer, insurance carriers, digital brokers and affinity partners including First Connect.
The partnership will allow independent agencies who participate in First Connect’s platform to access the Chubb/Blink cyber insurance protection for their clients.
“Blink is delighted to offer First Connect agents simple, jargon-free personal cyber insurance to help protect their customers’ digital lives,” Laura Bennett, senior vice president of eConsumer for Chubb in North America, said in prepared remarks.
Milestone Partners has formed Drive Assurance Holdings, a specialty auto insurance holding company. In a related move, it has acquired GoAuto and its affiliated tech platform Adaptive Information Technologies (AIT).
GoAuto debuted in 2009. It is a tech focused personal auto insurance platform that provides low limit policies through its managing general agent and insurance carrier subsidiaries. The company is the third largest personal auto insurer in Louisiana with growing operations in Texas, Nevada and Ohio.
The company distributes policies direct to consumer online and through 70 captive storefronts. In addition, it leverages AIT’s proprietary data analytics and underwriting technology.
Milestone Partners is a private equity firm that partners with management to invest in leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations of middle-market businesses.
