ZestyAI said Marsh McLennan Agency has adopted its risk analytics to enhance risk assessments for a small segment of its high-net-worth clients with catastrophe-prone properties. The provider of AI-powered property and climate risk analytics said its Z-Fire, Roof Age, and Z-Property solutions will be used by the MM Private Client Services team to improve wildfire risk evaluation and offer more precise, customized insurance and risk management solutions for their clients’ high-value homes. “Safeguarding the lifestyles and legacies of our clients requires a forward-looking approach to risk,” said Robert Pritula, national placement and solutions leader of MMA’s Private Client Services division.…
Author: Awais
Gainesville, Florida-based King Risk Partners has acquired the Hanc Group, an insurance agency that serves the Korean-American community and others in north Georgia, King Risk announced this week. Rick Han, owner of Alpharetta-based Hanc Group, said in a news release that the partnership will allow the agency to expand its personal and commercial insurance offerings. Georgia Corporation Division records show the Hanc Group was formed in 2018. Georgia agent verification records show the prinicipals have been licensed since 2010. The agency is appointed with multiple carriers, including property-casualty, life, and accident and sickness, and offers home, auto, church, professional liability…
The owners of Colony Ridge, a Houston-area developer accused of running a predatory lending scheme that deceived Latinos, agreed to a sweeping legal settlement that will require them to invest in law enforcement and infrastructure on their properties and tighten selling practices to address a range of accusations from Texas GOP leaders and conservative media. Chief among the allegations was that Colony Ridge developers sold land to undocumented people, giving rise to a crime-ridden complex of subdivisions about 30 miles outside Houston allegedly being run by Mexican drug cartels. The developers denied that their communities were unsafe, a contention backed…
Adam Schwebach of reinsurance broker Gallagher Re is expecting more new cedents to enter the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market in 2026, describing it as a product that can no longer be ignored for catastrophe risk.Artemis recently spoke with Schwebach, Head of North America Property at Gallagher Re, about reinsurance supply demand dynamics in Florida, and the impact of ILS investors in the state after the much needed reforms. “From an overall perspective, we think that there’s still ample supply of reinsurance within the state,” said Schwebach. “There are opportunities and probably a little bit more demand for reinsurance below the…
Box 1: The improper payment rate has changed over time, largely due to the ACA implementation and the COVID-19 public health emergency. Pre-ACA: Between 2009 and 2013, the overall improper payment rate trended downward as information systems improved states’ ability to determine provider and enrollee eligibility . The PERM program’s eligibility component error rate decreased from 2011 to 2014, when it was estimated at 3.11 percent (Figure 3). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed in 2010 and phased in several changes to the Medicaid program, including the 2014 Medicaid expansion. ACA Implementation: During the 2013-2019 period, the…
Experian announced the launch of the Experian Insurance Marketplace app on ChatGPT, introducing its insurance comparison platform to OpenAI’s audience, to help consumers find auto insurance. In the Feb. 13 announcement, Experian said the move is “a significant advancement in Experian’s AI strategy, leveraging conversational technology to simplify everyday financial choices and create a more intuitive and helpful consumer experience.” “Consumers are increasingly using conversational AI to learn, ask questions, explore and solve meaningful financial challenges,” said Dacy Yee, president of Experian Consumer Services, in a statement. “Making our insurance marketplace available through ChatGPT allows people to evaluate their choices…
While the insurance industry may be grappling with the concept of AI, John Burkhart, of Skyward Specialty, believes it’s time to embrace it. He talks about how it is already reshaping distribution and underwriting, while also explaining how his company has embraced the concept.
It’s the complete digital risk package
China’s market regulator has ordered infant formula makers to test for cereulide, a toxin that has triggered precautionary recalls worldwide by some of the largest food companies. Producers must strictly enforce controls on raw materials and product releases, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement on Thursday. Local governments were instructed to strengthen oversight of safety and quality standards, though no poisoning cases linked to infant formula have been reported in China. The urgency stems from Nestle SA’s discovery of cereulide in baby formula traced to ARA oil from a single company it didn’t name. People familiar…
American International Group (AIG) made substantial progress in artificial intelligence within the last year, and its outcomes and capabilities are more than previously predicted. The insurer during an Investor Day less than a year ago presented the potential benefits from its use of generative AI. At the time, CEO Peter Zaffino said these thoughts were “aspirational.” Less than a year later, during a recent conference call with analysts to talk about fourth quarter earnings, Zaffino said, “We see the capabilities are much greater.” Related: AIG Underwriting Income Up 48% in Q4 on North America Commercial “We’re seeing a massive shift…
One year after taking charge of the nation’s health department, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hasn’t held true to many of the promises he made while appealing to U.S. senators concerned about the longtime anti-vaccine activist’s plans for the nation’s care. Kennedy squeaked through a narrow Senate vote to be confirmed as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, only after making a number of public and private guarantees about how he would handle vaccine funding and recommendations as secretary. Here’s a look at some of the promises Kennedy made during his confirmation process.…
The nation’s largest public utility says it now would prefer to keep operating two coal-fired power plants it had planned to shutter, changing course before a meeting of its board, which has a majority of members picked by the coal-friendly Trump administration. In new filings, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s signaled that it wants to ditch closure dates for the Kingston Fossil Plant and Cumberland Fossil Plant in Tennessee, which would require further action from its board. The new plan would still include introducing natural gas-fired plants at both locations. TVA had intended to shutter its remaining, aging coal plants by…
Matthew J. Platkin, who served as New Jersey’s attorney general from 2022 to 2026, has opened a law office along with three other attorneys who served with him in that office. Platkin vows to focus on complex civil and public interest cases including ones involving consumer protection, technology, gun safety, antitrust and independent investigations — not unlike the issues he took on as attorney general. “At Platkin LLP, we use the law to drive meaningful change in the face of injustice. When our democracy is under threat, powerful wrongdoers harm people with impunity, or gun violence endangers our communities, we…
MAPFRE Re announced it has obtained regulatory approval from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) of India to open its newest branch office in Gujarat. MAPFRE Re said its relationship with the Indian insurance market dates back over a decade, during which time the reinsurer has progressively increased its commitment to the market, building a solid business portfolio and collaborating closely with the main insurance companies in the country. The opening of this new branch comes as the Indian insurance market enjoys a growth phase, driven by the country’s economic dynamism, a rise in demand for protection solutions, and…