Catching up with insurance technology developments involving Thimble and Bold Penguin, Vertafore and Nationwide, and eMaxx ….
Insurtech Bold Penguin is making it easier for agents and small business customers to secure to coverage by the month or by the hour—through a partnership with another insurtech startup, Thimble.
Thimble’s coverage options are for businesses of all sizes—ranging from startups that purchase insurance by-the-job, to mature organizations that want more control over their monthly and annual policies.
“Our secret sauce is we’re selling these policies on all kinds of different time frames,” Thimble founder and Chief Executive Officer told Carrier Management earlier this year (BI Innovation Coming Soon: Low-Limit Policies From InsurTech Thimble).
Thimble insurance policies are underwritten by Markel Insurance Co.
Bold Penguin, a digital exchange used by insurance agents, brokers and other distributors to match, quote and bind policies from insurers, will now have Thimble’s bindable quotes, which not only offer the shorter policy terms than traditional insurers, but also feature the ability to change, pause or cancel policies instantly.
Bold Penguin and Thimble leverage their APIs to provide instant insurance quotes to small businesses.
In the January interview, Bregman told CM that Thimble has been working on a low-limit business interruption policy with a parametric trigger that will help tide businesses over until they can get government assistance during COVID-related shutdowns.
Commenting on the Thimble-Bold Penguin partnership, Chris Cheatham, Bold Penguin’s vice president of Product, Insurance Intelligence, highlighted that the Bold Penguin platform allows both traditional carriers and new entrants to innovate and launch online products. As an example, he noted that Travelers workers’ compensation insurance went live on the Bold Penguin platform recently.
In January, American Family Insurance acquired Bold Penguin, marking the first 2021 deal that Carrier Management reported in which a P/C carrier acquired an InsurTech.
In October 2020, Bold Penguin acquired RiskGenius, an InsurTech co-founded by Cheatham, which that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to read and compare insurance policies.
Vertafore and Nationwide
Giant Nationwide is the newest carrier partner to join insurance technology vendor Vertafore’s Commercial Submissions platform, enable Nationwide agents to more easily and quickly generate and compare commercial lines quotes for clients.
Commercial Submissions connects the end-insured, agents and carriers for simplified, real-time quoting on commercial policies. The platform works within Vertafore’s agency management systems, allowing agents to reduce the labor-intensive, repetitive and time-consuming process of quoting commercial insurance coverage.
Nationwide said it plans to integrate all of its commercial lines products into the Commercial Submissions platform, beginning in May with workers’ compensation, businessowners’ policies (BOP) and general liability.
Vertafore will later integrate Nationwide’s commercial auto, umbrella and other commercial lines as made available through API.
In 2020, Nationwide completed its transition to a fully independent agent model and is now aligned with more than 11,000 independent agents to sell personal lines, commercial lines, agribusiness, excess and surplus and financial services solutions.
eMaxx
eMaxx Assurance Group, which offers insurance program administration, risk management, and technology, has launched a platform for its variable cost captive programs. The platform provides a centralized source for customers to manage their own insurance and risk management program.
eMaxx’s sister company eTechnology Services developed the technology platform and will be available to other insurance companies for licensing.
Through the platform, customers have access to insurance policies, program documents, historical exposures, claims details including access to the adjusters’ notes, real time billing information and have the ability to make payments.
Customers that are members of the variable cost captive programs can view their fund performance and profitability. Risk management capabilities include telematics rankings, driver files management, motor vehicle registration monitoring and online learning.
eMaxx Assurance Group of Companies has four operating companies: eMaxx Insurance Services (insurance program administrator), eCaptiv (Vermont- domiciled captive insurance company), eRisk Solutions (loss prevention, safety, claims investigational and oversight, and litigation management) and eTech Services (loss expense reducing technology systems and platforms including telematics and e-learning).
Source: Insurance Journal
