Insurtech weekly news roundup: Oct. 14

Thimble is an online MGA focused on professional liability, business equipment protection, commercial property, event insurance and other coverage options.

Their team-up allows Thimble to offer customers Cerity’s workers’ compensation coverage along with its own offerings. They are digitizing the insurance shopping process for small businesses, enabling affordable quotes in minutes as well as downloading of their own certificates of insurance.

“We’re thrilled to team up with Thimble to meet customers where they want to be – online,” Jeff Shaw, Cerity’s executive vice president, said in prepared remarks.

Embroker

Embroker hired a former Burns & Wilcox executive as its new chief insurance officer.

David Derigiotis will lead development of the digital insurance broker’s insurance vertical products, particularly those focused on cybersecurity, technology and privacy.

Previously he was corporate senior vice president and National Professional Liability Practice Group leader for Burns & Wilcox, an international wholesale broker and MGA. He brings to Embroker 20 years of insurance industry experience, with a particular focus on cybersecurity exposures, data privacy law, regulatory requirements and emerging technologies such as blockchain, decentralized finance and cryptocurrency.

“As we continue to expand our product offerings for different customer segments, [Derigiotis’] wealth of cybersecurity and privacy expertise will help ensure our products are the absolute best they can be,” Ben Jennings, Embroker’s chief revenue officer, said in prepared remarks.

Cover Whale

Cover Whale Insurance, an insurtech MGA focused on commercial trucking, has expanded into 10 additional states and added new product offerings.

The new states are Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, West Virginia and New Hampshire. Cover Whale now does business in 27 states with its auto liability coverage, and 48 states for its auto physical damage, motor truck cargo, non-trucking liability and truckers’ general liability lines of business.

“Truck drivers keep the US economy running and we are committed to supporting them by expanding our services and state availability,” Cover Whale CEO Dan Abrahamsen said in prepared remarks.

Cover Whale works with more than 5,000 agents.

Mutual Capital Analytics/Vertafore

Mutual Capital Analytics and Vertafore are teaming on an effort to unlock big data benefits for mutual insurance companies.

Vertafore is an insurance technology company, and Mutual Capital Analytics provides analytical products and services for mutual insurance companies.

Their arrangement calls for MCA to combine its analytics expertise with Vertafore’s data and analytics products to help mutual insurance companies work with their independent agents so they can better compete in personal lines.

The idea is that the partnership will help carriers quickly gain actionable insight to manage performance.

Launched in 2019, Mutual Capital Analytics works with leaders of Mutual Insurance Companies to help them compete more effectively.

Duck Creek Technologies

Duck Creek is collaborating with SBS to help accelerate same-day claims settlements.

Duck Creek is a developer of property/casualty insurance technology products and services. SBS provides tech-enabled content validation and replacement services in the UK.

The companies are enacting their partnership through the Duck Creek Content Exchange. Duck Creek customers are able to connect with SBS’s Digital Household Contents Validation systems so those users can achieve a one-touch, same-day contents claim settlement. Their linkup will also facilitate a completely digital claims model.

TheGuarantors

TheGuarantors has launched rent and damage protection for independent landlords.

The New York-based fintech MGA builds smart financial and insurance products and services for landlords.

Independent landlords use the platform to access TheGuarantors’ insurance products and invite their prospective renters to apply in a matter of minutes. In exchange for the renter paying a fee (often less than one month of rent), TheGuarantors issues a Lease Guarantee policy that protects the landlord’s rental income against loss due to rent defaults, vacancies, lease breaks and other common risks.

In addition, TheGuarantors offers a Security Deposit Replacement product that helps landlords meet changing deposit regulations, eliminate administrative hassles and attract more renters by offering a deposit alternative that significantly reduces move-in costs.

IronVest

IronVest raised $23 million in seed funding designed to help scale up its technology that protects personal accounts and personal data from fraud.

The New York-based startup is also formally emerging from stealth mode, which means it was operating under the radar as it developed and fine-tuned its technology.

Accomplice led the round, though Trust Ventures, Ulysses, Joule Ventures and OurCrowd also participated along with a number of strategic angel investors.

The company relies on a decentralized infrastructure to protect personal data as well as decentralized biometric fraud prevention technology to make sure only the correct person can access the most sensitive accounts and data during sign-in and through a session.