App flaws 'drive' car insurance cancellations
Who's involved: Telematics provider Carrot Insurance
What's happening: Young drivers have allegedly been threatened with having their car insurance cancelled due to alleged faults with Carrot Insurance’s app that aims to make policies more affordable.
The BBC reported more than 20 young drivers have told the Victoria Derbyshire programme they experienced technical issues with the app - in some cases causing them to either have their insurance cancelled, or end the policy themselves.
A spokesperson for Carrot told InsuranceERM: “We are extremely sorry that some of our customers have had a poor experience with our Better Driver app and telematics devices. When this issue became apparent in April 2019 we acted as quickly as possible to put things right and prevent anyone else experiencing similar problems or being disadvantaged in any way."
The spokesperson added that inevitably as with any new technology there will be "things along the way that we can learn from and improve upon".
Significance of development: A 2019 consumer survey conducted by market research firm GlobalData revealed customers are already weary about having their driving assessed and smaller telematic providers will not wish to lose customer trust or business to more high-profile offerings.
Neptune Flood launches in Louisiana
Who's involved: Florida-based online flood insurance company Neptune Flood.
What's happening: Neptune Flood has officially opened for business in Louisiana becoming the 39th US state it has launched in.
Significance of development: Louisiana is the second largest market for flood insurance in the US given its unique geography and history of catastrophic flooding. According to Neptune, its technology provides a two-minute process for buying flood insurance.
Milliman forms analytics alliance
Who's involved: Consulting and actuarial firm, Milliman,and US technology and analytics company, Enova Decisions.
What's happening: Milliman and Enova Decisions have announced a strategic alliance.
Significance of development: The partnership aims to offer advanced analytics to insurers.
Collective Benefits raises £3.3m in funding
Who's involved: London-based insurtech Collective Benefits, which offers health insurance and sick pay to freelance workers; venture capital investor, Stride VC, and existing investors Delin Ventures, Insurtech Gateway and several angels from executives at Uber, Deliveroo and Urban.
What's happening: Collective Benefits has secured £3.3m ($4.2m) in a seed funding round.
Significance of development: The start-up will use the funding to further its growth and offering for gig economy platforms. A consumer service aimed at freelancers is set to follow later this year.