Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz, we are sharing the change in renewal rate for commercial lines from last quarter and 10 insurtechs to watch in 2024. 

Compared to Prior Quarter, All Commercial Lines Saw Renewal Rate Up in Q4: Ivans

Ivans Index reported that the average premium renewal rates increased year-over-year for all major commercial lines except workers' compensation in the last quarter of 2023. Business owner's policy (BOP), general liability, commercial property, and umbrella insurance reached year-end highs in renewal rates during this period. Commercial property led with a 10.34% increase in Q4, reaching 10.67% in December—the highest monthly average renewal movement of the year. BOP and general liability also saw significant monthly rate increases in December, up 9.72% and 6.16%, respectively. Workers' compensation, which reached its highest rate in November, experienced positive average premium renewals for the first time all year at 0.15%. The data suggests an overall trend of rate increases, and industry experts are closely monitoring market trends and macroeconomic factors in 2024.

10 Insurtechs to Watch in 2024

The InsureTech Connect Forward50 Americas Report outlined the top ten insurtech companies highlighted for their leadership and potential. Here are those findings listed on PropertyCasualty360:

10. Armilla - The Toronto-based software development company has developed an assurance platform enabling them to comprehensively verify the quality and reliability of AI-powered products in an efficient and cost-effective manner. 

9. Converge - U.S.-based Converge is a cyber insurance, security and technology MGA focused on the SME sector. Their holistic approach enables them to understand each business' security vulnerabilities, identify threats and take steps to mitigate them.

8. Voxel - Voxel is a US-based B2B startup that has developed an AIpowered risk monitoring and analysis solution for commercial properties. It uses security camera feeds to identify potential hazards and high-risk activities in real-time and encourage safer behavior. 

7. Propeller - Propeller is a US-based insurtech that operates as a virtual agent or MGA focused on the surety bond market. Their platform automates the entire bond trading process, enabling instant underwriting and issuance of surety bonds directly to customers.

6. Elpha Secure - Elpha Secure is a US-based cyber insurance provider, focused on the SME market. Their comprehensive insurance offering comes with the added support of their cybersecurity software to assess, monitor and mitigate the risk of an attack. In the event that a business is affected, they also work with a panel of cyber incident providers to minimize its impact.

5. GloveBox - GloveBox simplifies insurance policy access for consumers by aggregating policy documents, regardless of carrier, in one centralized location. Consumers are also able to compare policies, pay bills, initiate claims and get updates on policy changes. This enables them to enhance customer experience for insurance clients. 

4. Founded in 2018, Roots Automation has created Digital Coworkers that leverage advanced AI to augment human staff in the insurance industry. Digital Coworkers are able to read, think and intuit like a human. They are domain experts, pre-trained to understand and interact with documents, applications and processes commonly found in insurance. 

3. Cover Whale - Cover Whale is a commercial trucking insurance startup for individual vehicles and small fleets. Their solution is powered by vehicle telematics and dash cameras to provide real-time analysis of driver behavior and proactive coaching. 

2. Instride Health - InStrde Health is a virtual pediatric behavioral health startup providing outpatient care for kids, teens and young adults living with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Their individualized treatment plans are managed by a coordinated care team, which can include both individual and family therapy, medication management, group therapy and on-demand coaching. 

1. Comp Science - CompScience's safety analytics platform aims to reduce the 2.6 million on-the-job injuries suffered by US workers each year, which cost more than $167 billion in compensation payouts. The company's flagship product is the Intelligent Safety Platform, which analyzes the security video to continuously identify risks, provide mitigating guidance and offer competitive workers' comp insurance. 

Read more here. 

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