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Hello Friends! We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday and had time to spend with family, friends and other loved ones. It is definitely slowing down as we head into the final weeks of 2023. This week we are following Pie and Ford Motor partnering for commercial auto, 2022 hurricane season and other industry results and insurer restructuring: |
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Pie / Ford Partnership Insurtech Pie announced a partnership with Ford Motor to provide commercial auto insurance through Ford’s credit arm. Pie has been focused on worker’s comp but has been planning to launch other LOBs. This is a perfect opportunity to embed their digital product into a large auto ecosystem. Automakers are eagerly entering insurance. While some have tried to create insurance on their own, it makes sense to partner with an innovative insurer who can handle the customer experience, underwriting and policy servicing. The timing for this launch is good as rate hikes are pending in auto and other personal lines. |
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2022 Hurricane Season The industry is relieved to have hurricane season over. As 2022 comes to a close, there will be several look backs in the coming weeks. One of the big themes this year will certainly be that 2022 ended as the 3rd costliest on record, in large part due to Ian. 14 total storms, none occurring in August, a rarity. Ian alone will contribute over $110B of losses. This difficult season is contributing to rising reinsurance costs and insurer combined ratios rising. As we look ahead to 2023, rate hikes will continue and the industry will look to focus on profitability and stabilization rather than growth. |
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Divestitures and Restructuring Kemper was able to divest of an A&H unit making a deal to sell to Medical Mutual of Ohio. They have been going through tough times and have advised that they will be doing more of this to shore up their financials. There will likely be more assets available including healthy personal lines businesses. Hagerty, the classic auto agency and car lover community, announced a 6% reduction in workforce. It appears they are slimming down some of their underwriting and services staff as they prepare for their State Farm partnership to go live. Liberty Mutual is exploring the sale of their non-core European business. They may be looking to shift focus from economically challenged Europe to the US. |
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