Insurance industry not ready for driverless cars
While the auto manufacturers are keen to roll out driverless vehicles swiftly it seems the insurance industry isn’t ready and believes that the proliferation of the vehicles will be slow. A report by KPMG surveyed senior executives from some of the largest insurers in the US, with a combined auto premium book of $85 billion. It found that most were skeptical; 84 per cent don’t expect autonomous vehicles to have a significant impact on their business until 2025, while 42 per cent expect a significant impact in six to 10 years. Nearly three quarters of insurers feel they are unprepared for autonomous vehicles today and more than half believe that regulators will impede the adoption of the vehicles.
KPMG’s Jerry Albright commented: “Technology is making cars safer, impacting underwriting practices, claim frequency and severity as well as auto premiums. To remain relevant in the future, insurers must evaluate their exposure and make necessary adjustments to their business models, corporate strategy, and operations.”
Just 29 per cent of the insurance executives consider themselves very knowledgeable about driverless cars and only 10 per cent have a strategic plan to deal with the impact.
Canadian government websites hacked
A cyberattack knocked out a range of Canadian government websites Wednesday with the group calling itself Anonymous claiming responsibility. It said it took the action in response to Canada’s anti-terrorism laws which it says breach human rights and target the government’s opponents. The main Canada.ca site was taken down along with those of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
Fitch says M&A in insurance may escalate
Fitch Ratings says that mergers and acquisitions in the insurance industry may be accelerated by deals such as recently reported merger activity surrounding UnitedHealth, Aetna, Cigna and Humana. The agency says that if any of the mega deals are completed it will push other firms to merge in order to stay competitive. Fitch also believes that firms will diversify product lines and notes that rising interest rates may prompt firms to combine now while borrowing costs are lower.
Is hearing loss the new whiplash?
The Association of British Insurers says that personal injury lawyers are giving “false hope” to thousands of potential claimants for hearing problems. Calling noise-induced hearing loss “the new whiplash” the ABI says that claims for industrial deafness have escalated in recent years. It says that although 200,000 UK claims have been made since 2012 only a fifth have been paid as the evidence presented has been of poor quality and has not proven a link between the deafness and the claimants’ workplace.
