Munich Re on biz model shifts. Connected car overcrowding. B3i expands. This week in insurance tech.
A different future
Hi there,
As the reinsurance industry continues to face a soft market, we’ve highlighted the rolemajor reinsurers are now playing in helping to spur innovation in the insurance industry.
That role was reiterated this week on a press call with Munich Re CFO Jörg Schneider, who suggested that the reinsurance giant was preparing for a different future and paving the way for business model changes as profits drop. As Schneider said,
“I am convinced that through innovation and digitization trends we will see many types of remuneration, which will not result in higher premiums, but which have great profitability potential.”
Zenefits restructures
This week, Zenefits named Jay Fulcher, the former CEO of Ooyala and Agile Software, as successor to David Sacks as CEO. The cloud HR software provider also named former PeopleFluent CEO Jeff Carr as Chief Revenue Officer.
An internal memo today also showed that Zenefits would cut 430 employees, primarily from its San Francisco and Arizona offices, its third round of layoffs. Here’s a look at how Zenefits hiring data has trended over time.
Hot & crowded
This week, AmFam announced a partnership with connected car startup Automatic. The move came a day before competitor Zubie tapped a new CEO as it looks to double down on car dealers and automakers.
It’s no surprise that the connected car device market has become very crowded. Telecom companies including Verizon and T-Mobile have launched solutions going after the same data, while automakers like Ford have also launched accessories.
Beyond the connected car space, hype around the broader mobility themes of automation, connectivity, electrification, and sharing drew over $1B in investment to startups working in auto technology for the first time in 2016.
B3i expands
Blockchain consortium B3i expanded to 15 (re)insurers including Generali, RGA, and Swiss Re to explore potential distributed ledger solutions in the insurance industry. While the number of blockchain consortia has spiked over time, there were still no financial institutions actually using private blockchains in 2016.
