As Hurricane Harvey devastates Houston and other parts of Texas and Louisiana, while Typhoon Hato whales on Macau and Hong Kong, we don't have to even look past the banner headlines to see the crucial role that insurance plays in protecting society—and to see the huge opportunities in front of us if we can do even better.
In that spirit, I offer this month's Six Innovators to Watch. Only one, HazardHub, directly addresses the sorts of catastrophes in the news this week, but all show great promise. I hope you find them intriguing.
AppBus
AppBus integrates all the enterprise applications an insurer might use in a single environment, making it easier for employees to securely access the information tools they need while avoiding duplicate data entry. AppBus can combine standard business applications like CRM software with tools being created by insurtech innovators. AppBus augments those services with a library of key content and information to make users more productive. Users can create role-based interfaces to provide the specific tools that individuals need, especially when in the field. Learn more about AppBus at: https://www.itlinnovatorsedge.com/companies/appbus
Aquaai
Aquaai has developed an autonomous marine robot that looks and swims like a fish and can be used to gather marine data in an eco-friendly and efficient manner. The drone is equipped with interchangeable sensors that can be used to gather an array of data, such as water health, temperature and oxygen levels. While the first market application is aquaculture industry, the platform is applicable to multiple uses, from pollution cleanup to disaster recovery, port security and marine monitoring. Learn more about Aquaai at: https://www.itlinnovatorsedge.com/companies/aquaai
Carpe Data
Carpe Data provides predictive scoring and data products to insurers, drawing on both traditional and alternative sources of data to give insurers new insights to customers and risk. Carpe Data serves both the property/casualty and life insurance market by leveraging the social web, online content, wearables, connected devices and other forms of next-generation data. The company places a particular emphasis on consumer privacy while serving the information needs of insurers. Learn more about Carpe Data at https://www.itlinnovatorsedge.com/companies/carpe-data
HazardHub
HazardHub offers a robust array of property-level hazard databases for both natural and man-made hazards, creating a powerful tool for both educating consumers about their own property exposures and delivering better data to underwriters. The company’s goal is to make it more cost-effective for insurers to use hazard data in their decision-making processes, from underwriting to claims analysis to predictive modeling. Learn more about HazardHub at https://www.itlinnovatorsedge.com/companies/hazardhub-inc
MyHealthConnection
MyHealthConnection.tv provides a white-labeled, fast, secure and affordable virtual healthcare platform for mobile or desktop computers. Users can quickly initiate live video consultations with physicians, specialists, healthcare experts and various resources from their homes or while on the go, enabling patient interactions beyond a clinic’s walls that can drive down costs and improve efficiency and patient satisfaction. The platform also can deliver medical training and education resources and enable peer-to-peer consultations and remote patient visits in a highly secure, HIPAA-compliant system. Learn more about MyHealthConnection.tv at https://www.itlinnovatorsedge.com/companies/my-health-connection
Rejjee
Rejjee is designed to serve customers who have product losses that fall at or below their insurance deductibles, while also capturing data on these “hidden” losses that are occurring but not resulting in claims—often due to a policyholder’s fear that a claim would drive up premiums, with little financial recovery. Rejjee provides users with discount replacement offers on their lost valuables, connecting them with a network of retailers that offer discounts on replacement, resulting in a faster recovery and helping users find a more affordable replacement when insurance isn’t tapped for a loss. Rejjee is working with several insurers that are testing its solution as a new way to serve and engage with their customers, win loyalty and avoid the potential churn that could accompany unmet financial needs. Learn more about Rejjee at: https://www.itlinnovatorsedge.com/companies/rejjee
The Innovators to Watch honorees are drawn from among the thousands of insurtech companies that are featured in Innovator’s Edge, a technology platform created by ITL to drive strategic connections between insurance providers and insurtech innovators. From this growing pool, only those companies that have completed their Market Maturity Review—a series of modules designed to help insurers conduct baseline due diligence on the innovator and make a more informed connection—are eligible to be considered for Innovators to Watch, helping them to stand out in this crowded diverse field.
For information on previous honorees, click here: July, June, May, April and March.
Cheers,
Paul Carroll,
Editor-in-Chief