Artificial intelligence innovation is an important focus for many companies in 2017. Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Company has taken a lead in the insurance market with its announcement to replace 34 workers in its payment assessment department with an IBM Watson artificial intelligence solution. The firm says the Watson system will improve productivity and save approximately 140 million yen ($1.21 million) per year. This is one of the first times we've seen a public announcement of how employees have been replaced as a direct result of artificial intelligence. Source
Japanese insurer Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co. has announced plans to replace 30% of its payment assessment department with an artificial intelligence system; the insurance company has partnered with IBM for use of IBM's Watson; the system will analyze and interpret medical documents for insurance payments; the company estimates it will save approximately 140 million yen ($1.19 million) per year by utilizing the new system; other insurance companies also exploring artificial intelligence for similar types of work include Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co., Japan Post Insurance Co. and Nippon Life Insurance Co. Source
The insurance industry is adopting innovative technologies for profitable and sustainable growth; 2017 could be a transformational year for the insurance industry; key trends in insurance technology for 2017 include: artificial intelligence, predictive analytics with machine learning, cloud-based infrastructure, customer experience, and data solutions centered around internet of things technology and big data. Source
Parasail Health has built a lending platform to support loans for healthcare expenses; firm has partnered with healthcare companies to provide alternative payment options for healthcare needs; Parasail currently has contracts with over 700 providers and has built integration capabilities for approximately 15 channel partners; offers loans and simplified payment processing for a range of healthcare expenses. Source
One, Inc. has announced the closing of a Series B funding round which raised $20 million for the firm; the Series B funding follows a Series A funding round in 2014 and brings total capital raised to $36.7 million; investors in the Series B funding round included AXA Strategic Ventures, MassMutual Ventures and H&Q Asia Pacific; over the past three years the company has tripled its annual revenue and quadrupled its number of customers; offers a full Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that provides for all the core functions an insurance company needs; provides solutions for both new market entrants and large insurance providers seeking new technology platforms; it plans to use the new capital to add products and business lines as well as for global expansion. Source
The Plug and Play Tech Center in Silicon Valley has created a program to connect 30 of the largest insurance companies with insurtech startups; these insurance companies are seeking insurtech innovation for improving user experience, risk assessment and underwriting, prevention of loss and cost reduction; additionally, large insurance companies are reporting that they seek access to a range of innovative solutions across all industries. Source
Bloomberg Intelligence provides insight on Asia's fintech market in 2017; in internet finance Alibaba and Tencent have a strong market position with high barriers to entry set for the growing market; blockchain is expected to remain at the forefront of fintech development with use in online money transfers, electronic payments, banking and internet finance; insurtech will also be important with technology focused on sales distribution, product development and client engagement; data tracking, artificial intelligence and internet of things technology are also expected to be factors for insurtech. Source
Insurtech firm Lemonade is expanding to 46 new states and the District of Columbia; launch in Washington, Wyoming and Mississippi will be delayed because of statutory wait times; firm will continue to focus on its main product which includes insurance for homeowners and renters. Source
Business Insider Intelligence has released a report covering all aspects of the fintech market; says annual financing globally for fintech reached $15 billion in August which is likely to surpass the total of $19 billion financed in 2015; Chinese fintech investments and insurtech have been catalysts for growth in 2016; robo advisors and blockchain are also two of the market's rapidly growing, emerging technologies. Source
Insurtech company, Hippo, has raised $14 million in a Series A funding round led by Horizons Ventures; firm provides online home insurance offerings at a more affordable market price due to its online business model and direct to consumer offerings; says its policies are customized to meet the needs of modern lifestyles; plans to use the funding for product development and marketing for its launch to customers in California in 2017. Source