Welcome to Future Insurer #17!
A lot has happened since the last edition of Future Insurer, Wimbledon has come and gone, Barbie has taken over the cinemas (who would have thought) and a US president has been indicted. The only constant is that there is still InsurTech news!
It’s sometimes hard to see the forest from the trees with so much InsurTech News. In this fortnightly newsletter, I’ll be picking out some of the most interesting #insurtech and #insurance developments from the past fortnight.
If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 Make sure to hit subscribe if you want to receive this each fortnight. Now onto this week’s top picks…
In this edition’s news:
🌐 Humans and robots to work side by side
AXA has turned on Generative AI for employees, enabling them to use a secure cloud hosted AI system (based on Microsoft’s OpenAI) for everyday tasks. AXA employees will be able to use AXA Secure GPT to generate, summarize, translate, and correct texts, images, and codes.
⛔ ACCC blocks Suncorp sale
The bancassurance operation at Suncorp is set to continue following the ACCC’s refusal to provide competition clearance for its sale of its banking operation to ANZ Bank. The ACCC is concerned that the sale would reduce competition in the supply of home loans and banking services if it went ahead.
📜 Meta level fines
The Federal Court has fined two subsidiaries of Facebook owner Meta in Australia a total of $20m for misleading and deceptive conduct. The Onavo VPN app was advertised as protecting user’s data but failed to properly inform users that an extensive variety of data was collected and used by Meta for commercial purposes. The fine, while significant, still pales in comparison to Google’s $60m fine last year for failing to let Android users know about the settings affecting the collection of location data.
📢 InsurTech funding slipped in Q2 but trend is still healthy
Following some strong performance over past quarters, Q2 2023 has proved to be an exception with InsurTech funding falling by 34% quarter on quarter, according to Gallagher Re’s latest Global InsurTech Report. Nonetheless, while there is some short term volatility, overall figures show a healthy InsurTech ecosystem. The successful InsurTechs are also more focused on delivering integrated insurance solutions rather than simply selling technology as a service.
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Tim Chan is an insurance & insurtech lawyer at global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright and Founder of The InsurTech Lawyer blog. He regularly advises insurers and startups on emerging legal issues affecting the industry. Follow Tim on Twitter: @timinsydney
Disclaimer: This newsletter provides general information only and does not constitute legal, financial or other professional advice. It does not address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. You should seek your own professional advice.
