Business News: Mutual Re, StrategicClaim, Think Geohazards

June 26, 2018

Mutual Reinsurance Bureau Announces Name Change to Mutual Re

Mutual Reinsurance Bureau, a joint reinsurance association, has announced a name change to Mutual Re. While the official name will remain the same for legal documents such as Interests & Liabilities, the new moniker is part of a branding change which is introducing a new logo, and the shortened name for marketing purposes.

The association’s upcoming 100-year anniversary in 2021 was the impetus for the change, said John Meyers, president and CEO.

Mutual Re, based in Cherry Valley, Ill.,reinsures several diverse insurance companies across the United States and delivers unquestioned security to their clients. Mutual Re is proud of its distinct heritage. The assuming companies Mutual Re represents include Church Mutual Insurance Company, Employers Mutual Casualty Company, Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Michigan, and Motorists Insurance Group. The five assuming companies jointly provide over $6 billion of policyholder surplus.

StrategicClaim Acquires Harmon Solutions Group to Form Combined Company

StrategicClaim, an industry provider of first notice & resolution services and software to property/casualty insurance companies across the U.S., announced the acquisition and integration of Harmon Solutions Group (HSG).

HSG provides high quality auto glass claim management and first notice of loss solutions to national and regional P&C insurance carriers.

The combination strengthens StrategicClaim’s market leadership in auto glass claims management and supports its strategy to extend the scale and range of solutions it provides to the P/C insurance industry. As part of the transaction, StrategicClaim will partner with HSG sister company CodeBlue to add property management claim resolution services. CodeBlue will remain an independent company under the continued leadership of Paul Gross and Dan Wilson, providing property claims management services, including water damage and reconstruction and other content and property services.

StrategicClaim will acquire HSG’s Eau Claire claim operations center and its staff and infrastructure as part of the transaction. Current HSG employees will join StrategicClaim to provide insurance carrier clients with the same outstanding service and support they received prior to the acquisition.

Think Geohazards, Inc. Launches Floor Structural Elevation Solution

Think Geohazards Inc., an insurtech company, has released a new Portfolio Advisory Services product, tailored especially for insurance providers and local, state and federal government agencies to calculate the first floor structural elevation of a building.

Shortly after Hurricane Harvey hit landfall in the United States during late August 2017, Think Geohazards formally launched www.TrueFloodRisk.com, a consumer flood informational website encouraging users to register for a free, one-time search query available for most U.S. and international roadways with property address and building structures visible from the Google Maps-Street View API.

The artificial intelligence (AI) application, called the True Flood Risk Estimator, integrates into a Google Maps Street View API development platform to generate the expected first floor elevation of a property and the corresponding NFIP flood insurance premium rate at its respective height. The algorithm overlays historical flood event data to allow for more precise risk assessment without a physical site visit or elevation certificate (EC) documenting a building’s structural elevation. The True Flood Risk model also incorporates flood zone extensions and property characteristics where users can select a number of options such as existence of a basement, number of floors, deductible amounts/contents covered for a more precise estimated quote. Users are encouraged to contact to their insurance agent for more information.

With the success and momentum from its free consumer audience campaign, an enhanced enterprise business intelligence solution ideal for private and write-your-own (WYO) flood insurance carriers and government agencies has been introduced. The Portfolio Advisory Services line is a customized solution for larger volume portfolios where on behalf of its clients, True Flood Risk reviews their existing portfolio and prospective customers to target providing location specific information on homeowner and commercial policy structural elevation data. When applied to a client’s current portfolio, it provides a unique value proposition to improve risk-based premium estimations by providing specific structural elevation data, including both first floor elevations and differences to base floor elevation (BFE). The Portfolio Advisory Service report includes a range of customized deliverables including assessment reports and recommendations for cross-selling flood insurance coverage, prioritizing prospective properties within defined area.

By collecting first floor elevation for a specific property, more accurate vulnerability curves can be modeled by insurance carriers, which in turn provide more precise loss estimation. Simulated loss estimations for a given portfolio can then be validated or benchmarked against experienced losses, for example, claims. Vulnerability models can also be improved and ultimately guide portfolio steering and alternative pricing strategies that aim at affordability. The output of the True Flood Risk estimator provides more accurate risk based premium estimates important information to existing computer simulation models and to ultimately estimate paid premiums under baseline versus a proposed alternative policy option.

For more information please contact sales@TrueFloodRisk.com.

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