Claims Business: CMT, State Farm and Davies

CMT Releases Updated DriveWell Platform

Cambridge Mobile Telematics, a Massachusetts company that pioneered the use of telematics in usage-based automobile insurance, has launched an updated product that reports crashes to insurers within seconds.

CMT said DriveWell Crash & Claims allows insurers to help customers with emergency and tow services immediately after a crash. This reduces costs by enabling carriers to use in-network collision repair shops.

Progressive Insurance has already been using telematics data to expedite the claims process for customers enrolled in its Snapshot program, CMT said in a press release.

“The paradigm shift with DriveWell Crash & Claims is that we’re now able to detect crashes and understand critical information about the crash within seconds,” stated Cornelius Young, vice president of product for CMT. “This information took many hours or even days to reach insurers in the past.”

DriveWell Crash & Claims also can detect total loss, injuries and fraudulent claims, the company said.

CMT said more than 2.1 million drivers use is DriveWell platform since it was released in 2016. It has been adopted by 18 organizations worldwide, the company said.

State Farm Buys Stake in ADT

State Farm and ADT, a smart home provider, announced that State Farm will make a $1.2 billion equity investment in ADT, a move that will give the nation’s largest insurer a 15% ownership stake in ADT.

“This partnership gives State Farm the opportunity to provide smart home technology that takes us from our ‘repair and replace’ model to a ‘predict and prevent’ mindset,” Chief Operating Officer Paul Smith said in a statement.

State Farm has also committed to invest up to $300 million in an opportunity fund to support product innovation, technology and marketing that seeks to differentiate and improve the customer experience for homeowners.

“These innovations will help us take the next step into the future of home insurance and add more value for our customers,” Smith said.

Google has separately agreed to commit an incremental $150 million, subject to the achievement of certain milestones, to advance opportunities created by this type of innovation, according to ADT’s announcement.

After the equity investment and tender offer close, State Farm will own approximately 15 percent of ADT, and Google will continue to own a 6 percent stake.

Davies Acquires Johns Eastern

Davies, a London-based claims administration business, has acquired Johns Eastern, a third-party administrator and independent adjusting firm headquartered in Sarasota, Florida.

Johns Eastern President and Chief Executive Officer Don Lederer will continue to lead the business and take on additional responsibilities as CEO of Davies’ TPA operations in the United States, the company said in a press release. He will report to Matt Button, CEO of Davies US.

Davies has been steadily expanding is presence in the US market over the past two years. The company said it has also increased its annual investment technology more than four-fold, supporting development of the digital claims experience including a fully automated low-value property claims solution and Electronic First Notification of Loss technology to help insurers tackle increased frequency and severity of catastrophic weather events.

The company employs 6,000, with offices in Bermuda, Canada, India, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and United States.