According to Deloitte, 2022 is going to continue to be a strong year for M&A deals in the insurance industry as carriers look to expand and extend distribution, explore opportunities for investment growth and go after niche businesses. The firm also stated that the main motivator for these deals is expanding geographic reach and purchasing specialty insurance segments.
Here’s a round-up of April’s insurance industry-related M&As and partnerships:
Branch expands into six more states
Branch, an insurtech backed by American Family, will now be available in six more states, expanding their footprint across half the country. The carrier is a full-stack insurer offering bundled home and auto insurance and hopes to expand across 50 states by the end of the year. The startup is also working on partnerships with mortgage, home security and telematics companies as well.
GM and Honda partner to develop affordable electric vehicles
GM and Honda announced that they will be collaborating on developing a series of affordable electric vehicles and predict to produce one million lower-priced EVs by 2027. The vehicles are expected to be priced below $30,000, and both carmakers continue to work on next-generation battery development.
The Hartford partners with Earthwatch
The Hartford announced its partnership with Earthwatch, an international environmental organization, on a project documenting pollinators and how climate change is affecting them. Specifically, this pollinator program adds to a long-standing partnership between the insurer and its Asylum Hill community.
Hub International partners with Acturis
Hub International and SaaS company Acturis launched Digital Choice Platform, a multi-insurance carrier digital platform that provides Hub small business clients in Canada with real-time competitive and multiple commercial insurance quotes.
Nationwide debuts home insurance verification solution, partners with Razor Tracking
Nationwide is integrating its Insurance Verification Digital Product into Assurant’s HOIVerify solution to enable the two companies to verify insurance coverage and limits efficiently. The digital product is a collection of APIs that allow a verified user to first confirm whether a customer holds a Nationwide policy and enables insurance details to be verified instantly.
The leading carrier also announced plans to collaborate with Razor Tracking to offer advanced telematics and fleet management solutions at a discount to Nationwide agribusiness customers across the country.
Nationwide partners with NoCell
Nationwide is partnering with NoCell to give Nationwide’s commercial fleet customers access to NoCell’s distracted driving management platform and remove distraction risks while driving. Through this collaboration, commercial fleet managers can customize mobile device policies with their fleets and select which phone capabilities and apps are enabled or disabled while the vehicle is in motion.
Roamly launches travel insurance product
Roamly, the first embedded insurtech for travel enthusiasts with unique RV insurance offerings, is partnering with International Medical Group (IMG) to launch its Global Travel Insurance Product. This new product would provide customers with trip cancellation coverage if they become sick or hospitalized before the trip date. The product is currently available in the U.S. through Outdoorsy.
RV Share partners with DigiSure
RV rental marketplace RV Share announced its partnership with DigiSure, a preeminent program partner for mobility and shared economy businesses. This partnership would offer customers the most complete coverage in the RV insurance market with minimal friction and maximal claims process efficiency.
USAA laxes membership rules, upgrades mobile app
Under USAA’s new guidelines, veterans who left the military with a general discharge under honorable conditions (UHC) can now become USAA members. The UHC designation refers to military personnel whose service, while deemed satisfactory, was marred by a minor disciplinary action, or a failure to meet certain standards.
The leading carrier also announced an upgrade to its main mobile app with predictive text and machine language capabilities. USAA’s mobile app is one of the only apps in the financial service industry that provides an all-in-one, fully integrated consumer experience for banking and insurance.
