There is PLENTY of impressive tech out there.
This is off the charts.
I’ve been writing SøNws for years. And for years I’ve been wanting to turn it into a podcast, talking through the key stories of the week.
Whilst this wasn’t quite the thinking, it’s mind-blowingly good.
I’ve taken last week’s newsletter, run it through Google’s Notebook LM and hosted it on Spotify. Have a listen. It’s seriously impressive.
And if audio is your preference, I’ll be doing the same for this one.
You’ll find it here.
Right, let’s get into some insurance innovation chat. Oh yeah. A shorter one than last time. I promise.
Health, life and San Francisco
Next week I’m joining a whole heap of global health insurers in San Francisco as part of iFHP’s CX Innovation Study Tour. Should be a good one.
If you’re in San Francisco next week and fancy a coffee/beer, drop me a line.
Either way it makes sense to stick with the theme and kick things off with some health related news.
First up, Zing Health has closed a $140m round to enhance its special needs plans.
Zing Health was founded in 2019, born out of the American Medical Association‘s Health 2047 innovation lab. Since 2023, it has become one of the fastest growing Medicare Advantage plans in the US.
Heading East and Israel’s Air Doctor has raised a $20m Series B.
I’ve covered these guys a fair bit in the past – they connect travellers with local doctors through a mobile (and web) platform, offering medical assistance in 84 countries.
And one step further still, Jakarta-based Rey has secured an additional $3.5m to expand its AI-powered health insurance platform. Still early days for Rey and it plans to use the funding to enhance its AI tools for claims processing and underwriting.
On the partnership side, its good to see INSTANDA has integrated its life insurance platform with Swiss Re‘s automated underwriting platform, Magnum.
Travel. And a little cyber.
For those heading to ITC Vegas, across Death Valley, in their converted Dodge Vans, I’ve a couple of great travel-related items this week.
Tokio Marine HCC has partnered with Tredder to offer a specialised insurance program for vehicle-based adventurists. I’m loving this one.
The coverage focuses on extensive vehicle modifications, campers, trailers, and personal effects, catering to the growing “overlanding” community.
The offering will cover risks such as cybercrime and data breaches while abroad.
Last up is pure cyber.
German-based Enginsight has raised €6m to expand internationally. These guys provide an all-in-one cybersecurity platform specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Sønr + ITC Vegas
The Sønr team is off to ITC Vegas next week to meet up with clients, run some panels, and maybe sneak in a cheeky group Hyrox session or two.
Particularly exciting is Kick Off Day, where we’ll be spending time with our much-loved clients at Travelers, running a number of concurrent workshops designed to validate new and rather brilliant opportunities to advance their claims functions.
We’ve also been supporting our long-term friends at Tokio Marine, this time with Tokio Marine Day.
There will be a combo of panels and also reverse pitches on their key challenges, so if you’re interested and/or want to understand if you’ve got a solution they could use then register today. It was RAMMED last year.
And then we have the main event.
I hear some people are coming for Captain Scott Kelly, the first American to spend a year in orbit aboard the International Space Station. I imagine, most however, will be coming to see Matt Ferguson and Emily Peters in action.
Emily is up at 3.45pm on the same day talking Ethical Analytics: Guiding Principles for Responsible Innovation in Insurance Data.
She’s joined by some great speakers – Gaia Bellone, Chief Data Officer – Prudential Financial, Debbie Brackeen, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer – CSAA Insurance, and Swatee Singh, Chief Data & AI Officer – TIAA.
If you’re heading over and would like to grab some time, do connect either in the app or drop me an email.
Another from Israel, GEOX – a platform which analyses real estate risk from climate-related disasters, has raised a $19m Series A.
I’ve always liked this tech. 3D analysis of aerial imagery which enables automated and highly accurate assessments of real estate properties. Smart. Already used by Munich Re and Sompo, it’ll be good to see how quickly they can scale the business.
DeepOpinion an Austrian startup, raised an €11m Series A.
These guys have built a platform that automates complex tasks using AI agents, drastically reducing claims processing time from weeks to 90 seconds. Nice.
The funding will support global expansion and further development of its technology, which integrates with over 200 enterprise software tools to efficiently handle unstructured data. Notable clients include Allianz and Hannover Re.
And finally, from AI agents to deepfakes.
Seattle startup Loti has raised $5.1m to build out its tech platform. It’s a particularly interesting business as it helps public figures scour the internet for fake social media accounts, fake endorsements, or deepfakes that misuse their likeness. Interesting huh.
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At its core, the paper focuses on responsible insurance – examining how insurers can manage environmental, social, and financial concerns to build a more resilient and ethically sound future. The discussions capture how leading insurers, insurtechs, and investors are thinking about these challenges, and the pivotal role that technology and culture play in addressing them.
Download the full report today to explore how your company can adapt and thrive by embedding responsibility into your business model.
Yuri, Zego and Tuio
What else, what else?
Delivery rider insurer Zego has cut 100+ jobs and exited the B2B market. Not too surprising if you’re tracking these guys I guess.
It looks at the role embedded insurance plays in digital platforms and marketplaces, addressing risks such as underinsurance, cybersecurity threats, and regulatory compliance.
And with an estimated $320bn annual underinsurance gap in the digital economy, it highlights the opportunity for insurers to offer tailored solutions to support platform expansion and risk mitigation. All the good stuff.
And finally, in Madrid, MGA Tuio raised €15m to double down on digital, introduce new insurance products, and explore new markets.
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Right, that’s it. I am done.
Have a great week. Let me know if you’ll be in San Francisco. Or at ITC Vegas. Or in fact, I’ll be in Paris w/c 21st October if you’re about there/then too.
Next stop for me is Notebook LM to see what it makes of a shorter SøNws!
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