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"In a recent conversation, one of our shareholders told me he likes to think of any company's technology as its "brain and nervous system." He contended that, without a healthy brain or nervous system, a company cannot know where it's been, where it is, or where it might be going. It can't quickly and effectively sense the world around it.
He's right.
While technology will never provide a company with its soul or heartbeat, it can certainly enhance a company's senses. We know that we need to improve our technology and systems—which will, in turn, increase speed and lower expenses. While we have made strides in the last two years, we know more needs to be done."
– Thomas Gayner, CEO of Markel Group.
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Exiting life |
Texas-based insurance company American National will stop writing new life insurance policies. An American National spokesperson provided the following statement:
"American National has made the strategic decision to stop writing new life insurance business and will continue to focus on growing our Annuity, Pension Risk Transfer (PRT) and Property & Casualty lines. We have strong confidence in these businesses and expect them to be a big part of our long-term success. We remain committed to serving our current life insurance policyholders and will continue to service all in-force policies without interruption."
In 2021, Brookfield Asset Management Reinsurance announced a $5.1 billion deal to acquire the carrier that was established in 1905. Founded in 2020, BAM Re, through its operating subsidiaries North End Re and Brookfield Annuity, provides annuity-based reinsurance products to insurance and reinsurance companies and acts as a direct issuer of pension risk transfer products for pension plan sponsors.
Last year, American National exited the home insurance market. Aside from annuities, the carrier offers additional products such as auto, renters, and business insurance.
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Kin + auto |
Home insurance startup Kin Insurance has filed new personal auto insurance programs in Florida and Texas.
Earlier this month we reported that Kin is getting into the mortgage space with the hiring of a mortgage loan officer. In April of last year we reported that Kin acquired an insurance agency from Porch Group for ~$12 million. Kin has been looking to grow its agency division that offers products from other carriers.
Founded in 2016, Kin has mainly focused on home insurance through the two reciprocals it manages – Kin Interinsurance Network and Kin Interinsurance Nexus Exchange.
Kin has publicly disclosed $458 million in funding across equity and debt. The startup planned to go public via a SPAC merger but it was called off in 2022 due to "unfavorable market conditions" at the time.
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Insurtech acquisition |
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Guidewire is planning to acquire Quantee, a Poland-based insurtech specializing in dynamic pricing software for insurers. The acquisition supports Guidewire's strategy to modernize underwriting and pricing capabilities across its cloud platform.
Founded in 2016, Quantee—a team of ~29—raised $1.92 million and counts ERGO, Zurich, Cuvva, and Agria Pet Insurance as clients.
Quantee's technology will be integrated into Guidewire's pricing and rating tools, allowing insurers to move beyond static pricing models and adopt more flexible, data-driven approaches.
The deal, which comes as no surprise, is part of Guidewire's broader effort to expand its platform capabilities in actuarial science, AI, and automation.
Bottom Line I: This time last year (March 2024), there were no insurtech exits. So far this month:
Bottom Line II: Earnix and Akur8 are now competing with Guidewire.
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$50k |
State Farm customers can now apply for U.S. Bank personal loans for up to $50,000 working directly with their agent. The new offering joins the existing suite of U.S. Bank products accessible through State Farm agents that includes deposits, co-branded credit cards and a full suite of business banking products and services.
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🤝 |
Nayya announced that it is working with Mercer to introduce its Nayya Claims service to a set of Mercer's voluntary benefit clients in the US.
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💰 |
Arlo Health, a provider of level-funded health plans for small and mid-sized businesses, has raised a $4 million seed round led by Upfront Ventures, with participation from 8VC and General Catalyst.
In its first year, Arlo wrote mid-eight figures in premium and partnered with reinsurers, including Nationwide.
Arlo targets businesses with 10 to 150 employees, offering health plans built around value-based care, cost transparency, and AI-enabled underwriting. The company's model aims to support preventive care and improve long-term health outcomes, while giving small employers more control over pricing and plan design—an advantage typically reserved for large employers.
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Friends |
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Xceedance has made an investment in Friendly, an AI company focused on underwriting, claims, and risk assessment in the life and health space.
Friendly's platform turns medical and third-party data into structured insights for underwriters across life, disability, long-term care, critical illness, casualty, and reinsurance lines.
Founded in 2019, Friendly has raised $1.2 million to date and has a team of 39 employees.
The two companies plan to collaborate on additional initiatives to expand Friendly's platform and bring AI-powered tools to more reinsurers and primary carriers.
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Driving ahead |
Autonomous driving technology company Waymo will launch its ride-hailing service in D.C. in 2026. Today, Waymo provides more than 200,000 fully autonomous paid trips each week in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin. The company plans to launch the service in Atlanta and Miami later this year.
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