XL Expands Technology Underwriting Staff in New York, Atlanta, Chicago

June 26, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

XL Group plc has expanded its technology underwriting capabilities in New York, Atlanta and Chicago, adding six underwriters to its U.S. cyberliability underwriting group and appointing a new vice president to its Select Professional group.

In New York, XL Group is adding Marcin Weryk and Maura Weikman as senior underwriters and Ryan Gibney as underwriter. Dawn Simmons, senior underwriter in XL’s London office, is also joining XL’s New York-based tech/cyberliability team. Simmons joined XL Group in 2010 to launch XL’s cyberliability products in Europe and has worked in both XL’s London and Paris offices.

To provide brokers more local access to its technology and cyberliability expertise, XL is setting up additional regional underwriting operations, adding Joel Fehrman as underwriter in XL’s Atlanta office, Vernon W. Suckerman as senior underwriter in Chicago. Steve Anderson is the senior underwriter for this business in XL’s Dallas office.

XL Group’s Select Professional group also appointed John Coletti as vice president. Coletti joins XL from CNA. Prior to CNA, he was at Gulf Insurance in New York. Coletti will be based in XL’s New York office and report to Don Allard, chief underwriting officer of XL Group’s Select Professional business.

 

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Ford, State Farm look to save drivers money on car insurance using telematics technology

Ford is looking to save its drivers money on car insurance using telematics.

The automaker revealed late last week that it has teamed up with US insurer State Farm Insurance to use its Ford SYNC connectivity, which links the car to the Internet via a mobile phone and will now send usage data to the insurer.

The technology is already used to provide hands-free calls and browsing from inside the vehicle, but it will be the largest scheme yet to integrate so called ‘connected cars’ with the insurance industry, beginning in Utah and rolling out across the US.

Once a driver is enrolled, SYNC will report their mileage electronically to the insurer, allowing the firm to automatically adjust premiums based on the actual distance driven.

Ford claims that savings could be as much as 40 percent, although drivers clocking up the national average of 1,000 miles (1,600 km) per month will typically save around 10 percent, it says.

It’s not the first time that electronics have been used to try to improve the car insurance business — some pilot schemes underway in the US and UK both use GPS devices to track the real-time location of cars and track mileage as part of ‘pay as you drive’ insurance schemes.

However, the entry of Ford into the market is likely to further spur its uptake by both automakers and insurers, which could lead to superb savings for customers.

Analysts predict that the 2 million customers using telematics-based insurance today could rise as high as 100 million by 2020.

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