Lloyd’s launched a parametric earthquake insurance policy in New Zealand. Amwins Specialty Logistics Underwriters is expanding into the Canadian market to serve Canada’s growing logistics industry. Kin Insurance said it is now offering homeowners policies in Louisiana.

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Lloyd’s launched a parametric earthquake insurance policy in New Zealand, in partnership with start-up Bounce Insurance.

Bounce bills its business plan as using cutting-edge technology and real-time data to automatically pay customers within five days of a strong earthquake.

The new product, also called Bounce, is designed to provide New Zealanders with affordable earthquake insurance and fast claims payments, to support customers’ needs following an earthquake and quickly cover immediate expenses incurred. It does this by tracking Peak Ground Velocity (PGV), which triggers payment at levels of 20 centimeters per second and above.

Multiple parties developed the Bounce product, including company founder, Paul Barton, in partnership with Lloyd’s, Guy Carpenter, Marsh and Jumpstart Insurance, an Oakland, Calif.-based surplus lines insurance broker.

Bounce does not replace conventional earthquake insurance that covers significant losses. It works alongside conventional products to offer accessible earthquake insurance, with low monthly premiums, providing customers and their communities with financial resilience in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake. Bounce provides immediate cash flow to cover a wide range of miscellaneous expenses to kickstart financial recovery.

The product uses data from GeoNet / GNS Science, the New Zealand government agency responsible for measuring earthquakes, to objectively identify areas where customers have experienced a strong earthquake. Lloyd’s said this removes any potential conflicts of interest and provides transparency to customers on the data used and reliability of the product. Payment eligibility is based on shaking intensity (the parametric trigger). If the customers’ location is subject to shaking with a PGV of at least 20 centimeters per second, they would qualify as being eligible to receive payment within five days.

Claim payments are based on the strength of any earthquake, with payments based on “steps,” which means that the stronger the earthquake the more of the cover is paid out.

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Amwins Specialty Logistics Underwriters (part of broker Amwins Group) is expanding into the Canadian market to serve Canada’s growing logistics industry.

ASLU launched in 2018. It is s a managing general agency specializing in the complex risk factors of the logistics and cargo industry.

ASLU said its expansion into Canada will give retailers an efficient option for securing coverage. With claims agents set up for each province, clients well get high-quality support and service, plus tailor-made coverage products and services to protect their assets and avoid costly supply-chain disruptions.

ASLU clients can expect same-day proposals for options including shipper’s interest ocean cargo, warehouse storage (goods of others) and carrier’s legal liability.

Amwins is the largest independent wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products in the United States.

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Kin Insurance said it is now offering homeowners policies in Louisiana. Kin is a Chicago-based home insurance InsurTech focused on catastrophe prone regions, initially in Florida.

Kin claims to be the only InsurTech company to offer homeowners insurance in both Florida and California and said has earned national recognition for delivering affordable options to homeowners in these underserved states.

Kin’s coverage relies on data models that provide over 10,000 property data points to find coverage accurately priced for each home. It sells the cover through the Kin Insurance Network Distributor, or KIND – its agency and licensed surplus lines producer.

The Louisiana homeowners policy can cover options including: the dwelling, including walls, foundation, roof, floors, electric, and plumbing; belongings, such as clothing, furniture, electronics, appliances; Loss of use coverage for additional living expenses during a covered claim; personal liability coverage for third-party property damage or bodily harm.

Sources: Lloyd’s, Amwins, Kin Insurance