Matteo Carbone

Desperate for growth, Lemonade produces another howler: A lender receiving a 16% interest rate is presented as a (synthetic) agent.

The recent $4.5 billion valuation of Wefox makes no sense. It shows that investors haven't yet learned the lessons of Lemonade, Hippo and Root.

But you first have to give up on "insurance ignorance" -- the idea that the best way to disrupt the industry is to start by knowing nothing.

Root has backed away from its plans for telematics -- and suffered mightily -- while Progressive shows how much benefit there can be, when done right. 

Let's take a look at the current state of insurtech to see why you should focus your innovation efforts on the basics of the insurance business.

Telematics can provide strategic value and returns on many levels in the insurance business. Here are six questions to ask to see if you can benefit.

The latest results still show major problems, but they have some digital assets that could be of great help to an incumbent insurer, and for a modest price. 

For every dollar of premium sold, the company pays $1.60. Still! And the churn rate for customers appears to be at least 30% to 40%.

As InsureTech Connect showed, the embedded topic is cool among investors, and every funder is adding it to the pitch deck.

We are still waiting for a clear sign that one of the big three -- Lemonade, Hippo and Root -- can survive in the middle term.

WeFox raised money at a valuation of $4.5 billion. My first reaction is the same one I had when Root raised funds at a valuation of $3.65 billion: This makes no sense. 

I hope the next wave of insurtech players will have more robust insurance fundamentals and will not pretend that insurance ignorance is a competitive advantage.

Many incumbents are doubting their insurtech efforts, but the recent drop in stock-market valuations is not about insurtech, it is about tech.

Telematics is becoming a necessary capability for dealing with the future of insurance, especially in auto, and capabilities will only grow from here. 

One insurtech has tried, but Hippo has burned through $628 million in cash and is spending more than $1.50 for every dollar of premium it is generating. 

With all the complex challenges and opportunities facing the industry, there is real benefit to meeting face to face.

Only if it's used right. Root is having problems, but Discovery Insure shows how telematics can make a profound difference. 

For each dollar of premium, claims cost Lemonade 90 cents, marketing cost it 60 cents and other costs added 40 cents. Feel a little betrayed?

As part of this month’s ITL Focus on smart homes, we spoke with Matteo Carbone, the founder and director of the IoT Insurance Observatory, about how far the technology and adoption have progressed and where the market goes from here.

Mobile-based data collection has vastly increased the reach of telematics programs by simplifying the sign-up.

IoT provides the means for evolution from pure risk transfer to a "prescribe and prevent" scenario.

Several early adopters of the IoT have already concretely demonstrated the potential of using this technology in the insurance sector.

Insurers can build a sort of digital twin of the customer, then tailor their offerings and improve the customer experience.

Let’s be frank. Of Lemonade, Root and Metromile, only the latest figures from Root show the trajectory expected for a startup in growth phase.

The right IoT approach will generate knowledge about clients and their risks, which will lead to opportunities for cross-selling and up-selling.|

Current business models are not yet showing any clear competitive advantages for the three full-stack insurtechs.

Cutting-edge insurers are succeeding by selling products that bundle insurance coverage with services that draw on the Internet of Things.

Quarterly growth for Lemonade, Metromile and Root was the slowest ever, but all three paid out in claims less than they collected in premium.

The State Farm chatbot ad has been criticized, but it is great to finally see a large insurer that is proud of its agents.

There was improvement at insurtechs in the third quarter, but not enough to prove viable business models.

Insurance IoT will dissolve traditional industry boundaries and replace them with a set of distinctive and massive ecosystems.

Usage-based pricing is a fascinating topic for insurers, with great potential. The potential, however, is not yet the reality.

Some of the best concepts, opportunities and solutions find the exit sign faster than they find traction within firms.

Growth at Lemonade, Root and Metromile may be slowing. Is the reason issues with customer acquisition or a focus on underwriting profitability?

A detailed look at Lemonade, Root and Metromile shows both the promise and the short-term challenges for insurtech startups.

Lemonade's, Metromile's and Root's 2017 financials will disappoint futurists, disruption evangelists and black swan hunters.

A look back at predictions from 2017, plus some thoughts on whether Amazon will disrupt insurance. (Short answer: It won't.)

The essence of insurance hasn't changed since its origin in 1347, but technology provides “superpowers” to do the same things much better.

The telematics portfolio has shown on average 20% lower claims frequency on a risk-adjusted basis than the non-telematics portfolio.

Insurtech adoption will make the insurance sector stronger, better able to protect the way people’s lives and organizations work.

Auto telematics represents the most mature insurtech use case, as it has already passed the test and experimentation phase.

The author believes so strongly in connected insurance that he gave up his senior consulting job, made an investment and launched a business.

Analysis by the Connected Insurance Observatory, a think tank, shows how the new paradigm is creating opportunities.

Every insurance sector player ought to ask: How should the value chain be reshaped by using the new technologies at hand?

As of today, 22% of Italian households that have no home insurance are inclined to buy it—if it were connected insurance.

Anyone considering investing in InsurTech needs to consider profitability, proximity, persistence and productivity.

By looking at the Italian best practices in telematics for cars, one can identify two critical success factors for other innovators.

All players within the insurance sector will have to transform into InsurTech companies in the coming years.

The way to analyze the InsurTech phenomenon is via a cross-section view of the customer journey and the insurance value chain.

Italian firms have set up a telematics "observatory" to promote innovation on home, health and industrial risk, as well as cars.

While the discussion on connected cars has focused on pricing risk more accurately, telematics can also transform how claims are handled.

Insurers in Italy, where UBI has gone mainstream, offer three types of services that enhance auto policies and improve customer satisfaction.

Telematics is moving rapidly toward PHYD (pay how you drive) and is starting to incorporate a wide range of variables.

Telematics is becoming one of the most important innovations in auto insurance -- but only if you pull all five levers that can provide value.

Numerous Fintech newcomers, building on the telematics model for autos, are taking dead aim at the health and home insurance markets.