Aurora engages with WTW to transform commercial insurance for SME market in tough trading conditions
WTW (Willis Towers Watson, NASDAQ: WTW) has announced a new engagement with Aurora, a UK specialist commercial insurance provider for the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market. The combination of WTW’s Radar Live and Aurora’s digital insurance platform will help to deliver real time commercial quotations, both directly to SME businesses and through intermediaries via an omni-channel distribution mechanism.
Launched in 2021, Aurora is a customer-centric digital platform specialising in delivering insurance products tailored specifically to meet the needs of the SME market. Exacerbated by the global pandemic, SMEs continue to experience tough trading conditons and rising commercial insurance prices. So finding a ‘best fit, best value’ insurance programme that does not leave them exposed to under-insurance is crucial.
Tim Rourke, UK Head of P&C Pricing, Product, Claims and Underwriting, WTW, said: “The complexity of small commercial insurance means that data and analytics play a critical role to improve efficiency, as well as pricing, underwriting and product relevance. This makes Aurora’s vision to redefine the small commercial market compelling and it is exciting that Radar has been chosen to support their algorithmic underwriting ambitions, while enhancing their pricing capabilities with sophisticated and adaptable real-time pricing for uniquely optimised products.”
Bijal Patel, Chief Technical Officer at Aurora, said: “We have a clear, customer-centric vison for Aurora, underpinned by our pricing, underwriting, claims, data and analytics capabilities. Radar Live will support the implementation of our innovative commercial insurance offering and, as Aurora’s primary analytics engine, it will power our real-time analytics and algorithmic underwriting capabilities.
“Our aim is to change the way commercial insurance is purchased and managed by creating a two-way dialogue throughout the lifecycle of the customer’s business, helping to drive greater operational efficiency, transparency and understanding of customer preferences, while reducing underinsurance.”
U.S. commercial insurance prices increase again in the second quarter but have moderated
U.S. commercial insurance prices increased again during the second quarter of 2021, according to leading global advisory, broking and solutions company Willis Towers Watson’s Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS). The survey compared prices charged on policies underwritten during the second quarter of 2021 to those charged for the same coverage and quarter in 2020 and found the aggregate commercial price change was just above 6%.
Data for nearly all lines indicated significant price increases in the second quarter. Excess/umbrella still showed the largest price increases, while commercial auto, property, and directors’ and officers’ liability increases were also near or above double digits. Workers compensation continued to indicate a slight price reduction, in contrast to nearly all other surveyed lines. Reported price changes for account sizes were all below double-digit increases except for specialty lines.
“The rate of price increases has moderated again in the second quarter while still elevated versus historical norms. This is largely driven by significantly lower price increases for excess/umbrella and directors’ and officers’ liability than previous quarters,” said Yi Jing, director, Insurance Consulting and Technology, Willis Towers Watson.
CLIPS is a retrospective look at historical changes in commercial property & casualty insurance (P&C) prices and claim cost inflation. A forward-looking analysis of commercial P&C trends, outlook and rate predictions can be found in Willis Towers Watson’s Insurance Marketplace Realities series.