Expense volatility is an extremely real concern for consumers across incomes and occupations, and it causes financial instability that leads to a lack of savings, late fees and, in many cases, debt. Today, we’re excited to share the news that we have joined forces with DailyPay to help tackle financial insecurity so that people around the country can take better control over their hard-earned wages.
Insurtech is still a relatively young sector defining assumptions. Despite some light quarters for insurtech investment in late 2017 and early 2018, the segment roared back with back-to-back billion-dollar quarters of worldwide investment. This included some of the largest rounds ever, with rounds in the hundreds of millions for companies ranging from turnkey usage-based insurance provider Cambridge Mobile Telematics (from last year’s list) to health insurance disruptor Oscar (which appears on this year’s edition).
There’s a key reason for this: Insurers are getting more comfortable working with insurtechs as thesector has evolved and matured. Successful use cases across technologies like artificial intelligence, computer vision and even blockchain have popped up. The trepidation has largely worn off and insurers see insurtechs as their partners in transformation, not enemies to be feared. And insurance experts are finding their voice in being able to communicate a new vision for their industry.
In order to assemble the list on the following pages, Digital Insurance editors consult third party experts, including some who have previously been on the list, to identify the players representing the top level of the game as it stands this year. Their work will shape the conversation around insurance innovation and influence future editions.
Miscellaneous helper robots have been whirring, rolling, and bumping around for years. They generally take the form of something adorable, with big doe eyes and a chunky white plastic body that is friendly and completely non-threatening. Or they’ll go in the opposite direction, like Boston Dynamics’ agile robots that move in an uncanny valley way but lack things like faces. A robot called Misty falls squarely in the former category; even the name is cute. Misty Roboticsdesigned it to be extensible and flexible, with technologies like computer vision on board the robot itself, and ripe for iteration by enterprising developers. At Microsoft Build 2019, we got an extended demonstration of Misty and a long chat with the company behind it.
Many states have recently adopted laws that require companies of all sizes to close the gender pay gap. The principle underlying these laws is simple: Pay men and women based on their contributions to the work being performed without regard to gender.
However, for employers trying to comply with these laws—while acquiring and retaining top talent—the devil is in the details: Complying is not as straightforward as the principle behind the new requirements.
Research confirms men and women negotiate differently. And a persistent wage gap ensures that new hires arrive at the front door with expectations that differ from those of tenured employees. In a bullish market when wages inflate, how does a company both minimize differences with the external market—to keep up with the free agent market—and ensure it doesn’t do so in a way that favors external men or disfavors internal women?
Last year, Major League Baseball partnered with game developer Lucid Sight to launch a crypto collectibles game called "MLB Champions" that runs on blockchain tech. Lucid Sight CEO Randy Saaf spoke to Yahoo Finance's Dan Roberts, Akiko Fujita and Sibile Marcellus about the partnership and how the the deal may help boost attendance at ballparks nationwide.
