Business Moves

Verisk Analytics, Inc. announced the acquisition of Risk Intelligence Ireland, a provider of fraud detection, compliance, risk control and process automation services to the Irish insurance industry.

Following completion of the transaction, Risk Intelligence Ireland will become part of Verisk Insurance Solutions and will adopt the name Verisk Insurance Solutions – Ireland. Ciaran McGaley, chief executive and managing director of Risk Intelligence Ireland will be appointed managing director of Verisk Insurance Solutions – Ireland.

Brentwood Services Inc. (BSI), headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., announces the formation of CompPoint Managed Care Inc., a managed care provider and wholly owned subsidiary, with Eryn Crawford, AIC, leading the new company as president, according to Richard D. Hammer, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Brentwood Services Inc.

With 26 years of claims experience combined with over 15 years of working in managed care program design and implementation, Crawford will be responsible for enhancing existing managed care programs and expanding the service offerings to ensure clients maximize savings for a fair price. She will continue on the corporate management team and remain involved with the SIMS claim system implementation, serving as a business-side power user.

Most recently serving as senior vice president of claims, Crawford joined Brentwood Services Administrators Inc. (BSA) as a claim representative in 1992 and was promoted to various claims positions. She holds her Associate in Claims (AIC) designation from the Insurance Institute of America.

The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co., part of Munich Re, announced that it has received federal permission to fly drones to help customers identify exposures, manage risks and prevent loss.

The engineering and technical risk insurer received an exemption from the Federal Aviation Administration to allow commercial operations of small unmanned aerial systems.

HSB will use UAS with a property owner’s consent to inspect locations that may be inaccessible or unsafe for a personal inspection to support its insurance claim and underwriting activities.

The drone inspections would benefit HSB’s industrial and renewable energy policyholders, the insurers HSB supports with property loss control services, and HSB’s parent company, Munich Re.

Assurant, Inc. announced an agreement with Nationwide to provide flood insurance coverage options for policyholders and agents, following Nationwide’s exit as a “Write Your Own” carrier in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Assurant, the second-largest NFIP flood insurance provider in the nation, will acquire the opportunity to renew approximately 250,000 policies representing approximately $230 million in written premium under the NFIP, the federally-guaranteed program protecting millions of American properties. Terms of the transaction were not announced.

Under the NFIP, WYO insurance providers issue policies and service claims, through which the federal government covers flood losses for participating property owners.

There will be no changes to existing Nationwide NFIP benefits or policies, which remain in effect through their renewal date. At renewal, Nationwide has arranged for existing NFIP policyholders to have the option to easily renew through Assurant. Nationwide agents will have the ability to offer NFIP policies through Assurant on an ongoing basis.