Business News: Gallagher Bassett, BetterView, Crum & Forster

Just two weeks after the category four Tropical Cyclone Debbie impacted Queensland and NSW at the end of March, Gallagher Bassett’s Brisbane-based catastrophe response team had doubled in size to assist in the delivery of end-to-end claims services.

Damien Gilhooley, who previously managed GB’s National General Insurance Division, heads up the recently launched Catastrophe Response Division as general manager.

BetterView, a platform & service provider for capturing and analyzing data from drones, announced it has partnered with Loss Control 360 to enable LC360 users to order and retrieve BetterView aerial reports through its carrier inspection platform.

LC360 Carrier is a customizable loss control software platform that can be tailored to the specific needs of personal & commercial lines carriers. LC360 can automate every aspect of the loss control workflow allowing insurers to collect information, analyze data and mitigate risk quickly and easily.

With Loss Control 360, inspection requests created by underwriting can be routed to the appropriate vendor or in-house inspector automatically. The inspector can then use the web based application or offline-capable tablet app to fill out standardized inspection forms, take photos and make recommendations. Once complete, the inspector can sync field results and complete the survey through an intuitive web interface.

BetterView’s drone inspections capture an average of 350 roof and property images in approximately 20 minutes or less. Once the images are captured, deep learning and computer vision systems, aided by roofing and construction experts, analyze the photos and tag 87 common issue types. BetterView then generates and delivers a summary report of property and building data (10–20 photos per building) as a PDF to be stored in the insurance carrier’s document management system for compliance purposes.

Crum & Forster announced that the company’s pet insurance division, Hartville Pet Insurance Group, has been rebranded as Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group.

This marks the culmination of a decades-long relationship between Hartville and Crum & Forster. United States Fire Insurance Company, a Crum & Forster Company, has been the underwriter of Hartville’s pet insurance products since 2006, and acquired Hartville in 2013.

Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group will continue providing ASPCA Pet Health Insurance and Hartville Pet Insurance. Policies will continue to be underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company and produced by Fairmont Specialty Insurance Agency (FSIA Insurance Agency in California).

In addition, the leadership team and staff will remain, headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Senior Vice President Dennis Rushovich, who’s been the head of the company since 2005, will continue in that role.

Founded in 1997, Hartville is one of the original and largest pet insurance providers in the U.S. In the past 20 years, the company, through its insurance underwriters, has insured more than 400,000 dogs and cats, processing more than 1.6 million claims.

Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group plans are customizable and can include accident, illness and preventive care. Fairmont Specialty Insurance Agency markets the company’s products directly to consumers, through veterinary practices, and to employers, associations and brokers. Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group can also provide underwriting, private labels and supporting services to other pet insurance providers.