Business News: Verisk Analytics, Lemonade, MyKey

Verisk Analytics, Inc., a data analytics provider, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Wash.-based G2 Web Services, an industry-leading provider of merchant risk intelligence solutions for acquirers, commercial banks, and other payment system providers.

G2 Web Services will become part of Argus, a Verisk Analytics business, which will allow Argus to enhance its offerings to clients and partners, providing unprecedented market-leading solutions in merchant and consumer fraud and reputational risk detection.

G2 provides acquiring banks, payment companies, and commercial banks the solutions they need to identify, mitigate, and monitor payments risk in their merchant and business customer portfolios. G2 Web Services has gathered more than a decade of merchant-specific data, which is incorporated in the G2 Merchant Map, the industry’s most extensive fraud and compliance database. Combining data science, industry-leading technology, and deep domain expertise, the company leads the payments industry in the identification of third-party merchant risk for hundreds of the world’s largest financial institutions.

The purchase price is $112 million, to be paid in cash to stockholders of G2. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2017, subject to the completion of customary closing conditions.

Lemonade, an insurer powered by artificial intelligence and behavioral economics, is now available throughout the Garden State. Residents of New Jersey can now buy homeowners and renters insurance in seconds at lemonade.com, or through the Lemonade app, and choose a cause to ‘Giveback’ to.

New Jersey marks the fourth state in Lemonade’s nationwide expansion, joining New York, California, and Illinois. The full-stack insurance company has received a total of 13 state licenses, reaching almost 50 percent of the U.S. population, and will launch state-by-state in coming months.

In a reversal of the traditional insurance model, Lemonade takes a flat 20 percent fee and treats premiums as belonging to the insured, not the insurer, returning unclaimed money during its annual ‘Giveback.’ Giveback is a unique feature of Lemonade, where each year leftover money (‘underwriting profit’) is donated to a cause customers care about. The 2017 Giveback saw more than 10 percent of Lemonade’s revenue go to 14 different causes chosen by the Lemonade community.

Since the company’s September 2016 launch, Lemonade has attained considerable market share, especially among first time insurance buyers. In New York State alone, Lemonade overtook Allstate, GEICO, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Progressive, State Farm, USAA and all other legacy insurers among first time buyers of renters insurance.

Residents of New Jersey, California, New York, and Illinois can now buy a new policy at www.lemonade.com or through the Lemonade app.

MasterKey Alliance Inc., a provider of corporate housing technology launched its new website MyKey.com 3.0, an online accommodation management system.

Since the inaugural launch of Mykey.com in January, 2017, the company’s housing specialists have collaborated with insurance professionals, policyholders, relocation experts and professional housing providers to change how adjusters locate, book and manage temporary accommodations.

Designed to meet the needs of a dynamic business world, MyKey now offers modified booking technology, providing the flexibility to change or extend bookings as construction timelines or lives demand. And to eliminate the time wasted in traditional ask and wait models, a new instant booking feature has been developed to offer direct access to secure accommodations at the click of a button.

Built as a partner management platform, MyKey’s new streamlined processes reduce accommodation searching, booking and management time. Enhanced search capabilities allow policyholders and adjusters to customize results with new filter technology that quickly identifies accommodations offering key features such as pet friendly properties. The website design helps guide users through hotel and vetted accommodations searches quickly, providing additional access to insurance housing specialists for out of the box solutions for long term, or group accommodations.