Business News: Medata, Travelers, Ascot Insurance U.S.

Medata Expands Operations, Opens New Office in Nevada

Medata, the leading medical cost containment technology company in workers’ compensation and auto liability lines, just opened a new office in Henderson, Nevada.

Medata selected Henderson to expand its geographic footprint, according to Dana Joanau, chief financial officer.

While a few employees have relocated from Medata’s Irvine, Calif., headquarters, plans call for hiring locally, and candidates can apply at https://www.medata.com/careers/.

The new office is in the Eastgate Plaza at 450 North Stephanie Street in Henderson, Nevada.

Travelers Teams Up With Amazon to Provide Smart Home Solutions

The Travelers Companies, Inc. announced it has teamed up with Amazon to offer smart home kits and valuable insurance and risk management information through the insurance industry’s first digital storefront: Amazon.com/Travelers.

The smart home kits, which will be offered at discounted prices for Travelers customers in participating states, are designed to help protect homeowners from some of the most common causes of loss. Discounted kit installation through Amazon Smart Home Services is also offered where available. The smart home kits include:

• Security cameras.
• Water sensors.
• Motion detectors with multi-sensor capabilities.
• A smart home hub that wirelessly connects a wide range of smart devices and enables them to work together.
• An Amazon Echo Dot.

Eligible Travelers home insurance customers will receive a discount on their policy with the purchase of a smart home kit.

Travelers also introduced new Alexa skills: the “Travelers” skill, which assists the company’s home insurance policyholders with questions regarding billing and payments; and the “Travelers Home Central” skill, which enables all consumers to access property maintenance and home safety tips. For example, “Alexa, ask Travelers when my bill is due,” or “Alexa, ask Home Central for a fall home maintenance tip.” The company plans to add to its Alexa skills over time.

Lastly, Travelers is providing a free Amazon Echo Dot to eligible home insurance customers — even without the purchase of a kit — subject to program terms. The free Amazon Echo Dot and the discounts on the smart home kits are currently available to Travelers home insurance customers in California and Travelers Quantum Home 2.0 customers in Colorado, Missouri and Wisconsin, with more states expected to be added later this year.

For more information, visit the Travelers digital storefront at Amazon.com/Travelers.

Ascot Launches Ascot Insurance U.S.

Ascot Group announced the launch of Ascot Insurance U.S. and the appointment of Greg Wolyniec as its president and CEO, based in New York City.

Ascot also announced the completion of the acquisition of Greyhawk Insurance Company, a Colorado domiciled admitted carrier, and its wholly owned subsidiary Greyhawk Specialty Insurance Company, a Rhode Island domiciled surplus lines carrier. Both companies will be renamed as part of the new Ascot Insurance U.S. brand.

Wolyniec has been with Ascot since June 2017 as group head of Strategy. Prior to this he held a number of senior leadership roles at AIG before being appointed as CEO of a technology start-up developing wearables-based risk management solutions for the insurance industry. He will report in to Jerry Tegan, executive chairman of Ascot’s US businesses.

For more information on the company, visit www.ascotgroup.com/ascot-us