Predict & Prevent – Details, episodes & analysis

Technology and innovation are increasingly being applied to manage the growing threat of wildfires. Pete Miller, CEO of The Institutes, welcomes Bill Clerico, founder of Convective Capital, to discuss how early-stage firetech companies are making a difference in improving community resilience, mitigating risk and enabling a safer and faster response to fires.  

Bill shares his personal experience with wildfires and how it led him to start Convective Capital, a venture capital fund that invests in early-stage wildfire technology companies. Bill highlights the three main problems these startups are solving: building resilient landscapes, creating fire-adapted communities, and ensuring safe and effective response. He provides examples of companies in each category, such as BurnBot for resilient landscapes, Fire Aside for fire-adapted communities, and Pano for safe and effective response. Clerico also emphasizes the need for greater collaboration among stakeholders, including utilities, insurers, and regulators, to address the challenges of wildfire prevention and mitigation. Finally he shares some ideas on how insurers can fund pilots to capture data that could save billions down the road by reducing wildfire risk.

Resources:

Convective Capital: https://www.convectivecapital.com/

BurnBot: https://burnbot.com/

Fire Aside: https://www.fireaside.com/

Pano: https://www.pano.ai/

OnSight Technology: https://onsightops.com/

Red Sky Summit: https://redskysummit.com/

Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS): https://ibhs.org/

Predict & Prevent website: www.predictandprevent.org

Sign up for our weekly Predict & Prevent newsletter: www.predictandprevent.org/newsletter

Nationwide Insurance is working to improve property resilience through risk mitigation, technology adoption, and advocacy for building codes. Mark Berven, president and COO of Nationwide, talks about the importance of shifting from a reactive approach to a "predict and prevent" mindset in the insurance industry, especially amid changing weather patterns.

Berven discusses Nationwide's efforts to increase property resilience and advocacy for wider adoption of building codes in the U.S. He

shares insights from Nationwide's commercial lines protection survey, highlighting the concerns and impacts of severe weather on businesses. He also discusses various technologies that Nationwide is evaluating and implementing to prevent losses. Berven also talks about the role of agent partners in promoting resilience, and how insurer support for the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety is producing valuable research into resilience and risk mitigation.

Resources:

Nationwide website: https://www.nationwide.com/

Ting by Whisker Labs: https://www.whiskerlabs.com/

Kinetic: https://kineticcomp.com/

Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety: https://ibhs.org/

Predict & Prevent website: https://www.predictandprevent.org/

Sign up for our weekly Predict & Prevent newsletter: https://www.predictandprevent.org/newsletter/

Improving risk data not only helps predict potential losses but also makes it possible to incentivize and measure risk prevention. In this episode, Pete talks with Kevin Stein, CEO and Co-Founder at Delos Insurance, and Sean Petterson, CEO and Founder of StrongArm Technologies, about how they are using data for insights that can predict potential losses from wildfires and unsafe worker activities.

Segment 1: (0:02:14) Pete and Kevin discuss how risk models aren’t keeping up with changes in wildfires, the power of AI for more precise forecasts, using data for mitigation recommendations and incentives, insurance challenges caused by deficient data, and why insurance must remain open to new approaches.

Segment 2: (0:27:57) Pete talks with Sean about his personal motivation to make workers safer, pivoting to wearables for actionable data, ergonomic movement analysis, real-time worker feedback to prevent risk, changing culture key to safety innovation, and using data to show the ROI of injury prevention.

Insurance regulators are important partners as insurers offer consumers new services that move beyond detect and repair to Predict & Prevent. Guest host Frank Tomasello, executive director of The Institutes’ Griffith Foundation, speaks with Elizabeth Kelleher Dwyer, Director of the Department of Business Regulation for Rhode Island, and Andrew Mais, Insurance Commissioner for Connecticut, on how they each balance consumer protection without stifling innovation.

Segment 1: (00:03:06) Frank and Director Dwyer, who also serves as the top insurance regulator in Rhode Island and is chair of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (H) Working Group, discuss how insurers cannot respond to growing risks alone, encouraging consumer resilience, regulatory embrace of technology and innovation, clarifying rebating laws for mitigation, and working closely with insurtechs.



Segment 2: (00:18:55) Frank and Commissioner Mais, President-elect of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, explore the challenges posed by climate risks, the value of a more collaborative approach, how consumers benefit from innovation, the ROI of risk mitigation, promoting consumer education about risk, and working toward a better future.

IoT sensors are proving their worth by preventing small problems from becoming big losses. In this episode, Pete Miller talks with George Chedraoui, Senior Director, Corporate Risk & Resilience for Highwoods Properties Inc., and Sean Ringsted, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Business Officer of Chubb Group, on how on how each is realizing big benefits from deploying smart water sensors.

Segment 1: (00:02:45): Pete and George discuss Highwoods’ success with smart water sensors in its commercial office buildings, pivoting from small pilot to wider rollout, training as critical success factor, preventing a loss demonstrates the ROI, taking a more holistic view of risks, and opportunities to integrate technology in risk management strategy.

Segment 2 (00:19:12): Pete and Sean take a deep dive into the future for water peril mitigation, Chubb's acquisition of StreamLabs technology, empowering proactive risk management, critical lessons from sensor deployments, embedding technology into insurance value chain, and gaining powerful new insights for risk prevention and pricing.

Sensors and data-driven intelligence platforms are foundational technologies that can identify hidden dangers and help prevent losses. In this episode, Pete Miller talks with Bob Marshall, Co-Founder and CEO of Whisker Labs, and with Dave Tobias, Co-Founder and COO of Betterview, about these two different approaches.

Segment 1 (00:03:08): Bob Marshall is the co-inventor of Ting, an innovative plug-in sensor that is deployed in millions of U.S. homes and helps to detect electrical issues that could cause fires. Pete and Bob discuss how tragedy led to invention, high risk of silent electrical hazards, AI-driven continuous learning, fire prevention as driver of customer loyalty, simplicity is key to adoption, and transforming insurance customer relationship.

Segment 2 (00:21:49): Betterview is a property intelligence platform used by underwriters for scoring various property risks. Pete and Dave talk about Dave’s lifetime in insurance, the hunt for deep and meaningful roof data, his passion for predict and prevent, scaling with technology, adapting to insurance workflows, changing the value drivers of insurance, and finding the next risk prevention opportunity.

The rapidly evolving risk landscape demands a more proactive and collaborative approach to risk management. In this episode, Pete Miller and Sean Kevelighan, President and CEO of the Insurance Information Institute, discuss why Predict & Prevent is needed now more than ever to prevent losses and promote resilience.

Segment 1 (00:02:18): Pete and Sean discuss the disruption continuum, the increasing frequency and severity of losses, reining in bad behavior, the danger to society of doing nothing, proving the ROI of resilience, why collective responsibility is essential, how technology plays a pivotal role, embedding risk management in our lives, and government's part in resilience.  

Segment 2 (00:20:51): Pete and Sean consider why a change in mindset is imperative, Sean shares a personal experience with misperceptions of risk, how FEMA is revising its mission, reimagining insurance's purpose, how policymakers see consumer benefits from P&P, and creating new career opportunities.

Predict & Prevent, presented by The Institutes, explores  an emerging strategy of harnessing technology and prioritizing resiliency to combat the biggest risk challenges facing society. Host Peter Miller, President and CEO of The Institutes, and  leading experts will examine how traditional risk management, which relies heavily on insurance and detecting and repairing after a loss occurs, is transitioning to Predict & Prevent to keep up with a changing risk landscape. The eight-episode season will establish what a Predict & Prevent strategy means, why it is urgently needed and provide a view to the future of risk management.

With a rich history spanning nearly 160 years, Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Insurance Co. has evolved from a think tank focused on preventing steam boiler explosions to a leader in engineering, technology, and insurance solutions. Hear John Riggs, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Applied Technology Solutions, share how HSB is deploying advanced technology to deliver what it calls a "connect and protect" risk management strategy.

Riggs shares insights into HSB's approach to technology-enabled risk prevention and protection, highlighting the company's focus on sensor solutions, risk solutions, and data solutions. The conversation

explores HSB's collaborative ecosystem, upcoming product innovations, and the impact of technology on loss prevention. HSB is partnering with tech giants like Amazon to develop advanced sensor technologies, including an exciting new credit card-sized sensor that could transform property protection. Join us as we uncover how HSB is leveraging IoT, data solutions, and strategic partnerships to stay at the forefront of the industry and better serve its clients.

Resources

Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB) website

Ting by Whisker Labs

Amazon Sidewalk network

WINT Water Intelligence

Predict & Prevent website: www.predictandprevent.org

Sign up for our weekly Predict & Prevent newsletter: www.predictandprevent.org/newsletter

Hear how Liberty Mutual is helping its clients prevent losses through data-driven strategies and the careful application of technological innovations. Pete Miller, CEO of The Institutes, welcomes Dorothy Doyle, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Risk Control Services for Liberty Mutual, to talk about how risk control is being enhanced and expanded today.

Dorothy talks about using risk assessments to redesign workflows and reduce losses. How risk control is evolving thanks to real-time indicators and emerging technologies. How Liberty Mutual leverages data scientists and predictive analytics to unlock hidden insights and help clients make informed business decisions. The importance of conducting statistically sound pilot programs to evaluate technological innovations before widespread implementation. And she talks about the importance of having a safety culture that drives clients to prevent losses and lower their cost of risk. Dorothy also highlights various technologies, such as machine learning, collaborative robotics, and wearable sensors, that are transforming the way businesses approach risk control.

Resources:

Liberty Mutual Risk Control website: https://business.libertymutual.com/services/risk-control/

Liberty Mutual’s Workplace Safety Index: https://business.libertymutual.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/WorkplaceSafetyIndex_WP.pdf

Predict & Prevent website: www.predictandprevent.org

Sign up for our weekly Predict & Prevent newsletter: www.predictandprevent.org/newsletter