Blockchain is making inroads into the insurance sector with the announcement of new initiatives aimed at expanding the use of the digital ledger technology.

The media continually tells us that not enough young Americans are getting degrees in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Instead, they’re choosing careers in FIRE --- finance, insurance, and real estate. Why is this happening?

It’s important to note that since the insurance industry is so far behind the times when it comes to technology, you don’t even need to do anything that advanced to add value. A simple concept like “on-demand insurance” can go a long way to improving things.

Claims fraud continues to drive workers compensation costs up, driving payers to look for new ways to combat it. Much like on the underwriting side of the insurance business, data and the use of technology to analyze it is seen by experts as a major development in improving efficiency and detecting problems.

Courtney Love spent almost six years in litigation accused of libelling her former attorney in a Twitter post that was visible for less than 10 minutes. She paid a reported $780,000 in settlements as a result of two other defamation suits, both stemming from Twitter missives Love wrote about designer Dawn Simorangkir.

As thousands of storm-related claims are being processed throughout the Denver area, one homeowner isn’t buying what insurance companies are trying to sell as a faster way to handle claims; Michael Clark wants to see a claims adjuster and not a drone.

Soon, Apple will introduce a new iPhone feature that will do away with that annoying -- and dangerous -- urge to look at a text message while you’re driving.

More than half of today’s insurance companies use machine learning for predictive analytics, according to a new report by Earnix, an analytics software provider for the financial services industry.

Japanese automaker Toyota is taking a different approach to usage based insurance in its partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab.

Increased use of technology to treat injured workers remotely potentially could speed treatment, give injured workers access to more specialists and reduce workers compensation claims costs, but telemedicine also introduces new risks that must be addressed, a panel of experts said.

To determine policy premiums, auto insurers have traditionally used factors such as driving record, vehicle usage and insurance history. This is in addition to outside variables like customer location (collision/theft rates in the area), age and gender (teen males tend to have higher rates), and non-driving elements like credit score.

Companies without cyber insurance are reportedly making claims through their ransom, extortion and kidnap insurance policies in the hopes of recouping losses from WannaCry and other ransomware.

As the car insurance industry struggles to cope with mounting claims costs, telematics could provide a tangible solution by creating a more proactive claims system.

Allstate has told collision repairers it will cease using its drive-in inspection stations in favor of its QuickFoto Claim photo estimating system within the Allstate app.

Hardware chain Lowe’s is outfitting employees with a simple exoskeleton to help them on the job. The company has partnered with Virginia Tech to develop the technology, which makes lifting and moving heavy objects easier.