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Gene therapy treatment for hereditary eye disease will cost $850,000
Last month, the FDA approved a gene therapy called Luxturna, which can treat a rare eye disease that causes blindness. Now the treatment has a price tag, CNBC reports. It will cost $425,000 per eye, and while $850,000 is steep, it's lower than the $1 million at which many expected the treatment to be priced.
Waymo preps for self-driving taxi service with rider insurance deal
Waymo faces a slew of challenges if it's going to get its autonomous taxi service up and running, not the least of which is insurance. Who's going to cover passengers when there's no human pilot to help determine who's responsible? Thankfully, someone has stepped up to the plate. Waymo has struck a deal with insurance tech startup Trov to protect passengers when the service goes live in Phoenix in 2018. Trov has adapted its on-demand insurance to be triggered by software instead of a human, giving you automatic coverage during your trip without having to pay extra or even acknowledge that the policy is taking effect.
Uber Eats offers insurance for its European couriers
Uber Eats only just turned two years old, but like other "gig economy" businesses, it's facing scrutiny over how it classifies workers. In Europe, the company is partnering with Axa to offer couriers an insurance package that covers accidents, hospitalization, property damage and third-party injury across nine countries. Starting January 8th next year, the company says all couriers with an active account -- even if they work for a third-party -- will be covered, and Uber is paying for it. Filip Nuytemans, the Uber Eats general manager for Europe said in a statement that "Uber Eats couriers can now enjoy the freedom and flexibility of working on their own schedule with the peace of mind provided by additional security and protection." On its face, that's a bit friendlier than Deliveroo's offer in the UK, but it's still not making everyone happy. Independent Workers of Great Britain union couriers and logistics secretary Jim Benfield told TechCrunch the move was a publicity stunt, and said that "The offer to cover hospital costs is also meaningless in the UK, where healthcare is free at the point of use. Furthermore, this health insurance will only cover medical costs when injuries are sustained while doing a delivery and doesn't cover the endless hours couriers spend logged on to the app desperately waiting for jobs."
CVS buys health insurer Aetna to counter Amazon
Amazon is considering diving into the pharmacy business, and that's making incumbents nervous... so nervous, in fact, that it just sparked one of the larger acquisitions in recent memory. CVS Health is acquiring the insurance giant Aetna for the equivalent of $69 billion in a bid to create a highly integrated health care provider. You could get care right from your nearby CVS locations, and you'd have a one-stop shop for health that (theoretically) lowers costs, albeit by giving up choice. If regulators don't object to the deal, it should close in the second half of 2018.
Life insurer offers members a $25 Apple Watch (if they earn it)
You might have heard of insurers discounting the Apple Watch before, but never quite like this. John Hancock is offering all its Vitality life insurance policy holders (including newcomers) an Apple Watch Series 3 for $25 so long as they use it and remain active. Specifically, you have to exercise enough to earn "Vitality Points" that lower or eliminate the monthly installments you'd otherwise be paying. Accrue 500 points per month for 2 years and the smartwatch is yours for no extra cost. That's potentially a big bargain, especially if you're paying for basic coverage -- John Hancock previously offered the not-quite-free wristwear solely to people with policies worth $2 million or more.
Uber gives free insurance to drivers in India
Uber's reputations in India and the Philippines aren't stellar, to put it mildly, but the ridesharing company is making amends in both countries. To begin with, it's providing free insurance to its roughly 450,000 Indian drivers. As of September 1st, they'll have coverage for death, disability and hospital stays in the event of accidents. It comes a while after Uber had cut incentives, but it's still an important gesture.
Aetna may offer customers a free Apple Watch as a perk
Health insurer Aetna is already giving its workers free Apple Watches (plus a handful of regular customers), but it now looks ready to expand those bonuses to everyone. CNBC sources understand that Aetna is in talks with Apple to offer a free or discounted Watch as a perk to all eligible customers -- no small number when Aetna covers 23 million people. It's not certain what the deal would look like, but Aetna would like to hand out wristwear early in 2018.
Insurers increasingly use apps and drones instead of agents
Hobbyists aren't the only ones using the phone and drone cameras to explore the world in new ways, as insurance companies are increasingly opting for "virtual" or "touchless" handling of claims. The Wall Street Journal cites the 2017 Future of Claims Study survey by LexisNexis Risk Solutions (PDF) which found that 38 percent of insurers don't send employees out for physical inspections in at least some situations. One story mentioned says that Lemonade Insurance settled and paid out a claim in just three seconds using the AI bot connected to its app.
IBM will put connected car data to better use
As cars get smarter, we're going to have to deal with all of the information our daily drives create in a way we've never had to bother with before. Thankfully, IBM is offering to be the middleman that represents our vehicles in the confusing new world of automotive cloud telematics. The company has signed a deal with BMW that will see the BMW CarData platform connect to IBM's Bluemix cloud. The idea is that IBM will host and analyze your information and then pass it to third parties -- with your consent -- when required.
Uber offers insurance to US drivers, but only in certain states (updated)
Uber is once again blurring the lines between independent contractor and employee. This time the ride-hailing service is offering insurance to its drivers as part of a pilot program in Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and West Virginia according to regional publication PennLive. The injury-protection insurance is only active when a driver is logged into the app at the cost of $0.0375 per-mile. In at least a few of those markets, that will raise the per-mile price for passengers by $0.05. So, it seems the rates going up are to ensure that nothing comes out of the driver's pocket. Uber says that the increase was determined by how much the insurance would cost after taxes and fees.
UK insurers detail the data they'll want from driverless cars
As car makers outfit their vehicles with more autonomous features, insurance providers are carefully weighing up how to cover owners of driverless cars while figuring out exactly who should be liable in an accident. The UK government agrees it's a major priority and has already laid down a common-sense framework to guide discussions, but the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has today published a specific list of rules that providers believe will best protect everyone involved.
Facebook blocks UK insurer Admiral from profiling users for discounts
When you're a first-time driver, getting a reasonable car insurance quote can be a tricky affair. Age and inexperience on the road result in higher premiums, which only come down after you've proven you're not a danger to yourself or others for a number of years. Some insurance providers have offered ways to bring costs down by asking customers to drive with a companion app but one UK company, Admiral, decided to take the unusual step of tapping into car owners' Facebook accounts to assess their personality and decide whether they deserve a discount. At least that was the plan.
Your health insurance might score you an Apple Watch
Apple will exclusively provide its Watch, iPad and iPhone products to Aetna for new app-oriented fitness tracking program, the US insurance giant announced. A cornerstone of the project is health tracking, so Aetna will subsidize the cost of a Watch for select customers and offer it free to its 50,000-strong workforce starting next year. Apple will also help Aetna develop new apps around medication reminders, billing (with Apple Wallet) and care management.
New York proposes online security rules for banks and insurers
New York state isn't happy that banks and insurers are falling prey to hackers with alarming frequency, and it's determined to do something about it. Governor Cuomo has unveiled proposed regulations that would set online security standards for those industries. All companies covered by the rules would have to establish online security programs and policies. They'd have to limit access to sensitive data (say, social security numbers) to only those people that need to know, and require multiple steps when checking user identities.
On-demand drone insurance launches in the US
Drone accidents can be even more expensive than the drones themselves. However, giving your robotic flyer full insurance coverage might be overkill when you may only fly in short bursts every now and then. What to do? Verifly has an unusual answer: get insurance only when you need it. It's launching an on-demand drone insurance service that offers protection across 40 states. All you have to do is specify where you're flying in a mobile app, agree to the terms and start steering. Rates start at $10 per hour depending on the area, and they'll cover both commercial as well as private uses -- this may be just what you need for a movie shoot.
UK takes first steps toward laws for autonomous cars
The UK is proving to be quite the testbed for autonomous vehicles, thanks in no small part to government support. Tens of millions in funding is being funneled into various driverless car projects, and we already have rules of the road encouraging trials on public streets. With research and development simmering away nicely, the government is starting on the next course: Making sure laws, rules and regulations are updated for the autonomous age.
The UK gets its first driverless car insurer
As cars have gained more assistive driving features, questions have been raised over how driverless vehicles will be insured. If someone has an accident while being piloted by an autonomous car, is the driver or the car itself to blame? While governments, car makers and search giants attempt to figure that out, specialist UK insurer Adrian Flux has today launched what is believed to be one of the world's first dedicated driverless vehicle policies. It's done so to allow drivers to place more faith in assistive controls and force policymakers to implement changes around how and when driverless cars could be held liable.
DJI offers crash insurance for drones
What often gets lost in the excitement of buying a drone is that there's a solid chance you're going to crash and destroy it. Since that would be $500-plus down the drain, DJI has launched DJI Care, an insurance program for its Phantom 3 and Inspire 1 drones. One year of coverage costs $129 for the $499 Phantom 3 Standard and maxes out at $699 for the $3,099 Inspire 1 v2.0 drone. For that sum, you'll be covered for "dropping, squeezing or crashing caused by operator error or other accidents," according to DJI. The coverage extends to the aircraft, gimbal or camera, but not to accessories like the propellers, battery or remote control.
An insurance provider is offering cyberbullying coverage
A high-end insurance provider in the UK has become what's thought to be the first to include personal cover for victims of cyberbullying. Chubb Insurance -- unrelated to the lock and security system companies of similar name, if you were wondering -- began offering the so-called "troll insurance" to new customers last month, and will extend the option to policy renewers in the new year. While some other providers will cover the cost of launching or defending a cyberbullying lawsuit, Chubb's policy focuses on the wellbeing of the adult or child on the receiving end of online abuse.
Chinese hackers targeted an insurer to learn about US health care
When Anthem revealed a data breach that exposed the details of more than 80 million people, the incident raised a lot of questions: who would conduct such a hack against a health insurance firm? Why? And what happens to the data? Well, investigators finally have some answers... and they're not quite what you'd expect. Reportedly, the culprits were Chinese hackers helping their nation understand how US medical care works. It may be part of a concerted campaign to get ready for 2020, when China plans to offer universal health care. If that's the case, the findings might explain a string of health-related breaches in the past few years.
