What are scuttlebits? Nowhere is the insurance industry’s notorious resistance to change more evident than in how they fiercely it clings to antiquated IT architectures. Carriers adopted mainframes in the ‘80s, built policy and claims engines on top, then lagged years behind just about every other commercial enterprise in embracing client-server computing, then cloud computing. […]
Today I want to talk about 3 stocks I own that have gotten smashed this year: Guidewire (-48%), Wizz Air (-66%), and Upwork (-60%). Guidewire (GWRE) I’ve written about Guidewire before (here and here). To recap: with 40% of policies are still processed on mainframes, the P&C insurance industry is long overdue for an upgrade. […]
Fiserv (FISV) Even as the largest merchant acquirer and issuer processor in the US, Fiserv is overlooked amid the fintech jubilee. You should read my 4 part post on merchant acquirers for more detail but to recap, a few years ago Fiserv and First Data merged in a $22bn all stock-deal. The combined business now […]
If I had to force rank industries most resistant to new technology, P&C insurance would be right up there with other notoriously innovation averse sectors like local government, life insurance, education, and healthcare. To some extent, this makes sense. Given the critical nature of their services, insurance carriers should be culturally biased towards minimizing downside […]