By: 3 November 2023
CRAFT expands into the insurance market with Kennedys IQ

Global law firm Kennedys, through its technology arm, Kennedys IQ, has joined the prestigious US-based Centre for Research toward Advancing Financial Technologies (CRAFT). 

CRAFT is the first fintech-focused industry university cooperative research centre. It brings together academic and industry partners, as well as representatives from all levels of government. CRAFT supports advanced research projects relating to the fintech challenges of the financial services industry. The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds CRAFT.

CRAFT is led by Steve Yang and George Calhoun at the School of Business at Stevens Institute of Technology and Apama Gupta at the Lally School of Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

CRAFT plans to expand its reach to include the insurance market. This is where Kennedys’ experience in developing technology solutions through Kennedys IQ will be advantageous. 

Kennedys joins other industry partners including Bank of America, Capgemini, Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab, CHUBB, IBM and Wells Fargo as well as university partners Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Stevens Institute of Technology.

CRAFT has invited Kennedys to speak at its bi-annual industry advisory board meeting.

The meeting will be held on 2-3 November in New York and will feature keynote addresses by the United Nations, UKFin+, and Imperial College as well as a panel discussion on Fintech innovation and commercialisation.  

Karim Derrick, Chief Products Officer at Kennedys IQ, is presenting. Jian-bo Yang, chair in decision and system Sciences at the Alliance Manchester Business School and director of the Decision and Cognitive Sciences Research Centre at Manchester University, is also speaking.

Kennedys and the university have a long-standing partnership, during which they collaborated to develop fraud prevention software. The university is also a partner in a consortium led by Kennedys. They are developing groundbreaking software able to identify and assess ESG (environmental, social and governance) risk, following a grant from Innovate UK. 

At every CRAFT meeting, members vote on funding a range of multidisciplinary projects. Kennedys will now have voting rights and plans to play a significant role in bringing solutions to market. 

Dr Steve Yang, director of CRAFT, says: “The financial services industry is presently undergoing considerable change due to the development of new technologically focused products and services. The understanding of these innovations requires a multidisciplinary approach bringing together the perspectives of industry, societal and government policies, which is where CRAFT comes in. 

“Having visited Kennedys’ HQ in London over the summer, we were impressed by their initiatives in using AI systems to automate insurance claims and other fintech initiatives. We truly believe this partnership will generate a significant impact in the industry, and there is a great synergy here.” 

Image: © Urupong via Canva
Emma Cockings
Emma is a content editor for Claims Media. Emma is a experienced writer with a background in client-centric personal injury for a major firm. She has attended and reported on multiple brokerage events throughout her career.