The Theme last week was about cars and auto insurance.
The Theme this week, is about InsurTech acceleration programs. At the beginning of the year, new InsurTech programs are ready for a robust launch, so are the startups.
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Incumbents embracing InsurTech is a common theme in our posts. This time, it’s about customer engagement.
Story 1: Global Insurance Accelerator kicks off 2019 with 10 insurtechs
Extract, read more on Digital Insurance:
“The Des Moines, Iowa, Global Insurance Accelerator is starting up its next cohort on January 15. The fifth iteration of the insurtech development program features 10 early-stage companies that will participate in the 100-day program. Over the course of that time, startups will work with insurance company mentors from a range of sponsors to move their product to the demonstration stage, which will take place April 24 at the Global Insurance Symposium, also in Des Moines.”
I checked the cohort and found zero familiar names. Looking forward to their performance and what they can deliver to attract incumbents.
Story 2: 10 startups in second Hartford Insurtech Hub cohort
Extract, read more on Digital Insurance:
“The Hartford Insurtech Hub, one of a proliferation of insurtech startup accelerator and incubation programs to launch over the past several years, has announced the 10 startups that will participate in its second iteration. Selected from a pool of more than 200 applications, the companies will relocate to Hartford for the start of the three-month program in February. Corporate partners for the Hub include Aetna, The Hartford, Travelers and USAA.”
To be honest, the fields those 10 startups covering are not new. IoT, item coverage, claim enabler etc. But maybe they can provide a new perspective on existing concepts.
Story 3: SBC InsurTech teams up with Aon
Extract, read more on Finextra:
“Aon joins the SBC community as an industry partner for SBC InsurTech CoLab (CoLab), a themed-based innovation program for mature markets. CoLab aims to align the impact innovation can deliver with an organisation’s strategic imperatives and top priorities. Aon will be focusing on CoLab’s ‘Commercial and Specialty Lines’ sector, which will look at specific problems in key customer segments ranging from SME to large industrial insurance. This will enable the key gaps in the insurance value chain to be better understood and addressed through collaborating with growth stage startups.”
This one is about the other end of the chain – corporate partners. If startups are the source of energy for InsurTech programs, insurers as corporate partners can be appropriate tools to harness that energy.
Accelerators provide opportunities for startups to showcase themselves in front of potential partners or competitors. It’s about communications and idea sharing. Of course, most of the startups in those accelerators might mediocre, but sometimes there might be a gem hidden among them.
Zarc Gin is an analyst for Warp Speed Fintech, a Fintech, especially InsurTech-focused Venture Capital based in China.
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