NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 — InsurTech NY, the largest InsurTech community in the New York metro area, announced today that it will be accepting applications for its growth-stage InsurTech accelerator.

The application window will be open from July 21 to August 17 and applications will be accepted through the InsurTech NY website. The program will focus on growth-stage startups that have existing customers and range in funding stage between Seed and Series B. It will be open to InsurTechs around the world.

“The InsurTech NY accelerator will focus on the critical moment in time for startups when they are crossing the chasm,” said David Gritz, InsurTech NY Managing Director. “Many InsurTechs are able to build a product and get their initial customers; however, the true test is how to scale their business. Our program is about helping InsurTechs to get to scale.”

The accelerator will focus on three areas necessary for InsurTechs to scale: market traction, talent acquisition, and raising funds. The program will provide access to insurance carriers and brokers looking to deploy new technologies and provide financial backing to digital managing general agencies (MGAs).

“The New York ecosystem has all the requisite infrastructure to lead the next wave of digital transformation in insurance,” said Erik Matson, CEO of Transverse Insurance. “We look forward to working with the accelerator to support the next crop of digital MGAs and transformative InsurTech solutions.”

The program will feature more than 15 carriers and broker members including Arch Capital, Flagship Insurance, Greenlight Re, Nassau, Nationwide, Lincoln Financial Group, Gallagher, Newton Insurance, Swiss Re, Transverse, Sompo, and Pacific Life. The October cohort will run virtually for twelve days over a six week period. InsurTechs can apply at insurtechny.com/accelerator.

When the cover of Wired Magazine is a story about insurance, you know the industry is changing. The Wired cover story told the tale of Nathan Wolfe, a West African born virologist who built a startup to solve one problem, insurance for pandemics. Nathan partnered with an American broker and German reinsurer to launch his first policy in 2018. There was only one problem:

“As far as I know, nobody bought the policy,” said Nathan in the interview.

Nathan’s story highlights the age-old startup problem of product-market fit. From the InsurTech NY vantage point, we have the opportunity to observe startups in every stage from idea to Pre-IPO and realized that it takes a village to grow a startup from the first customer to profitability.

That is why we decided to launch the first InsurTech-only growth-stage accelerator in NYC. So far, 12 carriers and brokers have joined our program and applications to growth-stage InsurTechs will open late July for our first cohort in October. Stay tuned.

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Spotlight: Core Systems Evolution: InsurTech and Legacy Integration

The first step for any corporation to be ready to work with InsurTechs is getting its core system modernized and ready for integration. The challenge in starting transformation projects is that they are high-risk because most projects are mission-critical and have no redundancy. Insurers cannot do without their policy administration, billing, or claims systems for even a few hours. Learn the stories behind the transformations at State Auto, Nationwide, and Tokio Marine and network with startups that can help your core.

Register on Evenbrite.

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Upcoming NY Area Events and Programs

Overcoming Bias in Insurance

July 15 | 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM ET | Fully Virtual

– Featuring NY DFS Executive Deputy Superintendent of Insurance

Core Systems Evolution – InsurTech and Legacy Integration

Aug 27 | 1:00 PM – 2:45 PM Content + 2:45 PM – 5:00 PM Networking | Fully Virtual

– 2 Panels, 2 Ted Talks, 8 InsurTech Influencers

– Featuring: CIO of State Auto and CIO of Tokio Marine

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InsurTech NY Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the community: EIS, clariondoor, Guidewire, and BobTrak.

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InsurTech New York Area Deals and Opportunities

A curated mix of May and June insurance financings, exits, partnerships, and opportunities in the New York area.

Wired Magazine Cover: We Can Protect the Economy from Pandemics. Why Didn’t We?

Oscar Health ($225M Raised, Alphabet): Health Lines: Direct-to-consumer health insurer

Spruce ($29M Raised, Scale Venture Partners): Title Lines: Online title and closing platform for mortgage lenders and real estate investors.

Clara Insurance ($5.5M Raised, Two Sigma Ventures): Benefits Lines: Supplemental health benefits platform with integrated claims technology.

Pie Insurance ($127M Raised, Gallatin Point Capital): Workers Comp Lines: Digital MGA providing workers compensation insurance to SMBs

Clyde ($14M Raised, Spark Capital): Personal Lines: Extended warranty platform for eCommerce businesses to increase order value

Hyperscience ($60M Raised, Bessemer Ventures): Multi-Line: Automation solution built to streamline enterprise processes and eliminate data entry.

Planck ($16M Raised, Team8 Capital): Commercial P&C Lines: AI-based data platform for insurance underwriting.

Axio Global (Undisclosed Raise, IA Capital): Cyber Lines: Risk management platform to help organizations understand cybersecurity exposure and make data-driven decisions.

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Want to mentor growth-stage startups?

InsurTech NY is currently seeking experienced insurance leaders and successful InsurTech founders to join the mentorship component of our accelerator. If you are interested, please send a note to contact@insurtechny.com.

Best,

David, Tony, and Brett

InsurTech NY Team