The Colonial Pipeline hack is a reflection of the state of broader American infrastructure and cybersecurity. One critical channel has the potential to impact fuel prices and availability for an entire segment of the country.

On a broader scale, the threat to cybersecurity is one the insurance industry should use as a wake-up call. Just in the last 2 years, five major cybersecurity incidents have directly impacted insurers:

CNA – Mar 2021 – Resulted in compromised corporate email
Aetna – Dec 2020 – EyeMed division exposed nearly 500,000 members personal information
Desjardins – Nov 2019 – More than 40% of its clients had persona information leaked
State Farm – Aug 2019 – a credential stuffing attack compromised usernames and passwords
First American Title – May 2019 – 800+ million files were left exposed without authentication

Now is the time to think about how we can build back better our core systems and cyber infrastructure. If you are looking for answers, please join us on August 26th for our Core Systems Event.

Spotlight: InsurTech Investment Summit

On May 20th, we will be hosting the largest gathering of InsurTech focused investors. If you are looking to spot new product and market trends and understand the story behind the growth in InsurTech investment, there is no better time to learn.

Startups looking for investment can join our virtual networking on Remo which will feature Corporate Venture units from Transverse Insurance, Avanta Ventures (CSAA), Aflac, CFMG (Cuna Mutual), Guardian, NFP, Unum, SCOR, QBE, and Liberty Mutual. Venture groups will be available at virtual tables in an Ask Me Anything style of interaction. Plus, free networking will be available with an additional 20+ traditional venture groups attending.

Register at: https://insurtechinvestment2021.eventbrite.com

Upcoming InsurTech Community Events and Programs

InsurTech Innovation Challenge (By InsurTech Hartford)
May 14 (last day to apply) | $27,500 in awards | Limited to startups under $1M in revenue

InsurTech Investment Summit (20% code applied: News)
May 20 | 1PM – 3PM Edu Content and 3PM – 5PM Networking | Fully Virtual
– Featuring: Partner at Avanta Ventures, Principal at MunichRe Ventures, CEO of Transverse

Accessing the Non-Admitted Insurance Market for InsurTech (CLE Credits available)
Jun 9 | 12PM – 1PM Edu Webinar | Fully Virtual

The Perennial Core System and Claims Automation (Early-bird tickets available)
Aug 26 | 1PM – 3PM Edu Content and 3PM – 5PM Networking | Fully Virtual

InsurTech NY Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the community: Avanta Ventures, Locke Lord, Thompson & Prince. To sponsor an InsurTech NY Event, click here.

InsurTech New York Area Deals, Opportunities, and Partner Events

Discover a curated mix of April and early May insurance financings, exits, partnerships, opportunities, and partner events on the East Coast.

• WTW Quarterly InsurTech Briefing: 146 deals announced with over $2.5B in funding. Read the full report here.
• InsureTech Connect (Oct 4-6): If you have not registered yet, save $200 with our partner discount. Register here.
• Kin Insurance ($64M, HSCM): Home Insurance: Digital platform for homeowners insurance.
• Wunderite ($3M, Spark Capital): Commercial P&C: Automated platform for insurance submissions.
• Sigo ($1.5M, Amicle Capital): Auto Insurance: Operates a mobile-first auto insurance brokerage focused on the uninsured or underinsured Latinx market.
• Arturo ($25M, Atlantic Bridge): Property: Aerial imagery platform and analytics platform for underwriting and CAT risk modeling.
• Brella Insurance ($15M, Brewer Lane Ventures): Supplemental Health Benefits: Benefits platform to bridge the deductible gap for more than 13,000 health conditions.
• Level ($27M, Lightspeed Ventures): Dental and Vision Benefits: Digital platform to streamline employer-sponsored benefits management of dental and vision benefits.
• Gradient AI ($20M, American Family Ventures): Multi-line: Predictive analytics and decision support platform to automate underwriting and claims workflows.
• Clearcover ($200M, Eldridge): Auto Insurance: Digital-first auto insurance MGA.

Did you know: NYC is home to 10 insurance Corporate VCs? Here is how that stacks up against other cities with clusters of active insurance corporate venturing groups:

NYC Metro: 10
Paris: 4
San Francisco Bay Area: 4
London: 3
Boston: 3
Columbus: 3

Curious to learn more about the trends in InsurTech investments and innovation, and how traditional VCs, corporate VCs, and angel investors are picking companies?

Join us for our InsurTech Investment Summit on May 20th.

Find the full details here: https://insurtechinvestment2021.eventbrite.com

Spotlight: InsurTech NY to Host First Private Executive Briefing

On April 20th, InsurTech NY will host a private executive briefing for corporate innovation program members on the State of Digital MGAs jointly with EY. Carrier and broker innovation leaders and executives will discuss trends with digital MGAs and strategies for partnership. Also, seven digital MGAs across P&C and life lines of business will present.

Presenting startups include: Jenny Life, Deadhappy, Agilius, Branch Insurance, Cover Genius, Energetic Insurance, and Fleetr.

Read more about the program (here) or request an invite for our next executive briefing contact@insurtechny.com

Upcoming InsurTech Community Events and Programs

InsurTech Investment Summit (20% code applied: News)
May 20 | 1PM – 3PM Edu Content and 3PM – 5PM Networking | Fully Virtual
– Featuring: Partner at Avanta Ventures, Principal at MunichRe Ventures, CEO of Transverse
– Highlighted CVCs + VCs: Aflac, AXA VP, CFMG, Guardian, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, QBE, Unum

The Perennial Core System and Claims Automation (Early-bird tickets available)
Aug 26 | 1PM – 3PM Edu Content and 3PM – 5PM Networking | Fully Virtual

Parametric cover and Straight-through Processing (Register here)
Apr 22 | 12PM – 1:30PM | Hosted by InsurTech Hartford

InsurTech NY Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the community: Avanta Ventures, EY, Locke Lord

InsurTech New York Area Deals, Opportunities, and Partner Events

Discover a curated mix of March and early April insurance financings, exits, partnerships, opportunities, and partner events on the East Coast.

InsurTech NY Competition Winners (Press Release): Over 100 early-stage InsurTechs applied from around the world and were judged by 26 investor judges. Four winners were selected, one from each group of judges. Winners are Tide, Loadsure, Delos, and RemitRix.

Vericred ($23M, Aquiline): Health Lines: Platform to connect carriers and employee benefits providers with new technology partners.

Pie Insurance ($118M, Allianz X): Workers Comp Lines: Digital MGA providing workers compensation insurance to SMBs.

Asteya ($10M, I2BF Venture) Income Insurance: Provides financial health and wellbeing by transforming the disability insurance space.

Hi Marley ($25M, Emergence Capital) Multiline: Enables hassle-free texting across the entire ecosystem, empowering insurance professionals and delighting policyholders.

Corvus Insurance ($100M, Insight Partners): Commercial: a leading provider of commercial insurance products built on advanced data science.

RatesDotCA ($51M, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board): Multiline: Rate comparison website that offers a quick and simple digital experience to compare the widest selection of insurance and money products in the market.

Beam Dental ($80M, Mercato Partners): Dental: Digital-first dental benefits provider that incorporates dental hygiene behavior into policy pricing

OnRamp Insurance Conference (May 4, Virtual): Learn more here and save 20% with code “InsurTechNY”

The Future of Insurance USA 2021 (Reuters Events): Registration is now available for the June 22 program, here.

Job Openings and Opportunities

Selected job openings and opportunities in our community.

Associate / Manager at InsurTech NY (AngelList)
Summer Associate at InsurTech NY (AngelList)
Venture Capital – Principal at Nationwide (Nationwide Careers)
Venture Capital Associate at Nationwide (Nationwide Careers)
Venture Capital – Head of Platform Operations at Nationwide (Nationwide Careers)
InsurTech VC Investor – Finance & Insurance at Hudson Structured (LinkedIn and LinkedIn)

InsurTech investment and innovation is on the rise

Keep following Insurtech NY and the latest industry news here.

This article was published in March 2021. For up to date information on this year’s startup competition, follow this link.

Analogies abound about animal spirits being the underlying driving force for market competition. Whether your sales team talks about “crushing the competition” or your investment team debates how long the “bull market” will last, we are driven to compete.

However, not all competition has to be zero-sum. Competition in sport has winners and losers, but all participants improve their health and wellness as a result of training.

That’s why we built our annual InsurTech startup competition. Although we have winners who were carefully selected by judges, our hope is the entire ecosystem of participants will have sharpened their business model and company prospects as a result of applying.

Notwithstanding, every competition does have winners. Over 120 applications were carefully deliberated on by more than 24 judges. Now, we are excited to announce the finalists in our global competition and Bermuda BDA selected sub-group.

Global Insurtech Startup Competition Finalists

Global Competition Finalists: Delos, Finaeo, Tide Foundation, Dockflow, Coverhero, Digisure, Claimspace, Loadsure, HealthyHealth, Startsure

Bermuda BDA Finalists: Coastal Risk, RemitRix, Safekeep

Spotlight: Spring InsurTech Conference (Mar 10-11)

Today is the final day to purchase tickets at the general admission price. So act quickly.

Read about all the sessions here: https://insurtechmarch2021.eventbrite.com/?aff=News33

Here are 4 highlights:

1. Thought leadership on hot topics: catering to the millennial consumer, the digital user experience, insurance role in climate change, digital transformation in the cloud, and talent diversity and inclusion.

2. Presentations by InsurTech startup competition finalists: hear presentations from our finalists

3. Entertaining sessions: (i) Interactive Play on He Said, She Said: startup and carrier perspectives of working together and (ii) Watch and play along with a game show

4. Great networking tools: (i) Remo: wander the expo halls, check out new products, and network just like in-person and (ii) Grip: get connected via AI matching and have scheduled meetings

Upcoming InsurTech Events and Programs

InsurTech Spring 2021 Conference: Catering to the Customer of 2025

Mar 10 – 11 | 2 Full Days | Educational Content, Virtual Expo, and Networking | Virtual
– 75+ speakers, 20+ startup pitches, and a global startup competition
– Featuring: Clover Health CEO, CT Deputy Commissioner, SVP Underwriting SwissRe

InsurTech NY Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the community

InsurTech New York Area Deals and Opportunities

Discover a curated mix of February and Early March insurance financings, exits, partnerships, opportunities, and partner events in the New York area.

Koffie Labs ($4.5M Anthemis) Commercial P&C Lines: Purpose-built for the next generation of trucking and transportation.

Earnix ($75M Insight Partners) Multiline: Analytical enterprise rating, pricing, and product platform.

Pawlicy Advisor ($6.5M Rho Capital Partners): Pet Lines: Pet insurance marketplace.

Marble ($2.5M IA Capital): Personal P&C Lines: digital wallet and loyalty platform for insurance.

The Future of Insurance USA 2021 (Reuters Events): Registration is now available for the June 22 program, here.

Venture Summit Virtual Connect West (Young Startup): Registration is available here.

We are Hiring. Learn more about our growing community.

InsurTech NY is hiring an associate to join our dynamic team. Be at the center of insurance innovation at the nexus of high growth startups, leading edge insurers, and venture investors. If you are interested or know someone who would be a good fit please email Ira Ziff at iraziff@theinsurancerecruiter.net. Find the full job description on Linkedin.

Best,
David and Tony
InsurTech NY Team

This article was publised in February, 2021. Click here for up to date InsurTech NY news, or check out our upcoming Spring Conference.

February marks the first month since the start of the pandemic where the 7-day rolling average number of vaccine doses administered per day exceeded 1 million people.

The positive growth trend of doses administered means a return to maskless days is on the horizon. However, most carriers are not ready to plan beyond Q3. The on-going health impacts, changes to the workplace, and the global financial impact all create a wave of uncertainty.
Therefore, simple long-term planning this year can garner a real competitive advantage.

On the Path to Herd Immunity?

As a community that hosts events to bring people together, we need to understand when we can layer in in-person programs. What matters most to a transition to a post-Covid world is when it happens and how where we will reach herd immunity.

There is a good deal of optimism that we will reach herd immunity by the summer. We did some simple math for you to find out what that takes. Biden’s 100-day target is 1.5M doses per day. In order for us to reach herd immunity (70% of the population vaccinated) by summertime, it will take 3M doses/day, twice Biden’s 100-day target.

Given the math above, how optimistic are you about our immunization targets?

• Most Optimistic: We hit herd immunity by July, reaching 3M vaccine doses/day
• Better Than Today: We hit herd immunity by October, reaching 2M vaccine doses/day
• Biden’s Target: We hit herd immunity by December, reaching 1.5M vaccine doses/day

Each level puts at a vastly different month for herd immunity. Join the conversation on Linkedin and share your vote and reasoning:

LinkedIn Discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6764740644322783232

Upcoming InsurTech Events and Programs

InsurTech Spring 2021 Conference: Catering to the Customer of 2025 (10% Off: NewsFeb-10)
Mar 10 – 11 | 2 Full Days | Educational Content, Virtual Expo, and Networking | Virtual
– 75+ speakers, 20+ startup pitches, and a global startup competition
– Featuring: Clover Health CEO, CT Deputy Commissioner, SVP Underwriting SwissRe

InsurTech NY Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the event: e2Value, EY, ClarionDoor, Locke Lord, Britecore, Guidewire, EIS, Vymo, Breathe Life, Microsoft, Launch Hartford, Appian, Duck Creek, Innoveo, Instanda, ushur, Ivans, Insurmi, Slice Labs, eBaotech, Avanta Ventures, Eversheds-Sutherland, Friendly, FastTrack, Bermuda BMA, Thompson & Prince, Insurance Recruiter

InsurTech New York Area Deals and Opportunities

Discover a curated mix of January and Early Feb insurance financings, exits, partnerships, opportunities, and partner events in the New York area.

TrustLayer ($6.6M Propel Venture Partners) Commercial P&C Lines: Collaborative risk management application that helps reduce friction between businesses.

DealerPolicy ($30M 3L Capital) Auto Lines: Complete digital insurance marketplace for automotive retailers.

Rhino ($95M Tiger Global Management): Personal P&C Lines: Renter security deposit insurance.

Nayya ($11M Felicis Ventures): Benefits Lines: Insurance benefits experience and management platform

Bold Penguin (Acquired by American Family): Commercial P&C Lines: Commercial insuance exchange.

Lloyds Lab (UK InsurTech Accelerator): Accepting applications until Feb 22. Apply here.

The Future of Insurance USA 2021 (Reuters Events): Waitlist is now available for the June 22 program, here.

Venture Summit Virtual Connect West (Young Startup): Registration is available here.

Interested in Volunteering?

InsurTech NY is actively looking for individuals looking to connect deeper into the InsurTech community. We are looking for a writer interested in helping us research trends related to our upcoming December event. If you are interested, contact us here, or email us at contact@insurtechny.com.

As the New Year dawns upon us, we can reflect and see that 2020 was a year of scarcity for Insurance companies, but was a year of abundance for InsurTech companies.

Insurance companies struggled with low-interest rates, business interruption lawsuits, economic uncertainty, and a hard market. Meanwhile, InsurTech companies discovered how to go public via SPACs (Clover Health and Metromile) and the traditional route (Root and Lemonade), were awarded unicorn valuations (DataRobot, Hippo, and Unqork), and continued to gain market traction even during economic uncertainty.

The big lesson from 2020 is that those who invested to position themselves for the future came out ahead. Life insurers positioned with automated underwriting keep selling policies. Property insurers with virtual claims processes kept their adjusters safe and adjustment expenses down. Risk managers with high safety ratings positioned themselves for a hard market.

At InsurTech NY, we decided to heed the lesson of 2020, by investing in the future. This week, we launched our Annual InsurTech Competition choosing to focus on the future, early-stage InsurTechs with under $250,000 in revenue.

If you know an InsurTech founder who is just getting started or wants to get discovered, please help us spread the word.

Full details here: https://www.insurtechny.com/competition/

Upcoming InsurTech Events and Programs

InsurTech Spring 2021 Conference: Catering to the Customer of 2025 (Pre-registration)
Mar 10 – 11 | 2 Full Days | Educational Content, Virtual Expo, and Networking | Virtual
– 75+ speakers, 20+ startup pitches, and a global startup competition
– Two most active InsurTech communities in North America join forces

InsurTech Early Stage Competition (Apply until Jan 29)
Simple Application | Finalists present at Spring Conference
– Judges include angel investors, early-stage VCs, and carriers looking for pilots
– Contestants can receive over $200,000 in awards

InsurTech NY Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the community: E2Value, EY, ClarionDoor, Locke Lord, Britecore, Guidewire, Eversheds Sutherland, EIS, Vymo

InsurTech New York Area Deals and Opportunities

Discover a curated mix of December and early January insurance financings, exits, partnerships, and opportunities in the New York area.

BigID ($70M Salesforce Ventures) Cyber Lines: Machine learning platform that helps enterprises better protect their customer and employee data at petabyte scale.

Vesttoo (Undisclosed Amount, Axon Fund) Multi-line: Risk modeling and alternative risk transfer for the Life and P&C insurance markets.

Interested in Volunteering?

InsurTech NY is actively looking for individuals looking to connect deeper into the InsurTech community. If you are interested, email us at contact@insurtechny.com.

Best,
David and Tony
InsurTech NY Team

(Note: This is a post for attendees of Dec 10th Insurtech NY Event: Emerging Technologies. If you want to join this event, you can buy your tickets here.)

We created this guide to help you maximize your Core Systems event experience. 

Table of Contents

A. Win cool tech gear (e.g. Apple Airpod, Amazon Echo)

B. Access and prepare for networking (Do this now!)

C. Network on the day of the event

D. Watch the presentations

If you have any questions about the event, do not hesitate to reach out to us via email help@insurtechny.com. 
________________________________________

A. Network with Grip and Win Tech Gear (How to Below)

Network with two attendees on 12/10 and you are added to the raffle. Networking runs from 3pm to 5pm ET. Raffles will be held at 5pm. To win, you must be present at the 5pm Zoom raffle.

You can win:

– Airpod Pro
– Chrome Cast
– Amazon Echo Dot

________________________________________

B. Access and prepare for networking

1) Login: Use a desktop browser to login: Grip App

Login credentials were sent to you via email (check spam folder). Alternatively, you can “Request a reminder” to get the BadgeID sent to your email. 

2) Setup profile: Connect your Linkedin profile to build your Grip profile. The more information you add, the better matches you will get.

3) Find people to connect with. Couple options:

a. “See Recommendations” button. You will see a list of people that the system recommends based on your profile
b. “All attendees” link. You will see a list of attendees, which you can filter and sort to find those you are interested in meeting. 

4) Schedule meeting: find a person and select “Schedule a meeting” button. 

Select a 15 min time slot between 3pm and 5pm.

The location will be a virtual private video room, which will automatically be created 5 minutes before your meeting. You can also chat via text message with your meeting guest. We recommend leaving a number in there, in case the video doesn’t work. 

5) Accept (or reject) meeting: Other people might request a meeting with you. When they do, you will get an email like below:

You can also check all of your meetings in the “My Schedule” link on the left of the networking app. Scroll down, and you will see your meetings from 3pm onwards. 

Either way, you can choose to accept, message, reschedule or decline. Please take action on these, as you know how it feels to be left hanging.
________________________________________

C. Network on the day of the event

1) Find meeting: Go to your “My schedule” link, then click on the actual meeting you have already scheduled.

2) Join the meeting room: 5 minutes before the meeting start time, the “Open Virtual Meeting Room” button will be clickable.  You can click it to join the video meeting.

3) Have a successful meeting: Once you join, there is a Chance that audio will not work, especially if you have multiple audio options on your computer.  To get around this, you should click on the “Try opening the meeting in a new tab” link.

This will open a new window, which gives you options to change your audio. Click on the settings “Gear” button, and change your audio options.

You may need to check your browser settings as well. This is a common problem among browser based video conferencing app. Below is a guide to fix it on Google Chrome Browser. It’s for a different video conferencing app but the directions are still valid. Start with #2 in the guide: https://remo1.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/63000253364

5) Backup option – phone call maybe? If the above meeting method fails, just ask for a phone number and call or share your personal zoom link. You have options!

_______________________________________

D. Watch the live stream presentations

You can watch the presentation in the same networking app, or the zoom link provided in the email, Eventbrite page, or the calendar invite.

You just need an internet connection to watch the webinar. Once you are done with the presentations, you can start networking through the process described above.  

Then come back to the same live stream again at 5pm ET to watch the raffle.

Following the August announcement of the FINEOS acquisition of Limelight Health and PE acquisition of Majesco, Q4 has already become red hot with InsurTech deals. A short timeline of deal announcements highlights the trend:

• Oct 6: Bold Penguin acquires RiskGenius
• Oct 6: Clover Health merges with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings to go public
• Oct 7: Claim Central Consolidated acquires Livegenic
• Oct 28: Root raises $724 million in its initial public offering
• Nov 6: Insurity acquires CodeObjects
• Nov 9: Brown and Brown acquires CoverHound and CoverPolicy
• Nov 17: Advisen acquires Zywave

Analyzing the recent acquisitions, it is clear the strength of the market is multi-dimensional. From a traditional M&A perspective, Brown and Brown’s acquisition doubles down on the trend started by Prudential and Aon that carriers and brokers are looking to acquire new paths for distribution. Likewise, traditional insurance vendors like Insurity demonstrate that the market for product extensions for service providers is a viable exit route for startups.

Meanwhile, it is the public market and InsurTech consolidation trend that is new and most exciting. There now exists a crop of InsurTechs with cash flow and balance sheets that make it possible to consolidate with other InsurTechs. Bold Penguin is less than five years in the market. Likewise, Root is only in its fifth year and now a public company. In fact, according to Tushar Virmani from JP Morgan, in his presentation in our accelerator at least 15% of the tech IPOs this year are InsurTechs.

Investors can now have the confidence to place bets on InsurTechs knowing that a liquidity event can take at least five paths: insurer acquisition, tech provider acquisition, InsurTech acquisition, SPAC to the public market, or IPO.

In 2021, InsurTech NY plans to continue to highlight InsurTech deals and bring the founders who made it to exit to our panels and discussions.

Upcoming InsurTech Events and Programs

Emerging Technologies in Insurance: AI, RPA, IoT (Register at early-bird discount)

Dec 10 | 1PM – 3PM Educational Content and 3PM – 5PM Networking | Fully Virtual

– 2 Panels, 2 Ted Talks, 2 Hours of Networking

– Featuring: Allstate RPA leader and E2Value CEO

InsurTech NY Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the community: EIS, E2Value, Eversheds Sutherland, and EY.

InsurTech New York Area Deals and Opportunities

Discover a curated mix of early November insurance financings, exits, partnerships, and opportunities in the New York area.

• Lightico ($14M, Oxx VC) Multi-Line: Platform to help digitally collect forms, signatures, documents, and payments.
• Assurely ($3M, ATX Ventures) Commercial Lines: Embedded Insurance-as-a-Service platform for alternative distribution channels of commercial insurance.
• Fabric ($18M, CNO Financial) Life Lines: Direct to consumer life insurance platform bundled with a platform to create a will and organize financial documents.

BTV Accelerator (Applications open until Nov 30): Accelerator that brings broker-centric InsurTech startups together to provide seed-funding, a hyper-accelerated curriculum, and direct access to our Agency & Non-Agency Mentor circuit.

Interested in Volunteering?

InsurTech NY is actively looking for individuals looking to connect deeper into the InsurTech community. We are looking for a writer interested in helping us research trends related to our upcoming December event. If you are interested, email us at contact@insurtechny.com.

InsurTech NY, the largest InsurTech community in the New York metro area, announced today its Virtual Matchmaking Expo, the first dedicated virtual job fair and networking event for InsurTech startups and insurance industry professionals, to be held on October 29, 2020.

“In an environment of record unemployment, associations and technology-based communities need to step up and provide solutions,” said David Gritz, InsurTech NY Managing Director. “Hosting a virtual expo for InsurTechs is the safest and most effective way to match growing InsurTechs with prospective co-founders, executives, advisors, and board members.”

Research by InsurTech NY found that there are more than 1,500 advertised open positions at InsurTechs that are Series-A or later funding stages. These roles range from senior underwriters to data scientists to digital marketers. Behind the scenes, InsurTechs are also scouting for advisors and board members.

InsurTech NY has been a vital hub for the industry.  Its in-person and virtual events have grown and regularly attract thousands across the industry, including startups, carriers, investors, and other participants.

“We are actively hiring in our client solutions group from the insurance industry,” said Ben Caggia, Director of Talent Acquisition at Unqork, a no-code software platform. “The InsurTech NY Matchmaking Expo is an ideal way for us to discover talented individuals in the insurance industry to fill our roles.”

The Matchmaking Expo will be held virtually on a networking platform that creates a three-dimensional virtual environment where attendees can visit booths and dynamically join video conversations with exhibitors. InsurTechs participating in the Expo will be able to host a virtual booth and dedicated interviewing table to meet prospective new hires, advisors, or board members.

The program will feature association and educational partners including NAAIA New York, Advisen, Quesnay, St. John’s University, InsurTech Hartford, Insurance Underwriters, and CT Innovations. For more information about the Expo visit insurtechny.com/event_program/expo/

(Note: This is a post for attendees of August 27th Insurtech NY Event: Core Systems Evolution. If you want to join this event, you can buy your tickets here.)

We created this guide to help you maximize your Core Systems event experience. 

Table of Contents

A. Win cool tech gear (e.g. Microsoft Surface, Apple Airpod)

B. Access and prepare for networking (Do this now!)

C. Network on the day of the event

D. Watch the presentations

If you have any questions about the event, do not hesitate to reach out to us via email help@insurtechny.com. 
________________________________________

A. Network with Grip and Win Tech Gear (How to Below)

Network with two attendees on 8/27 and you are added to the raffle. Networking runs from 3pm to 5pm ET. Raffles will be held at 5pm. To win, you must be present at the 5pm Zoom raffle.

You can win:

– Microsoft Surface Pro 7  (Sponsored by Microsoft)
– Airpod Pro
– Chrome Cast
– Amazon Echo Dot

________________________________________

B. Access and prepare for networking

1) Login: Use a desktop browser to login: Grip App

Login credentials were sent to you via email (check spam folder). Alternatively, you can “Request a reminder” to get the BadgeID sent to your email. 

2) Setup profile: Connect your Linkedin profile to build your Grip profile. The more information you add, the better matches you will get.

3) Find people to connect with. Couple options:

a. “See Recommendations” button. You will see a list of people that the system recommends based on your profile
b. “All attendees” link. You will see a list of attendees, which you can filter and sort to find those you are interested in meeting. 

4) Schedule meeting: find a person and select “Schedule a meeting” button. 

Select a 15 min time slot between 3pm and 5pm.

The location will be a virtual private video room, which will automatically be created 5 minutes before your meeting. You can also chat via text message with your meeting guest. We recommend leaving a number in there, in case the video doesn’t work. 

5) Accept (or reject) meeting: Other people might request a meeting with you. When they do, you will get an email like below:

You can also check all of your meetings in the “My Schedule” link on the left of the networking app. Scroll down, and you will see your meetings from 3pm onwards. 

Either way, you can choose to accept, message, reschedule or decline. Please take action on these, as you know how it feels to be left hanging.
________________________________________

C. Network on the day of the event

1) Find meeting: Go to your “My schedule” link, then click on the actual meeting you have already scheduled.

2) Join the meeting room: 5 minutes before the meeting start time, the “Open Virtual Meeting Room” button will be clickable.  You can click it to join the video meeting.

3) Have a successful meeting: Once you join, there is a good chance that audio will not work, especially if you have multiple audio options on your computer.  To get around this, you should click on the “Try opening the meeting in a new tab” link.

This will open a new window, which gives you options to change your audio. Click on the settings “Gear” button, and change your audio options.

You may need to check your browser settings as well. This is a common problem among browser based video conferencing app. Below is a guide to fix it on Google Chrome Browser. It’s for a different video conferencing app but the directions are still valid. Start with #2 in the guide: https://remo1.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/63000253364

5) Backup option – phone call maybe? If the above meeting method fails, just ask for a phone number and call or share your personal zoom link. You have options!

_______________________________________

D. Watch the presentations

Follow the zoom link that will be provided via email, on the Eventbrite page, or the calendar invite (Same link will be provided across multiple channels).

You just need an internet connection to watch the webinar. Once you are done with the presentations, you can start networking through the process described above.  

Then come back to the same zoom link again at 5pm ET to watch the raffle.

How to Convert a 500 Person Conference to 100% Virtual in 7 Days

(Edit: Updated March 26 with tech-guide for speakers link)

On March 12, 2020, we faced a daunting challenge. Our March 19 New York City based in-person conference was 7 days away and people were starting to think the sky was falling. The night before, Trump had just announced a ban on all European flights. The US just hit 500 confirmed cases of COVID-19. We did not yet know how bad it was going to get, but we knew it could only get worse.

For the health and safety of our guests, we knew we could not continue this event in-person.

However, since the epidemic first became public in January, we had put together a backup plan to make the entire event virtual. Fortunately, we had experience running webinars and virtual communities.

The challenge remained that this was not an ordinary conference. It was one of the largest InsurTech Conferences with 7 panels, 20 start competition pitches, 4 TED-style talks, totaling over 60 speakers. As part of the competition, more than twenty judges had to vote on winners in near real-time. We also promised to provide networking opportunities with one-on-one meetings for all the attendees. All that added up to a tall challenge.

The only question that remained was were we able to execute on the new plan? Immediately we went into action. Within 12 hours, we called every speaker and sponsor about the new format. All speakers stuck with us. We immediately went to work and notified our attendees. The end result was powerful, global engagement with attendees eager to exchange information and hear from expert speakers in the field.

The How-To Guide: Going Virtual

Lesson one. A virtual conference is more work than an in-person event. Unlike a physical space where you can control the entire environment, control the complete tech setup, and improvise on the fly, a virtual conference is not so forgiving. If you make a misstep or lose connection, you can lose the audience completely and technology glitches are more obvious. There are many more dependencies and failure points, and require crisp coordination and being on-point with everything. Don’t take this job lightly!

There are five essential elements to a perfect virtual conference (or near-perfect):

1. Technology
2. Team & Staffing
3. Event Design
4. Speakers & Content
5. In case of Emergency

The following section will cover tips under each of the essential elements.

1. Technology

At its heart a virtual conference is a technology product. You must treat it that way. We decided to use Zoom for our conferencing platform and Grip for our networking platform. However, you need to do your own research and fit what works for your team and your budget. The following tips should help you get your technology setup.

a) Use a web conference app and be proficient at it. There are a number of virtual conference tools out there including Webex, Bluejeans, Zoom, GoToWebinar among others. Select the tool based on your requirements and go with it. We went with Zoom “Webinar”, as it can handle up to 10,000 attendees. We were also very familiar with Zoom for our normal day to day virtual meetings and felt comfortable with its performance and capability.

b) Use a virtual networking app and be proficient at it. Many people go to events for networking, and so we wanted to continue offering this capability to our attendees. Review all of the options available such as Grip, Brella, and Hopin and pick what suits your audience best.

c) Upgrade internet speed and use ethernet cable: If you are the host, you cannot afford to have bad audio or video. Upgrade your internet and connect your computer using the ethernet cable. In our case, we upgraded to 1 Gigabit Verizon FIOS.

d) Have a dedicated microphone: Your audio as a host is important. A quality dynamic microphone will do the job, but if you are looking for the best audio look into podcasting audio setups that include dynamic microphones. We ended up choosing the Blue Yeti dynamic microphone because we had past experience using it in our online courses and came with a built-in stand and easy to use mute button.

2. Team & Staff

Running a virtual event takes a different type of team than an in-person event. For in-person events, certain traits shine like charisma, situational awareness, and ability to improvise. Virtual events work best with an entirely different set of skills like attention to detail, timeliness, and direct communication. If something goes wrong, there is little time to waste, so the team needs to mesh and work together in a crisis. Some specific tips to build the best team are:

a) Clearly divide roles and explain expectations. It is best if one person keeps the same role throughout the event. There are five roles we found that make things run smoothly.

• Master of Ceremonies (MC): This role is for the most charismatic in your team. The MC is the glue that holds the event together. The MC should act as a narrator throughout the day and should introduce the hosts, introduce the speakers, and keep the audience engaged during transitions and the break.
• Speaker Manager: This role requires a detail-oriented person. You should have a list of all of the speakers and their cell phones in advance of the event. The Speaker Manager should make sure everyone joins their session with ample time to work out technical difficulties.
• Slide Manager: This role requires an individual to track and manage all of the presentation material. Our recommendation is to compile all of the material from the speakers in advance and put it into the least amount of locations possible. The slide manager must be available for the entire day and have a deep understanding of the conference software.
• Timekeeper: Since attendees can join at any time in a virtual conference, it is essential to stay on time for the entire day. A timekeeper must be responsible to keep the entire team and all of the presenters on time. The timekeeper cannot be shy and must interrupt presenters to keep the conference on track.
• Help Desk: A virtual conference by definition is a technology-based offering. Many attendees will have trouble or get stuck with technology. A help desk team member must be able to troubleshoot the issues by email, phone, or screen share and resolve issues quickly.

b) Everyone must understand the technology. Learning the conference and networking software is not optional. All team members must go through training and demonstrate they can handle the detailed and most complex elements of the software. It is difficult to know in advance what will go wrong and who will be needed to improvise. We made sure every staff and volunteers had admin access and training on how to use the tools.

c) Practice, practice, and dry run everything. Make sure your entire team goes through a dry run of the event as if they were going to give a theatrical performance. You need to dry run the entire conference with as close to real conditions as possible including the final presentations and the same technology with the same settings you will use during the show. You must also adjust the team member roles and add support if it becomes clear in practice that one person will not be able to do a certain assigned role. Due to limited time, we only did one dry-run, but in retrospect, we should have had at least one more.

3. Event Design

Events are often dynamic with speakers, sponsors, and agendas changing up until the last minute. Virtual events require more planning and that you lock down the details of the conference as far as in advance as possible. Our general recommendation is to keep the session schedule locked 2 weeks before the event and lock all speakers 1 week before. Beyond timing, here are some tips to make your planning as effective as possible.

a) Architect the event to run continuously. Ideally, a virtual conference should have continuous content with no breaks. Every time you have a break, you give the audience an opportunity to leave the screen and not come back. If you want to plan breaks, make sure you have content on the screen to let the audience know when the break will be over and what to expect next.

b) Design the event so it’s entertaining: Attendees have other options during a virtual conference. It is even more important that you keep them engaged throughout. There are a number of things you can do for entertainment. You can ask poll questions in between and during sessions. You can keep sessions concise so if one speaker is dull it does not ruin the day. You can add special features like a professional comedian during breaks for entertainment (which we ended up doing, and it was a hit).

c) Over-communicate to everyone: Assume only 25% — 35% of the emails you send will be received. That is true for speakers and attendees. Send attendees information about how to access the content through as many channels as possible (e.g. email, LinkedIn, and text). Using multiple email services and multiple domains to maximize deliverability and track opens. Provide an email where people can ask for help if they cannot access your content.

4. Speakers

Speakers are the heart of your conference. A virtual conference requires that every speaker be able to communicate effectively and capitate the audience. Attendees are only one click away from their email or the word document with their last project. Do everything you can to vet speakers and if you end up with a dull speaker try to minimize their time or contribution. Here are additional tips to help you manage speakers and content.

a) Simplify everything and build in redundancies for speakers. In the virtual conference, a panel will also trump an individual speaker. If one person drops out of a panel, you will still have other panels who can pick up the slack. Also, wherever possible avoid the use of slides and simplify to talking heads. You should also have backups in place if a moderator is unavailable or has technical difficulties. We put in place a backup plan for an alternative moderator to take over any session with the ability to do it mid-session.

b) Set up content prep meetings with all speakers. This is something we normally do for in-person events as well but it is even more important that you prepare the speakers beforehand. Heave at least one prep-meeting with all of the speakers and hold 1-on-1 pitch feedback sessions with each startup who were pitching. This will be a substantial time commitment. You can optimize your time by having speakers join calls with their co-panelists and keeping startup review calls back-to-back at 20-minute intervals (that way you get 3 per hour).

c) Schedule tech-test meetings with all speakers. Separate from content prep meetings, you need to have a session with all of the speakers to ensure they know how to join the virtual conference and test that their audio and video works. Don’t assume that the speakers will “figure” it out during the conference. A small hiccup will be even more magnified in a virtual setting or ruin an entire session. We nagged until all 60+ speakers did a 10~15 minute tech test with us.

d) Guide for speakers. We also sent the speakers a guide that repeats most of what we reviewed in the tech-test. This document is literally what we sent to the speakers. We also had a similar but different guide for judges.

e) Have phone numbers of all speakers. This will allow you to call them if there are any issues. Text and email are too slow during the day of the event.

f) Have speakers join 30 minutes prior to their session. Do whatever it takes so the speakers join the conference before their session starts. This should include telling them one-on-one, sending multiple email reminders, and sending calendar invites 30 minutes prior to their session. Even after you do this, some speakers will not join on time. When they do not join on time, you must call their cell phone and get them into the session.

5. In Case of Emergency

As the saying goes, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. The goal is to have all of those things that can go wrong occur in your dry run. After our dry run it hurt our confidence and we were worried about the event. It was that paranoia that helped us get through the day and deal with any issues quickly. The following recommendations are if you hit a snag in the day.

a) Establish backups for everything: Think about the important things that could ruin the event if it went wrong, and then have backups for them. In our case, we had a backup for Zoom (e.g. GoToWebinar), backup for audio access for speakers, back up for different roles, and a backup for internet connection for some of our staff.

If you have any questions on the above or need help or advice on running your virtual conference, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are more than happy to share what we know. You can reach either Tony or David directly (tony@insurtechny.com or david@insurtechny.com)