There are now 12 accelerators, incubators, studios, and labs dedicated to growing InsurTechs globally. It is now easier than ever to build an InsurTech business.
But it can be difficult to understand how one gets selected into these programs. Most of the time to the outside world, this process is shrouded in mystery. And, most startups simply receive a rejection letter after completing a black box application.
Since we run or influence the process of 17% of the programs and ~25% of the total flow of startups to the programs, we thought it would be helpful to unveil the secrets … just for our readers. Here it goes.
InsurTech Match (Growth Stage Program):
Criteria for selection: one of the members must choose your company. Members typically choose your company if it addresses one of their annual problem statements. They can also pick you if they believe there is a pilot potential.
Problem statements for 2024: 3rd Party Property Data, Data Engineering Tools, Customer Experience Tools, AI Risk Mitigation, Life Alternative Distribution, Document Ingestion, Submission Platforms in Australia, Estate Planning, Underwriting Workflow Automation, 3rd Party GL and PL Data, Financial Advisory Tools, OCR and Data Pre-fill
MGA Lab
Criteria for selection: best mix of team, distribution strategy, and commercial viability of the MGA concept. We also need to believe that one of our reinsurers or capacity providers will be interested in backing you.
Please keep our secret safe. Just kidding. If you or a friend feel you meet the selection criteria, give it a shot and apply. It should take less than 30 minutes.
InsurTech Match: Apply here (Due 7/12)
MGA Lab: Apply here (Due 7/12)
Leveraging the Latest Broker Tech
Nov 5, 2024 | New York
InsurTech Spring Conference (Pre-Registration Open)
Apr 2-3, 2025 | New York
– 1000+ influencers, 100+ speakers, 10 startup presentations, + expo hall
MGA – means a Managing General Agent, which has both business and legal context meanings. In the business context, an MGA is an insurance producer…
Thank you to our InsurTech NY Community Sponsors
If you are interested in sponsoring our community or our 2025 Spring conference, send us a note at contact@insurtechny.com.
InsurTech News and Deals
Partner Events and Programs
See more information about our partner events here:
https://www.insurtechny.com/upcoming-insurtech-conferences/
Travelers – Director, Identity Governance & Administration
Gallagher – Global Programs
Lockton Re – P&C Senior Analyst
See more information and apply via our blog: https://www.insurtechny.com/jobs
Has the InsurTech NY community helped you make a lasting connection? Do you want an opportunity to get your brand out there? Show your support for InsurTech NY by sponsoring our Spring Conference on April 2-3, 2025. To learn more or request information reach out to contact@insurtechny.com.
Best,
David and Tony
InsurTech NY Team
Is the Future in MGAs?
On May 23rd, Bowhead Specialty had its IPO at $17 a share. On its first day of trading, it ended up 40%.
Bowhead is one of the glimmers of hope for the pipeline of InsurTechs and insurance companies that hope to go public. But they are not the only recent public insurer that is performing well. Two others are up from IPO:
Hamilton Insurance – Up ~13%
Skyward Specialty – Up ~245%
Looking beyond the headlines, Bowhead operates primarily as an MGA backed by American Family Insurance writing PL, GL, and Healthcare Liability. Both the underwriters at Bowhead and the program managers at Skyward have demonstrated that discipline is key. With the right discipline, it is possible to post a profitable book of business as a new public company.
If you are an entrepreneur looking to start an MGA, don’t have your hopes crushed just because your favorite VC gave up on MGAs last year. The professionals have proven there is money to be made.
You might not have all the pieces together to become the next Bowhead Speciality yet. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. There is clearly and future in MGA, and InsurTech NY is accepting applications to the MGA Lab – an immersive program to help MGAs get to the next stage.
Read more and apply here: https://www.insurtechny.com/mga-lab/
The Sound of Underwriting
Jun 4 | Flatiron District, NYC
– Learn how underwriters price risk in entertainment + listen to InsurTech musicians
Series A, B, C: Marketing KPIs to convince a VC you’re ready to raise
Jun 6 | Online Event
– Online event on marketing KPIs. Fine tune your pitch and be ready for that next capital raise
InsurTech Rapids
Jun 10-11 | Jackson, Wyoming | 1 Content day + 1 Networking Day
– Founder and investor event limited to 20 people. Build deep lasting relationships.
– 2:1 Investor to Founder ratio
InsurTech Spring Conference (Pre-Registration Open)
Apr 2-3, 2025 | New York
– Our 6th annual flagship conference, bringing together up to 1000 InsurTech professionals from Carriers, brokers, vendors, and more. Pre-Registration is currently open. Sign up and be notified on early deals and pricing.
Thank you to our InsurTech NY community sponsors.
If you are interested in sponsoring our community or our 2025 Spring conference, send us a note at contact@insurtechny.com
Discover a curated mix of InsurTech financings, exits, partnerships, opportunities, and partner events on the East Coast.
InsurTech News and Deals
Partner Events and Programs
See more information about our partner events here: https://www.insurtechny.com/upcoming-insurtech-conferences/
Travelers – Director, Identity Governance & Administration
Gallagher – Global Programs
Lockton Re – Senior Account Manager – Commercial Insurance
Tokio Marine – Senior Underwriter
See more information and apply via our blog: https://www.insurtechny.com/jobs
Has the InsurTech NY community helped you make a lasting connection? Do you want an opportunity to get your brand out there? Show your support for InsurTech NY by sponsoring our Spring Conference on April 2-3, 2025. To learn more or request information reach out to contact@insurtechny.com.
Best,
David and Tony,
InsurTech NY Team
What’s more common in America than Heart Disease?
Non-Compete Agreements
Per the FTC, nearly 1 in 5 workers is bound to a non-compete.
Non-competes tend to keep employees tethered to employers as the alternative is finding a job in another sector. Historically, a few states held that this employer power was against public policy. For example, California has enforced a ban on non-competes since 1872 based on judicial interpretations of CA Code Section 16600.
So if you are an employer, now would be a great time to review your employment and contractor agreements and make some updates. Keep in mind the FTC ruling exempts executives earning more than $151,000. Read the FTC press release here.
On the subject of competition, if you missed it, InsurTech NY announced the winners of our annual Global InsurTech Competition:
Samos Insurance : Carrier/Broker Winner
Qumis : Investor Winner
The Sound of Underwriting
Jun 4 | Flatiron District, NYC
– Learn how underwriters think about entertainment + listen to an InsurTech musician
InsurTech Rapids
Jun 10-11 | 1 Content day + 1 Networking Day | Jackson, Wyoming
– Founder and investor event limited to 20 people. Build deep lasting relationships.
InsurTech Spring Conference (Pre-Registration Open)
Apr 2-3, 2025 | 2 Days | New York
– 1000+ influencers, 100+ speakers, 10 startup presentations, + expo hall
Series A, B, C: Marketing KPIs to convince a VC you’re ready to raise
Jun 6 | Online Event
– Online event on marketing KPIs. Fine tune your pitch and be ready for that next capital raise
Our partners over at Locke Lord LLP will be helping to inform the community, by creating a glossary of terms used in the Insurance industry.
SAP – Insurance statutory accounting principles for insurance companies which are codified… read more
Thank you to sponsors of our recent InsurTech Spring Conference.
If you are interested in sponsoring our events? Make a request here
Discover a curated mix of InsurTech financings, exits, partnerships, opportunities, and partner events on the East Coast.
InsurTech News and Deals
Partner Events and Programs
See more information about our partner events here: https://www.insurtechny.com/upcoming-insurtech-conferences/
Anansi – Strategic Account Manager
Tokio Marine Group – Manager, Vulnerability Management and Testing- Remote
Gallagher – Client Service Positions
Lockton – Personal Risk (High Net-Worth) Sales Executive
See more information and apply via our blog: https://www.insurtechny.com/jobs
Best,
David and Tony,
InsurTech NY Team
Our partners over at Locke Lord have generously agreed to contribute to the InsurTech NY community with some educational pieces about the insurance industry and commonly used terms in it. We will be adding to this InsureTerms list periodically, so check back for more insights from Locke Lord’s team.
Insurance statutory accounting principles for insurance companies which are codified in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Accounting Practices & Procedures Manual, and sometimes by a “permitted practice” of a state insurance department; the term is oftentimes used as an accounting reference for insurance company financial matters in a stock purchase agreement, managing general agreement and reinsurance agreement. SAP is an enterprise liquidation value oriented method of accounting, which is much different than U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, which an insurance holding company would normally use for preparing its financial statements. April 9, 2024 | Contribution by BCasey@lockelord.com
A Managing General Agent, which has both business and legal context meanings. In the business context, an MGA is an insurance producer that, under an agreement with an insurer, has the authority from the insurer to produce insurance business using the insurer’s policy forms and rates, or policy forms and rates developed by the MGA for use in the name of the insurer, and may also handle insurance claims for the insurance policies produced by the MGA. Oftentimes, an MGA will bring a reinsurance company partner to the transaction that will reinsure the “fronting insurer” for which the MGA acts. From a legal perspective, many state insurance departments issue a separate MGA license to a licensed insurance producer where it meets the legal definition of an MGA, which generally is an insurance producer that
April 9, 2024 | Contribution by BCasey@lockelord.com
ON LINKEDIN – At InsurTech NY March 20-21, speakers on panels shared insights on embedded insurance, underwriting innovation, and innovating during core systems upgrades…
IN PDF, March 22, 2024 – “Insurers had better get on board with artificial intelligence because it’s here to stay, say industry watchers. “I think that AI is already sticking,” said Todd Rissel, CEO of e2Value, Inc., a property appraisal company in Stamford, Conn., who was speaking at the Spring InsurTech Conference in New York this week…”
ON WEBSITE – InsurTech M&A seems to be showing signs of life. While there hasn’t been an influx of completed deals, more discussions have been taking place compared to last year, attendees at the Insurtech Spring Conference said…
IN PDF, April 1, 2024 – “Regulations, I don’t see them as a roadblock,” said Nanditha Nandy, head of data-driven underwriting solutions for Swiss Re, speaking at the InsurTech NY conference in March. “They are the necessary gatekeepers. If we are able to explain the decision-making, we should be fine.”
VIDEOS, April 5, 2024 – AM Best TV has covered the Insurtech 2024 Spring Conference thoroughly. Click here for a full breakdown of their content around the conference with topics like: “Insurtech Leaders Say a Strong Insurance Background Is Part of Successful Recipe”
VIDEO, April 2, 2024 – “Root CEO Alex Timm has said the insurtech appreciates the recent recognition it has received for its performance among investors, and argued that the auto specialist’s technology advantage is starting to become more evident as it outperforms the industry.”
ON WEBSITE, March 27, 2024 – “InsurTech NY — an insurtech community association, incubator, and investor — held its 2024 Spring Conference on March 20 and 21. Presentations and panels centered on the new wave of opportunities from AI and data analytics within insurance. We look at the key themes and use CB Insights data to dig into the underlying trends.”
ON WEBSITE, April 5, 2024 – “InsurTech NY founders: Group aiming to provide “ecosystem” to foster community. InsurTech NY’s co-founders David Gritz and Tony Lew have outlined the group’s mission of fostering community within the segment and to leverage their insights and relationships to invest and incubate start-ups to help them get off the ground.”
ON WEBSITE, April 11, 2024 – “Following InsurTech NY‘s Spring Conference, Arch’s Bryan Adams sat down with Michael Shashoua from Digital Insurance to discuss third-party data management. The pair explored both challenges and solutions for the insurance industry when it comes to handling third-party data. Bryan even shared two data-related trends on the horizon that have caught his interest.”
With Super Tuesday behind us, we are now turning our focus to the competitive spirit within our industry.
More than 30 VC and carrier judges have deliberated and selected the top nine startup competition finalists for our Global InsurTech Competition. With 149 applications, our selection process is on par with Princeton University’s acceptance rate.
Top Startups: Anansi, FutureProof Technologies, Invive, Lukango, Qumis, Samos Insurance, Vecto, Vellum Insurance, and Wuuii.
For the last startup, we invite you to be a part of the process. The final startup (wildcard) will be selected by popular vote. Check out the startups given a wildcard opportunity, review their videos, and submit your vote by March 8th.
Competition Wildcard: https://www.insurtechny.com/competition/
All finalists will present at our InsurTech Spring Conference. Don’t forget to register.
Conning Research and InsurTech NY have been interviewing carriers to figure out the playbook for making innovation work. 10+ carriers have participated in in-depth interviews.
Our own Tony Lew will present the research at our InsurTech Spring Conference on March 20th.
Join us and benchmark your peers: www.insurtechny.com/insurtech-spring-conference
InsurTech Spring Conference
Mar 20-21 | 2 Days | Pier 60
– 1000+ influencers, 100+ speakers, 10 startup presentations, + expo hall
The Sound of Underwriting
Jun 4 | Flatiron District, NYC
– Learn how underwriters think about entertainment + listen to an InsurTech musician
New Data Sources
Jun 12 | Sunnyvale, CA
– An InsurTech SF event, this Plug and Play Tech collaboration covers topics from IoT sensors and telematics to advanced analytics and machine learning
Caffeine Kickstart by Fenris Digital
March 20th 10am – 12pm | Bluestone Lane cafe at Pier 62
ITA After Conference Networking Event
March 20, 6:30pm-8:30pm | Porchlight
Thank you to the sponsors of our upcoming InsurTech Spring Conference.
If you are interested in sponsoring our events, send us a note at contact@insurtechny.com
Discover a curated mix of InsurTech financings, exits, partnerships, opportunities, and partner events on the East Coast.
InsurTech News and Deals
Coverdash ($13.5M, Nyca Partners): NYC-based SMB-focused embedded insurtech solution
Healthee ($32M, Sequoia Capital): Harnessing AI for a better user experience, providing insurance answers
intenseye ($64M, Lightspeed Venture Partners): Workplace safety solutions leveraging existing infrastructure
Partner Events and Programs
See more information about our partner events here
Anansi – Strategic Account Manager
Gallagher – Client Service Positions
Lockton – Personal Risk (High Net-Worth) Sales Executive
Tokio Marine – Head of Red Team and Intelligence
See more information and apply via our blog: https://www.insurtechny.com/jobs
Has the InsurTech NY community helped you make a lasting connection? Do you want an opportunity to get your brand out there? InsurTech NY has many ways to support your marketing needs: community events, podcast, newsletter, webinar and more. To learn more, reach out to contact@insurtechny.com
Best,
David, Tony, and the InsurTech NY Team
Carriers dropping out of markets and approval of new rate increases are having unintended consequences on the homeowner’s insurance markets.
Homeowners are now deciding to “go bare” and forego homeowner’s insurance completely. According to Axios, almost 40% of homes in the US are mortgage-free, so they don’t have lender requirements. As a result, data from III shows that 12% of homeowners are not covered with insurance, more than double the 5% rate just a few years ago.
This change in the market is an opportunity for startups.
It is an opportunity because startups that are selling into difficult markets like Greenshield Risk, SPIN, and Sola – graduates of our MGA Lab – can capture market share and benefit from high rates while incumbents stay out of the market.
Beyond broadening the market, our hope is we can take long-term view and focus on risk mitigation. Solutions like creating defensible space and hardening properties will allow homeowners to rest assured and afford protection.
If you are curious about some of the startups shaking up the space, join us to meet some of them at our InsurTech Spring Conference.
As a regular newsletter subscriber, you can save 10% off tickets with code “Go-Bare”.
Register and learn more at: https://www.insurtechny.com/insurtech-spring-conference/
On Jan 31, 20 founders and investors gathered in Montana to forge new relationships. This event was the sixth in a series of small group events we have been holding under the InsurTech Founder and Investors Forum Series.
The summer edition, InsurTech Rapids has just been announced; learn more and join the waitlist: InsurTech Rapids.
InsurTech Spring Conference
Mar 20-21 | 2 Days | Pier 60
– 1000+ influencers, 100+ speakers, 10 startup presentations, + expo hall
The Sound of Underwriting
Jun 4 | Flatiron District, NYC
– Learn how underwriters think about entertainment + listen to an InsurTech musician
Thank you to sponsors of our upcoming InsurTech Spring Conference.
If you are interested in sponsoring our events? Make a request here
Discover a curated mix of InsurTech financings, exits, partnerships, opportunities, and partner events on the East Coast.
InsurTech News and Deals
Partner Events and Programs
See more information about our partner events here: https://www.insurtechny.com/upcoming-insurtech-conferences/
Anansi – Strategic Account Manager
Extend – Actuarial Manager
Gallagher – Client Service Positions
Lockton – Personal Risk (High Net-Worth) Sales Executive
See more information and apply via our blog: https://www.insurtechny.com/jobs
Has the InsurTech NY community helped you make a lasting connection? Do you want an opportunity to get your brand out there? Show your support for InsurTech NY by sponsoring our Spring Conference on March 20-21. To learn more or request information reach out to contact@insurtechny.com