Newsletter

At times, the purpose of an insurer can be at odds with the purpose of the insurance industry. Insurers are designed to maximize underwriting profits. To do so they use any legally permissible data source that can give them advantage at selecting the most profitable policyholders. While building a moat around loss ratios and off-loading […]

Since the beginning of the InsurTech wave in 2015, one theme has remained constant: “Distribution is King.” The first InsurTech Startup Showcase in Silicon Valley at SVIA in 2015 featured Embroker (digital broker), Trov (embedded insurance), and Jumpstart (Earthquake focused MGA). In 2016, InsureTech Connect highlighted Lemonade’s CEO Daniel Schreiber as its keynote speaker. The […]

When four-time Olympic gold medalist, U.S. gymnast Simone Biles pulled out of the ongoing Tokyo Olympics, her decision was met with confusion and dismay. Why would the best gymnast in the world leave the competition without physical injuries? It’s because of twisties, a condition well understood by gymnasts and acrobats, but unknown to the public. […]

After 15 months in captivity, carrier and broker offices are trending towards reopening at full capacity. Although air travel is not in full swing yet, the hallmarks of in-person activities are all starting again. Agents are brokers are meeting with clients. Internal meetings are happening in conference rooms that hold more than a few people. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

Once life adapts to the new normal, December 2020 will be remembered as a special month. The month of the vaccine. Prior to December, Mumps was the fastest vaccine to make it to the market that was developed by a vaccine savant, Maurice Hilleman. (Full NPR Story) This process was functionally manual, using a live virus […]

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: […]

This article was published back in October, 2020. For information and news regarding the InsurTech NY Accelerator program today, check out this link. For information regarding this year’s Spring Conference, click here.   With our accelerator program more than halfway done, understanding the startups in the cohort would not be possible without knowing the story […]

The IPO of Lemonade (LMND) has created a fury of teenage Robinhood traders snapping up the stock. It is thought-provoking how a simple ticker symbol has the power to make InsurTech a household term. Looking back to when it all began in 2015, the story of how to develop and raise an InsurTech unicorn has […]

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 […]

Second-quarter marked a historic shift in society. The price of data exceeded the price of oil. Oil futures contracts went negative on April 20th while the Nasdaq broke even for the year on May 8th. This shift has manifested as an ever-present stream of talking points on national news. The media, which typically is stylized […]