InsurTech NY to Sponsor Spencer Educational Foundation Donation Drive

New York, Feb. 8, 2023 — InsurTech NY will sponsor a donation drive for the Spencer Educational Foundation in connection with its  InsurTech Spring Conference 2023, taking place March 29 – 30 in NYC.

For two days – February 9th and 10th –  InsurTech NY will be donating a percentage of its ticket sales to the Spencer Educational Foundation to help support tomorrow’s risk management leaders.

The conference will feature a Spencer-led panel discussion on how insurers can attract the next generation of talent into the insurance industry with a focus on DE&I and diversifying the pipeline. The panel will feature students who have been awarded Spencer grants or have been through its internship programs.

The student panelists will appear in front of more than 700 people at Pier 60 in NYC. “Spencer’s mission is to raise awareness of the risk management and insurance profession among students,” said Tandeka Nomvete, Director of External Engagement at Spencer. “Providing exposure to the new and emerging technologies from InsurTechs will provide a unique opportunity for our students to experience the impact of the InsurTech wave.”

The InsurTech Spring Conference will host two tracks – Life and Health and Property and Casualty. Attendance at the conference is expected to exceed 700 people and it will host a mix of insurance carriers, insurance brokers, InsurTech startups, and venture capitalists. The conference will feature more than 120 speakers across topics from embedded insurance, third-party data, workflow automation, AI in claims management, and InsurTech and regulator collaboration.

“We look forward to the opportunity to support students in risk management and insurance,” said David Gritz, Managing Director of InsurTech NY. “The insurance industry is not a common career aspiration for teenagers, but it represents one of the most stable and entrepreneurial industries. My hope is long-term we can inspire more young people to consider a career in insurance at an early age.”

About InsurTech NY

InsurTech NY is an international gateway to bring together the insurance innovation community. It brings together carriers, brokers, investors, and InsurTech startups via educational and networking events, a competition, an accelerator, and a startup lab. InsurTech NY’s mission is to accelerate corporate innovation, drive talent to insurance, make regulation innovation-friendly, and improve access to investment. See more at www.insurtechny.com or follow the company on social at linkedin.com/company/insurtechny.

About Spencer Educational Foundation

The Spencer Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funding the education of tomorrow’s risk management and insurance leaders through scholarships, grants, internship opportunities, on and off-campus experiential learning, and support of risk management/insurance curricula. Since Spencer was founded in 1979, we have awarded nearly $9 million in scholarships and over $8 million in grants to universities and professional institutions impacting an estimated 70,000 students through our programming. For more information, please visit us at www.spencered.org. 

Contact: David Gritz

press@insurtechny.com

212-634-9516

InsurTech NY will Award Startups $200,000 in Prizes during InsurTech competition

NEW YORK,, Jan. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — InsurTech NY has started accepting applications for its Global Startup Competition for early-stage InsurTechs.

The competition features a prize pool of $200,000 that will be selected by three judging groups – InsurTech Fund, carriers and brokers, and InsurTech investors. Startups will be judged based on their expression of the most commercial potential in the application. The top ten teams will present live at the InsurTech Spring Conference held on March 29 – 30 in NYC to the entire conference audience.

The 2022 InsurTech competition finalists presented to an audience of more than 600 people at the NY Marriott Marquis. “The Global InsurTech Competition allowed us to raise awareness about the challenges in the market for roofing repairs post claim and our solution for the industry,” said Garrett Kurtt, CEO of OneClick Data and winner of the 2022 competition.

The judging pools are comprised of insurance carriers/brokers, venture capitalists, and angel investors. Judges will score each company based on their investment and market potential. The judges represent organizations including Avanta Ventures, Candid Insurance Investors, Founders Shield, Gallagher, Lockton, Park City Angels, QBE Ventures, Starr Insurance, TIAA, and Tokio Marine.

“Every InsurTech needs exposure and investment to grow,” said David Gritz, Managing Director of InsurTech NY.  “Past competition winners have attracted more than $45 million in funding post-competition and had exposure to hundreds of insurance carriers and brokers.”

Contestants are eligible for the InsurTech competition if they ended 2022 with less than $250,000 in revenue. The top ten finalists will be announced in early March and will present in person at the 2023 InsurTech Conference. The deadline for submissions is February 10, 2023.

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InsurTech Growth: InsurTech NY Announces its 2022 Growth Stage Accelerator Cohort

NEW YORK, Oct. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — InsurTech NY, the largest InsurTech community in North America, announced today its third  InsurTech growth stage accelerator cohort.

InsurTech NY’s carrier and broker members selected 32 startups, from a pool of more than 150 applicants in 29 countries, to participate in the hybrid insurance accelerator program. The accelerator starts in October and provides resources to help startups with traction, talent, and financing. Founders will work with insurers seeking to invest in startups, pilot new technologies, and provide risk capacity.

“We are proud to welcome our third cohort into the program to accelerate their growth,” said David Gritz, Managing Director of InsurTech NY. “They are fortunate to be supported by a best-in-class alumni base of 48 startups. The alumni companies already recognize five exits and more than $373 million in up-round funding in less than two years.”

Selected startups include:

Life, Health, and Benefits Lines: Atidot, Benekiva, BetterTradeOff, Cake, Canary Benefits, CoverGo, ForMotiv, FreeWill, GoGo Technologies, InvestSuite, Legacy Life, Monark HQ, PilotBird, Plum Life, Sunny Day Fund, and White Swan.

Property and Casualty Lines: Boston Geospatial, CogniSure, DataCrest, Hepster, Highwing, Iluminr, Indemn, MeasureOne, PathSpot, PolicyDock, Protosure, Quantumerge, SureBright, Surefyre, Veruna, and Zelros.

During the InsurTech Growth Stage Accelerator, founders will work with 70+ mentors from carriers, brokers, and solution providers to identify opportunities, establish partnerships, and overcome challenges in their business. The accelerator will continue until its culmination at an in-person Demo Day in NYC on November 15.

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About InsurTech NY

InsurTech NY is an international gateway to bring together the insurance innovation community. It brings together carriers, brokers, investors, and InsurTech startups via educational and networking events, a competition, and an accelerator. InsurTech NY’s mission is to accelerate corporate innovation, drive talent to insurance, support innovation-friendly regulation, and improve access to investment.

See more at insurtechny.com or meet its cohort companies at the Spring InsurTech Conference.

NEW YORK, July 7, 2022 – InsurTech Fund, a venture capital fund associated with InsurTech NY, announced that it will be accepting applications for its first Digital MGA Lab.

Applications will be accepted from July 7th through July 27th. The application is available through the InsurTech Fund website. The program is designed for digital brokers, analytics startups, and European MGAs seeking to become MGAs in North America. Companies will be accepted at any funding stage from Series Seed to Pre-IPO.

“Digital MGAs and startup carriers have been the most successful class of InsurTechs in terms of revenue growth and ability to attract funding,” said David Gritz, InsurTech NY Managing Director. “Some early missteps with loss ratios have placed a long shadow on MGAs; however, we believe that the next generation of digital MGAs will outperform the current crop. We created this program to help digital MGAs get established properly from the beginning.”

The MGA Lab is a three-month program focused on the unique needs of MGAs – actuarial modeling, insurance capacity, and retail distribution. Startups in the program will gain access to the most InsurTech active program administrators, fronting carriers, and reinsurers looking to provide insurance capacity across all major lines of property and casualty insurance. Founders will also gain access to world-class mentors who have built or supported the insurance stack for companies like Hippo, Foresight, and Cowbell Cyber.

“Everspan is pleased to support the MGA Lab,” said Steve Dresner, Chief Underwriting Officer and Chief Reinsurance Officer for participatory fronting carrier Everspan Group. “Everspan has capacity available across various property and casualty lines of business and regularly partners with InsurTech MGAs. We view the MGA Lab as an opportunity to educate startups about the fronting market and evaluate prospective program partners.”

The program will feature more than 20 capacity providers ranging from startup capacity providers like Accelerant to the largest global reinsurers like Munich Re. The program will feature three intensive days in New York City – Model Day on Sep. 26, Capacity Day on Oct. 13, and Distribution Day on Nov. 14. Startups can apply at Insurtechfund.com/mga-lab.

InsurTech Fund will be supporting this digital MGA accelerator, MGA Lab, in parallel with the InsurTech NY accelerator and MGA Lab participants will be eligible to present at the InsurTech NY demo day where more than 30 dedicated InsurTech investors attend. Startups are eligible to participate in both programs.

About The InsurTech Fund

The InsurTech Fund is a New York City based venture capital firm run by a team of seasoned entrepreneurs, investors, and industry professionals committed to investing and supporting outstanding innovators in the insurance sector. Being a proactive supporter of diverse and inclusive teams, the fund enables positive change and brings superior returns to its investors. Read more at insurtechfund.com or follow us on Linkedin at linkedin.com/company/insurtechfund.

About InsurTech NY

InsurTech NY is an international gateway to bring together the insurance innovation community. It brings together carriers, brokers, investors, and InsurTech startups via educational and networking events, a competition, and an accelerator. InsurTech NY’s mission is to accelerate corporate innovation, drive talent to insurance, make regulation innovation-friendly, and improve access to investment. See more at www.insurtechny.com or follow us on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/insurtechny).

NEW YORK, NY, July 6, 2022 — InsurTech NY, the largest InsurTech community in North America, announced that it will be accepting applications for its third annual growth-stage accelerator.

The application window will run from July 6 to July 29 and applications can be submitted through the InsurTech NY website. The program is designed for growth-stage companies, with initial traction, in the funding stages between Series Seed and Series B. International participants made up more than 30% of past cohorts.

“The InsurTech NY program is designed for startups going from initial launch to mainstream names in the insurance space,” said David Gritz, InsurTech NY Managing Director. “Our past cohorts have a stellar track record with fruitful carrier partnerships, productive fundraises over $360M post-program, and rapid exits of four alumni – IXN, Verikai, TowerIQ, and Breathe Life. This cohort can make the same impact.”

The accelerator is run on a compressed timeline that balances time spent with the value received in a “no fluff” model. Startups focus on market traction, recruiting talent, and fundraising. InsurTechs will connect with insurance carriers and brokers looking to provide insurance capacity and looking to find software solutions to their technology challenges. Startups in the cohort will also be able to meet rockstar InsurTech founders who have exited their companies through acquisition or public markets.

“Transverse Insurance has been a member of the InsurTech NY accelerator program from the beginning. The program has helped us to spot new opportunities, engage with the InsurTech ecosystem, and support our portfolio companies like Amplify Life,” said Mark Hong, EVP, Chief Investment Officer of Transverse Insurance. “We look forward to the opportunity to meet the 2022 cohort and potentially support them with fronting capacity and/or investment.”

The program will feature more than 25 carriers, brokers, and their corporate venture units including Avanta Ventures, CNO Financial, Gallagher, Lockton, QBE,  Nationwide, Starr Insurance, Tokio Marine, and Transverse. The program will close with a demo day where the cohort can present to more than 30 dedicated InsurTech investors. Startups can apply at insurtechny.com/accelerator.

InsurTech NY will be supporting its accelerator in parallel with the MGA Lab, run by InsurTech Fund. Cohort companies will have the opportunity to participate in both programs simultaneously.

About InsurTech NY

InsurTech NY is an international gateway to bring together the insurance innovation community. It brings together carriers, brokers, investors, and InsurTech startups via educational and networking events, a competition, and an accelerator. InsurTech NY’s mission is to accelerate corporate innovation, drive talent to insurance, make regulation innovation-friendly, and improve access to investment. See more at www.insurtechny.com or follow us on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/insurtechny).

We are pleased to announce the launch of The InsurTech Fund (the “Fund”,www.insurtechfund.com), a partnership of PLG Venture Capital, LLC (PLGVC), and InsurTech NY (ITNY). 

PLGVC is a New York-based venture capital firm with over 70 years of combined experience among its partners as operators, investors, and entrepreneurs in the financial services sector, including insurance.

ITNY is a leading ecosystem of InsurTech innovation, supporting startups through an annual pitch competition and an annual accelerator program.  ITNY also hosts public events throughout the year and an annual InsurTech conference every March.

The Fund will invest in early-stage companies from seed through series A. The team will focus on investments in the insurance sector in the U.S. and Canada.  For more information, please contact Erick Pereda at erick@plgvc.com.

This article was published October 2021, and focused on our InsurTech NY growth-stage accelerator 2021 cohort. Watch this space for upcoming accelerator cohorts, and be sure to follow our page on Linkedin for upcoming news.

InsurTech NY, the largest InsurTech community in North America, announced today its second growth-stage InsurTech accelerator cohort.

15 startups were chosen to participate in the hybrid virtual and in-person insurance accelerator program. The program will provide resources to help startups with traction, talent, and financing. Founders will work with insurers seeking to provide risk capital to digital MGAs and to pilot new technologies.

“We are proud to welcome our second cohort into the program to accelerate their growth,” said David Gritz, InsurTech NY Managing Director. “They are fortunate to be supported by a strong alumni base that has already raised more than $210 million of follow-on funding and completed one acquisition.”

Selected startups include:

Life, Health, and Benefits Lines: 360F, Amplify, Bright Dime, Manifest, PerfectQuote, Spring, Sqwire, and Trusty.care

Property and Casualty Lines: Humn.ai, Innoveo, JAUNTIN’, Joshu, Safely, Steadily, and a stealth startup

“The hybrid accelerator format made it possible for Amplify, a San Francisco Bay Area startup, to access the global network organized by InsurTech NY,” said Hanna Wu, Co-founder of Amplify. “We will seize the opportunity to collaborate with the program mentors to accomplish our mission — enabling the next generation to build wealth through permanent life insurance.”

For traction, more than 30 members and mentors from insurance carriers and brokers will work closely with startups to establish partnerships and support investment. Participating startups had the opportunity to participate in 2 full days of networking and education in New York City on September 22 and 23. The program will continue to run virtually until its culmination at a Demo Day in NYC on November 16. 

The index will assist InsurTech companies in selecting optimal partners

InsurTech NY, the leading resource for the InsurTech Community in the New York Metro Area, today announced the launch of its Insurance Collaboration Index™. Based on input from InsurTech executives, the index scores insurance and reinsurance companies on their willingness and ability to partner with startup insurance technology companies. It provides a rigorous and objective measure of how easy it is for a carrier and a startup to work together.

“InsurTech startups strive to attract the attention of a carrier or a reinsurer, but not all carriers and reinsurers are prepared to enter into a productive and ultimately successful partnership,” says David Gritz, InsurTech NY co-founder. “The Insurance Collaboration Index™ is a tool to help make all-important decisions about choosing and working with a partner. It also helps carriers understand their strengths and weaknesses, and what they need to do to be better partners.”

Carriers are evaluated on executive buy-in and sponsorship, competent project management, clear objectives, effective communications, and other factors. In addition to providing startups valuable input about potential partners, survey results will help carriers assess how prepared they are to work with startups across a wide range of criteria and offer insights to strengthen their policies and procedures.

Led by InsurTech NY founders Tony Lew and David Gritz, the project draws on the expertise of an advisory board representing a broad cross-section of the insurance and innovation ecosystems. Advisory board members include Scott Hawkins and Alan Walters, Conning; Bryan Falchuk, Insurance Evolution Partners; David Bradford, Iosis Consulting; Mark Gardella, Zephyr Innovation Advisors; Mike Fitzgerald, CB Insights; Irene Yang, Finesse Consulting; and Cynthia Hardy, Pivot Global Partners.

“I am pleased to see InsurTech NY undertake this important project,” says Avi Tuschman, founder of Pinpoint Predictive. “Not only will the Insurance Collaboration Index™ help technology companies like Pinpoint Predictive make smart decisions about their business partners, but the overall insurance industry will also benefit from more effective partnerships and increased innovation.”

Phase I of the project, which is now underway, is data collection. InsurTech NY is surveying executives from more than 200 InsurTech companies about their experiences working with various carriers and reinsurers.

InsurTech executives are encouraged to participate in the survey, which can be found at https://index.paperform.co/. Survey participants will have early access to the results and will receive a customized report to help them optimize their choices of partners.

NEW YORK, NY, July 19, 2020 — InsurTech NY, the largest InsurTech community in North America, announced today that they will be conducting a benchmark study on Corporate Venture Capital.

InsurTech NY has partnered with the IQONIC Hub for Entrepreneurship Research & Education at Tilburg University in the Netherlands to study the organizational structure, best practices, and common themes across insurance carrier and broker affiliated corporate venture groups.

The research will be aggregated, anonymized, and shared at the Corporate Forum organized by InsurTech NY on September 21 in New York City. The IQONIC Hub for Entrepreneurship Research will analyze the data and compare it to their existing body of research on corporate venturing across several industries including broader financial services.

“The corporate venture community in insurance is one of the fastest forming investment groups. Insurance industry venture capital went from near non-existence in 2013 to more than 200 insurance entities having made investments in startups today,” said David Gritz, Managing Director at InsurTech NY. “We want to learn from the segment’s rapid growth over the past decade and apply the learnings to future initiatives.”

“The IQONIC Hub for Entrepreneurship Research is one of the only academic institutions worldwide to dedicate research efforts to understanding corporate venturing,” said Joshua Eckblad, Director of the IQONIC Hub for Entrepreneurship Research. “My research focuses on the practices of corporate venturing units and on the knowledge flows between large established firms and startups. InsurTech is one of the true examples of a symbiotic relationship between incumbents and startup firms working together to grow the industry.”

The research study will include a range of participants from super-regional carriers to Top 5 carriers and brokers. It will include a variety of portfolios, from insurers who have made ad-hoc off-the-balance sheet investments to established corporate venture funds working on their second or third funds.

“NFP Ventures is excited to contribute to this body of research,” said Adam Blumencranz, VP at NFP Ventures. “We are preparing to launch our second fund with NFP and additional capital partners, and the insights we gain from this aggregate research will help us refine investment themes and internal best practices.”

“Transverse started as a venture investor off its balance sheet and now has a venture capital group and special purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC) to help augment our value proposition to Digital MGAs,” said Mark Hong, Managing Director at Transverse Insurance. “Better understanding our peers will help us to continue to expand our platform to provide the optimal mix of services for our InsurTech partners.”

The assessment can be found at https://cvc2021.paperform.co.

About InsurTech NY

InsurTech NY is an international gateway to bring together the insurance innovation community. It brings together carriers, brokers, investors, and InsurTech startups via educational and networking events, a competition, and an accelerator. InsurTech NY’s mission is to accelerate corporate innovation, drive talent to insurance, make regulation innovation-friendly, and improve access to investment. See more at www.insurtechny.com or follow us on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/insurtechny).

About Tilburg University IQONIC Hub for Entrepreneurship Research & Education

The IQONIC Hub for Entrepreneurship Research & Education offers 12 programs, including a physical Creativity Studio on the Tilburg University Campus in the Netherlands and the Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (E&BI) Bachelor’s degree program. See more on corporate venturing research at: https://www.corporateventuringresearch.org/

Are you a Growth-Stage Insurtech Startup?

This article was published in July 2021. For current information about our Insurtech accelerator, click here.

NEW YORK, NY, July 7, 2020 — InsurTech NY, the largest InsurTech community in North America, announced today that it will be accepting applications for its growth-stage InsurTech accelerator.

The application window will be open from July 7 to August 2 and applications will be accepted through the InsurTech NY website. The program is designed for growth-stage insurtech companies, with an existing customer base, in funding stages between Seed and Series B. Last year, applications were accepted from over 20 countries.

“The InsurTech NY program is built for the moment in time when startups are transitioning from surviving mode to thriving mode”, said David Gritz, InsurTech NY Managing Director. “InsurTechs from our past cohort have gone on to raise over $100 million in follow-on funding and find fruitful partnerships with our carrier and broker partners. This cohort will have the same opportunity.”

The accelerator will follow a “no-fluff” model providing InsurTechs support in the areas they need to scale – market traction, recruiting talent, and raising funds. The program will provide startups with access to insurance carriers and brokers looking to provide capacity and reinsurance and to identify software solutions to their technology challenges. Cohort members have the opportunity to meet rockstar InsurTech founders who have taken their companies public or sold their companies. 

“The InsurTech NY accelerator provides a unique formula for matchmaking that supports carrier core initiatives and removes the bloat of typical time-consuming accelerator programs,” said Steve Bernardez, Partner at Avanta Ventures, the venture capital arm of CSAA Insurance Group. “We look forward to the opportunity to work with InsurTech NY to spot our next unicorn investments and partnership opportunities for CSAA Insurance Group.”

The program will feature more than 20 carriers, brokers, and their affiliated venture arms including Avanta Ventures, CNO Financial, Gallagher, Greenlight Re, Lockton, Nationwide, and Transverse. The 2021 cohort will run as a hybrid model, partially virtual and partially in-person over a six-week period. The program will close with a demo day to more than 20 dedicated InsurTech investors. Growth-Stage InsurTech companies can apply at insurtechny.com/accelerator.

About InsurTech NY

InsurTech NY is an international gateway to bring together the insurance innovation community. It brings together carriers, brokers, investors, and InsurTech startups via educational and networking events, a competition, and an accelerator. InsurTech NY’s mission is to accelerate corporate innovation, drive talent to insurance, make regulation innovation-friendly, and improve access to investment. See more at www.insurtechny.com or follow us on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/insurtechny).