CB Insights shares the total number of startup investments by (re)insurers since 2012; (re)insurers have taken an increased interest in investing in insurtech companies with an estimated 135 investments in 2016; some of the most recent insurtech deals spanning many verticals of insurance are shared below. Source
B3i was developed to explore and promote blockchain innovation in the insurance and reinsurance market; the consortium began in October 2016 and has now added three new members bringing its total membership to 15; the consortium's newest members include Hannover, Generali Group and SCOR; B3i is currently developing a shared platform for exchanging contracts which could likely develop into a commercial insurance services company by 2018. Source
Coverager provides insight on the insurtech investment market with a list of 11 insurtech deals announced in January; Practo in India tops the list with a $55 million investment; firm provides a platform for patients to book appointments and also offers a software as a service solution for doctors. Source
Aviva, Hillhouse Capital and Tencent have announced plans for a new digital insurer, Aviva Hong Kong; Aviva and Hillhouse will own 40% with Tencent owning the remaining 20%; the new platform will focus on selling digital life insurance in Hong Kong and will also offer additional investment products. Source
New insurtech platform Ladder has launched, offering digital life insurance; the platform's life insurance product will be available to consumers in California; the company is marketing a faster, more efficient process for life insurance applications and coverage; its platform can approve customers in minutes for life insurance policies up to $8 million; it charges no annual policy fees and its policies are reinsured by Hannover Re US. Source
The insurtech forum will help to introduce the LendIt audience to one of the most innovative companies in property and casualty insurance, and a leading insurance association focused on this innovation trend; Lemonade CEO Daniel Schreiber and Adam Kerns of the American Insurance Association will be interviewed by Thalia Smith of Deloitte about innovation currently taking place and how new companies are affecting the traditional players in the insurance market; register today. Source
James Blackham, former managing director and head of digital structuring at Goldman Sachs, is now leading a new insurtech startup; his firm, Just Miles, is focusing on personalized car insurance offerings; the firm has received venture capitalist funding and is developing its data analytics; at Just Miles, Blackham says he is taking the big data and analytics skills learned from his experience at Goldman Sachs and applying them to car insurance with the goal of providing an innovative car insurance solution for consumers. Source
At a panel at The Economist Finance Disrupted conference held in London, three out of four venture capitalists mentioned insurance as an area of most interest to them according to Business Insider; Timo Dreger, managing director at Apeiron Investment Group stated: "Right now we are looking at insurtech. It's for sure the hottest thing in 2016 and for sure the hottest thing this year too. The answer is pretty easy why. In the whole insurance industry, there's a lack of innovation and the user experience is pretty horrible."; while there has been a lot of innovation in the US, there are several notable insurtech startups across Europe; in the US, Oscar, an online health insurance company has raised $700 million. Source
Lemonade provides part two of its 2016 Transparency Chronicles with statistics on its first quarter in the market; notes some positives and negatives including confusion around marketing the firm as a peer-to-peer insurance provider; says they are an artificial intelligence and behavioral economics company or a tech company doing insurance; highlights from the first quarter include: average homeowners and renters premiums of $165.5; 123 homeowners policies; 63% of customers 25 to 34 years old; males accounting for the majority of customers at 76.5%; a claim managed in three seconds by artificial intelligence. Source
NYC-based, insurance software provider Namely has obtained $50 million in Series D funding; the company offers software services for human resources, payroll and benefits; its services are targeted for small to medium-sized businesses with 50 to 2,000 employees; they have recently been enhancing their software services to offer new features including daily employee interactions and company news feeds. Source
