Insurtech firms based in the UK are being urged to apply to take part in the next stage of a major new transatlantic collaboration that is forging insurance industry trade links and driving innovation between the UK and the US insurance industry hub of Connecticut.
The InsurTech Corridor initiative, launched in March last year, is a partnership between the UK Government’s Department of International Trade (DIT) and the Connecticut Insurance and Financial Services trade association, the State of Connecticut’s Department of Insurance, the MetroHartford Alliance, InsurTech UK and the State of Connecticut’s lead economic development agency, DECD, and provides support to insurtechs at no cost.
The program enables UK insurtechs to prepare for entry into the US market, test their proof of concepts and products and connect into the vast US insurance network.
Peter Abbott, British Consul General to New England, said: “There’s never been a more exciting time for UK insurtechs to enter the fast-growing US insurance market.
“The potential for rapid scaling here is enormous and the InsurTech Corridor programme gives British firms a streamlined US market entry point and the formal support mechanism to enable them to take their first steps into the markets here in Connecticut, which has a strong cluster of leading insurance firms and excellent UK connections, and then step into the wider US insurance market.”
Susan Winkler, vice president and executive director of Connecticut Insurance and Financial Services, said: “The InsurTech Corridor is a unique program that has gathered real momentum in the months since its launch and is already generating opportunities both for UK insurtechs and US insurance organizations. Insurance is evolving at a rapid pace and nurturing innovation globally within the formal partnership of the Corridor is crucial to harnessing the transformative impact of technology and creating optimal insurance solutions for consumers worldwide.”
She added: “Several of the British insurtechs participating in the first cohort have already registered or are in the process of establishing their US subsidiary in Hartford, Connecticut, thanks largely to the concentration of insurance corporates, brokers and service providers in the region and to on-the-ground support provided by the deep InsurTech Corridor network.”
With resources, on-the-ground support and market connections on offer to UK firms participating in InsurTech Corridor, the first cohort of British insurtechs to sign up this year includes London-based Wrisk, whose platform helps customers evaluate and manage their insurance needs, was selected to take part in BMW’s business incubator program and is now the sole UK car insurance provider for BMW and Mini.
Also participating in the first round of the InsurTech Corridor program are FintechOS a high-productivity fintech infrastructure provider that recently announced a deal with Admiral to power its new digital pet insurance product. Other participants include flood insurance tech specialists Floodflash and Previsico, cycle insurance platform Laka, broker platform Konsileo, vehicle telematics developer Matrix IQ, financial software provider VIPR Solutions and space-based infrastructure monitoring early warning system developer Value.Space.
Express an interest in participating in InsurTech Corridor here
