FCA approved insurtech accelerator launches

FCA approved insurtech accelerator authorised as an insurance broker, InsurTech Gateway, has launched with the mission of propelling 25 start ups to success within five years. It will aim to speed up proof of concept, cut costs, assist with regulatory approval and help start-ups with compliance.

Insurance entrepreneur and InsurTech Gateway co-founder, Robert Lumley explained: “The three main hurdles insurtech startups face are regulatory and capacity barriers, the funding gap and big insurers’ slow behaviour. That means there is little innovation happening in the sector because it is too difficult to get past the roadblocks. The InsurTech Gateway will change all of that.”

Hambro Perks and Robert Lumley-backed InsurTech Gateway is supported by a panel of reinsurers and angel investors.

It boasts that its combined expertise will allow it to reduce time needed to get proof of concept from two years to just 3 to 6 months. Costs could be reduced by up to 75%.

“For the last year and a half we have met insurance startups who by the time they got to shaping their idea, were exhausted. The InsurTech Gateway will get them through those roadblocks which killed their entrepreneurial spirit quickly, by accelerating them to proof of business so that they know whether they are sitting on a great big opportunity or wasting their time,” commented InsurTech Gateway co-founder and director Stephen Brittain.

Aspen has agreed to provide underwriting capability for the accelerator, while a network of insurers will support a primary reinsurer through a company’s growth stage.

InsurTech Gateway currently has three start-ups on its roster: InMyBag provides data recovery and insurance for freelancers. Telematics insurance provider By Miles is aimed at low-mileage drivers.  Finally, Floodflash is an internet of things (IoT) flood sesnsor to enable quick flood insurance settlements.

InsurTech Gateway will also look to help start-ups address compliance issues, assist with back-end technical platforms and get GDPR-ready.

Hambro Perks chairman and former Sedgwick director Rupert Hambro explained that the accelerator is now seeking innovative and disruptive start-ups, commenting: “InsurTech Gateway will disrupt those who believe their traditional businesses are impervious to change. One of the many ways we will do that is by supporting new ideas and innovative ways to improve the insurance products currently available to consumers.”