Board members include Brolly’s chief execitive Phoebe Hugh and Blair Turnbull managing director of digital and retail at Aviva UK
The UK Insurtech Board has announced the launch of a new toolkit of legal documents.
It is designed to make it easier for insurtechs and startups to generate commercial relationships with corporate partners.
It revealed the details of this new toolkit at an industry event yesterday.
The board is an initiative by Tech Nation and is part of the Fintech Delivery Panel (FDP) convened by the HM Treasury.
Tech Nation is a new firm set up in April 2018 to accelerate growth in the digital technology sector.
The news follows the launch of Insurtech UK a body in November last year, a group of 31 companies collaborating to promote the benefits of insurtech.
Connection
Having identified that early stage insurtech ventures lack legal support and requirements, the Insurtech Board created a suite of free start-up-friendly legal documents.
It caters to an industry wide problem that Biba highlighted in its 2019 manifesto, to which it set up an insurtech dating agency to facilitate better connections.
The legal documents are produced in partnership with law firms Dentons and Simmons and Simmons.
These aim to remove some of the legal and compliance-related obstacles that hinder start-ups to enter business with larger, established insurers.
It conforms with the standard expected in the industry covering contractual and commercial relationship issues involved in negotiation with potential partnerships.
These include:
- A non-disclosure agreement
- Terms of business agreement
- An appointed rep agreement
- Amendments for an MGA agreement
The board
Established in 2018, the Insurtech Board set out to solve real problems that insurtechs face.
It focuses on talent, knowledge sharing, promoting best practice, supporting innovation initiatives, and making the UK a sustainable and attractive place to start an insurtech business.
It is coordinated by Tech Nation and supported by HM Treasury with a mission to help identify and solve any problems that result in friction for insurtech innovation.
The board also aims to connect representatives from across the insurance industry, including leading incumbents, insurtechs, brokers and trade bodies to collaboratively solve real problems that UK insurtech firms face.
Membership of the UK Insurtech Board includes:
- Will Thorne, chair and FDP member, innovation leader, The Channel Syndicate
- Blair Turnbull, FDP member and managing director of digital and retail at Aviva UK
- Lidia Bozhevolnaya, group head of strategy and corporate director, Hiscox
- Mark Dennis, global chief operating officer, European chief executive at Munich Re Digital Partners;
- Pollyanna Deane, partner, Simmons & Simmons
- Martin Mankabady, partner at Dentons
- Ed Leon Klinger, chief executive at Flock
- Steven Mendel, chief executive at Bought By Many
- Daniel Pender, co-Founder, Gryphon
- Vivek Banga, chief digital and offshoring officer at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co and chair of Biba’s cross-industry working group
- Matthew Cullen, assistant director, head of strategy, data and analytic at ABI
- Phoebe Hugh, chief executive and co-founder at Brolly
- Paolo Cuomo, co-founder InsTech London and principal at Boston Consulting Group
- Trevor Maynard, head of innovation in commercial at Lloyds
Jargon
Pollyanna Deane, partner at Simmons and Simmons, added: “The world of insurance can be pretty arcane and steeped in jargon.
“As the Insurtech Board, we wanted to help new entrants. Too often, the start-ups feel at a disadvantage, through lack of knowledge or lack of clout. The insurance industry is familiar with standard forms.
“These agreements draw on collective experience and I believe, provide a reasonable starting point for any negotiation. As they gain familiarity, it should be easier to see positions that are being taken contrary to common practice or which force substandard terms on a party.”
Eileen Burbidge, chair at Tech Nation, HM Treasury envoy for fintech and chair at FDP, added: “The insurance sector has its own contractual norms and practices and without legal support, early stage businesses are disadvantaged in drawing up and negotiating documents that meet the expectations of potential partners.”
Reaction
Lidia Bozhevolnaya, head of strategy and corporate development at Hiscox, highlighted the restrictions in approach of corporate traditional models.
Will Thorne, chair of the Insurtech Board and innovation lead at the Channel Syndicate, said: “Insurtechs operating in the UK will benefit directly from the output of this collaboration between startups and incumbents.
Phoebe Hugh, chief executive at Brolly, explained: “We established these standards to support and encourage the development of insurance startups in the UK, by developing practical guides and documentation to navigate the regulatory and incumbent landscape.”
Thorne added: ”The board will continue to seek solutions to the most pressing problems in the UK insurance sector, always striving to keep insurtechs at the heart of our mission.”
Legal
Meanwhile Martin Mankabady, partner at Dentons, said: “The standard documents cover all the key issues to be considered and represent a balanced starting point for negotiation; it is hoped that the documents will smooth the path of such negotiations and, in the process, reduce friction, time and cost.
“This will enable the relevant parties to focus on the key commercial issues.”
He cited this as an example of how key stakeholders have met the UK government’s requirements to create a UK centre of excellence for insurtech.
According to data from Dealroom, UK insurtech companies currently attract $1.7bn in investment (including mergers and acquisitions) in 2018.
No comments yet