’What makes Tour de Insurtech unique, in my view, is that it’s a completely agenda free networking event,’ says group chief executive
For the third consecutive year, the group cross country cycling event Tour de Insurtech went ahead with a mission to save the planet.
The event sees insurance individuals in the UK, who share a passion for cycling, insurtech and fintech, cover 515km across seven stages.
This year, the riders travelled through Tunbridge Wells, Nottingham, Reading, London and for the first time, Bath.
And for every ten miles cycled, one tree was planted, with the goal of planting around 500 trees to support the planet’s heath.
But the group managed to beat this target in 2023, with a total of 693 trees being planted.
60 seconds with Andre Symes
The cycling event was the brain child of Genasys Technologies’ group chief executive Andre Symes, who is a self-proclaimed cycling enthusiast.
Speaking to Insurance Times, Symes said: “It all started with a tweet during lockdown.”
He explained that he was a “keen cyclist” and that much of the insurtech community seemed to be cycling enthusiasts, which was confirmed after he put out the tweet asking who would be interested.
“Once lockdown lifted, we pulled the tour together and the rest, as they say, was history,” he said.
Over the years the number of participants has increased. In 2021, it had 27 riders, come 2022 it had 43 riders and this year 59 people got involved.
”What makes Tour de Insurtech unique, in my view, is that it’s a completely agenda free networking event that, fundamentally, is a community-owned initiative,” Symes said.
”Cycling is simply the mechanism that brings everyone together. Anybody can participate as you don’t have to pay to play. It’s genuinely about building friendships and networks around a shared passion.”
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