Insurtech’s managing director set to discuss the launch of his firm’s Ignition programme and how this can help brokers that are looking to innovate
BrokerFest 2023: As a broker, have you ever wanted to leave a large corporate to establish your own firm, but lacked the means to do so?
This is the question that Toby MacLachlan, managing director of software company Ignite Insurance Systems, plans to discuss at BrokerFest 2023 on Thursday 23 February, referencing his firm’s Ignition accelerator programme, which is designed to support startup brokers.
BrokerFest 2023 is a one-day conference hosted by Insurance Times. This year’s event – due to be attended by around 200 brokers, insurers, MGAs, insurtechs and other sector suppliers – will be held at Etc.venues St Paul’s from 9am.
As part of the event’s insurtech stream, which will be chaired by Insurance Times technology editor Clare Ruel, MacLachlan will lead a session entitled Ignition: Accelerating innovation in insurance broking at 2.30pm.
In this session, MacLachlan will talk through the the Ignition initiative, which launched on 10 January 2023.
This scheme has been developed to address the lack of industry-wide diversity, combat the ageing broker population and provide an avenue for entrepreneurs to leave large corporates and branch out into insurtech broking.
Since launch, 90% of the programme’s applicants have been female.
Languishing in corporate structures
According to figures from professional services firm Ernst and Young (EY), published in March 2022, the gradual consolidation of smaller brokers is taking place. It found that between 2010 and 2021, the number of registered brokers decreased by one third – representing 6,000 entities at the time.
During the first eight months of 2021, 485 brokers ceased activity, while only 142 new broker registrations were recorded – EY attributed this trend to the Covid-19 pandemic.
MacLachlan said: “People in those companies that have been swallowed up by much larger companies but originally set out to be quite entrepreneurial by building their own business – they are there languishing in these large corporate structures.
“We are offering them the framework to get out of that.”
On Thursday, MacLachlan will deliver a short presentation on Ignition before turning to the audience for questions.
Brokers can attend BrokerFest 2023 for free. Register your place today by clicking here or read more content about the event here.
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