Insurtech UK gets membership boost

Insurtech UK, the alliance of insurtech start-ups hoping to transform the insurance market through technology, has received a major shot to the arm as a series of major industry players join its ranks as associate members and partners.

In addition to at least 40 insurtech start-ups, the alliance now counts Lloyd’s of London, Hiscox, Bascule, and Holloway Friendly as associate members; Polaris as technology partner, Altus Consulting and Synechron as consultancy partners, IMAS as corporate finance partner, Capital Law and Locke Lord (UK) as legal partners, GovGrant as research and development partner, and BMC Recruitment as recruitment partner.

The alliance, which launched in November 2018, hopes to become a formal trade body in the coming months, it said in a statement.

It also highlighted the first quarter objectives, which were to build membership to help financial stability and define strategy for the year ahead. In particular, the focus will be to reach out to government regulators on policy, engage with the media, develop content ideas on specific issues to share best practice, and help members build networks and take advantage of business opportunities, it added.

Insurtech UK founding member and operations chair Matt Hodges-Long said he was “really pleased” with the 2019 additions so far. “This shows just how much confidence there is in the potential of Insurtech UK’s members to help innovate the insurance industry and build the market for the future.

“We were very keen to ensure that the associate members and partners who joined us had the credibility and experience in the sector to effectively contribute to our work and we are delighted in the calibre of the first wave. We look forward to working together collaboratively on various initiatives to help the insurtech sector reach its true potential.”