Insurtech UK welcomes EIS extensions

Insurtech UK chief executive Melissa Collett has said she is “very encouraged” to see extensions of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) sunset relief clauses to 2035.

EIS is a government scheme designed to help trading firms raise capital and grow by offering tax reliefs to individual investors who buy shares.

The extension of the sunset relief clauses, which was announced in the Autumn Statement earlier this week (22 November 2023), was made to further encourage private investment into smaller and younger companies.

It came after the government announced an expansion of the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) in March 2023, which Collett also welcomed.

This increased a company’s investment limit from £150,000 to £250,000.

“These very popular mechanisms offer access to investment for early-stage, innovative companies,” Collett said.

“[This is] hugely important to our members and this decision provides more certainty to help future insurtechs have access to the investment they need to grow and develop.”

AI

Meanwhile, Collett also welcomed the government’s plans to further invest in artifical intelligence (AI).

The government said it would be investing a further £500m in AI over the next two financial years, bringing the total planned investment in compute to more than £1.5bn.

For Insurtech UK’s members who are already investing in AI, Collett said this will enable insurtechs to “thrive”.

She added: “Overall, there are some positive outcomes for our members in this statement, but we will continue to engage with the government on various aspects of policy to improve the regulatory environment.

“This includes streamlining the process around Prudential Regulatory Authority authorisation for insurtechs, resolving the insurtech specific issue around VAT and insurance premium tax as well as supporting export opportunities and access to scale-up capital.”