UK-US insurtech accelerator initiative opens for recruitment

UK-based insurtechs are now being recruited to take part in the next cohort of the Insurtech Corridor programme.

The Insurtech Corridor Initiative (ICI) is part of a major transatlantic collaboration intended to forge trade links between the UK and US insurance industry hub of Connecticut.

The initiative was launched in March 2021 by insurtech startup trade association Insurtech UK and forms part of the broader UK-US Financial Innovation Partnership, which was signed between the US Department of Treasury and the UK’s HM Treasury in May 2019. 

It is a partnership between the UK government’s Department of International Trade (DIT) and the Connecticut Insurance and Financial Services trade association.

It provides support to insurtechs at no cost and enables UK insurtechs to prepare for entry into the US market, test their proof of concepts and products and connect into the vast US insurance network.

Susan Winkler, vice president and executive director of Connecticut Insurance and Financial Services, said: “The Insurtech Corridor is a unique programme that has gathered real momentum in the months since its launch and is already generating opportunities both for UK insurtechs and US insurance organisations.

”Insurance is evolving at a rapid pace and nurturing innovation globally within the formal partnership of the corridor is crucial to harnessing the transformative impact of technology and creating optimal insurance solutions for consumers worldwide.

“Several of the British insurtechs participating in the first cohort have already registered or are in the process of establishing their US subsidiary in Hartford, Connecticut, thanks largely to the concentration of insurance corporates, brokers and service providers in the region and to on-the-ground support provided by the deep Insurtech Corridor network.”

Exciting times

The first cohort of British insurtechs to sign up this year includes Wrisk, whose platform helps customers evaluate and manage their insurance needs – Wrisk was selected to take part in BMW’s business and it is now the sole UK car insurance provider for BMW and Mini.

FintechOS also participated in the first cohort and recently announced a deal with Admiral to power its new digital pet insurance product.

The first cohort also includes flood insurance tech specialists Floodflash and Previsico, cycle insurance platform Laka, broker platform Konsileo, vehicle telematics developer Matrix IQ, financial software provider Vipr Solutions and space-based infrastructure monitoring early warning system developer Value.Space.

Peter Abbott, British consul general to New England, said: “There’s never been a more exciting time for UK insurtechs to enter the fast-growing US insurance market.

“The potential for rapid scaling here is enormous and the Insurtech Corridor programme gives British firms a streamlined US market entry point and the formal support mechanism to enable them to take their first steps into the markets here in Connecticut, which has a strong cluster of leading insurance firms and excellent UK connections, and then step into the wider US insurance market.”