Innovative Insurance Start-Ups Selected to Return to Hartford in 2020, With Industry Access

Hartford InsurTech Hub expected 10, but ended their Selection Days with 11.  After two days of intensive interviews with representatives of Connecticut’s leading insurance companies and related organizations, 11 start-ups were selected by judges at the Hartford Insurtech Hub to participate in a tailor-made 12 week acceleration program that begins early in 2020, offering access to an extensive range of partners, mentors, and investors.  

The top 11 companies will be back in Hartford in February, returning from disparate locations ranging from Los Angeles to Johannesburg, Bangalore to Toronto – attracted by the traditional Insurance Capitol looking to forge a path as the Insurtech Capitol as well.

The selected companies – described as the “brightest, most promising startups” - exhibited a diverse range of technologies and insurance types.  There were nearly two dozen participating start-ups in the competition, which followed months of the Insurtech Hub team scouting over 3,000 startups and having personal conversations with over 500 startups from all around the world, narrowed to those invited to take part in the Selection Days.

Dawn LeBlanc, Managing Director, Hartford InsurTech Hub, said: “The startups mentioned the most unique and valuable portion of the Selection Days experience has been the tremendous support and input from the broader community involved in InsurTech. From insurance experts, lawyers, regulators, investors, mentors, politicians and potential collaborators, each shared their insight to promote the growth of their business and were able to make valuable connections.”

The two days of competitive pitching, held at Upward Hartford downtown, was also characterized by congeniality, as individuals and teams talked shop and learned about fellow start-ups in between their own pitches to insurance veterans from industry mainstays – companies with familiar names generations in the making. 

For participants, the Selection Days were an opportunity to get a taste of what it will be like to join the Startupbootcamp family. It is a rigorous schedule that includes training workshops on pitching, design thinking, sales & marketing, business development, and deep-dive sessions with the InsurTech team.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, congratulating all the participants in the Selection Days, described Hartford as a “place with an unbelievable concentration of companies eager to partner and work with innovative companies.”  He urged the 11 companies selected to return in February – and those that weren’t – to “take root here and think of Hartford as your home for the long term.” He noted that insurance industry leaders are partnering across sectors, adding that “our doors are open, and we’re ready to sit down with you at any time.”

Evaluating the pitches, and providing feedback along the way, were representatives of The Hartford, Launc[H], Aetna, Capgemini, Travelers, LKP, Locke Lord, and Cigna, among others.   One of the judges, having spent two days with the start-ups, indicated that they present established companies with “lots of options,” providing a glimpse of industry innovation and saturation.  “Potentially they provide more choices, offering incremental value as the industry evolves.” The fact that Hartford is offering start-ups the opportunity to connect with the city, and the industry, is also a plus – and something that is happening elsewhere in the U.S. and around the world.  It’s long overdue - but welcome - that leadership in Hartford is now actively collaborating to promote such efforts.   

The selected start-ups – names to watch - were:  InvestSure, Mitigateway, UDoTest, iPill Dispenser, Edlore, TaruSeer, Digisure, Allganize, Wysa, Livindi, and Stable Insurance.

For the startups, joining the program means they will receive the support, resources, and industry and investor connections they need to help grow their businesses. With support from Startupbootcamp, the teams will be provided with access to an extensive range of partners, mentors, and investors from across the accelerator’s global network.

Hartford InsurTech Hub partners included Cigna, Travelers, Aetna, The Hartford, CT Next, the City of Hartford, White Mountains Insurance Group, Conning, Insurbot.ai, and Rainmaking Insurtech.

Startupbootcamp is a network of industry-focused startup accelerators. Headquartered in London, England, SBC runs 20 programs across the globe. They support early-stage tech founders to rapidly scale their companies by providing direct access to an international network of the most relevant mentors, partners, and investors in their industry. 

Through the funding and support of Hartford InsurTech Hub and some external partners, Startupbootcamp completed its first cohort of 10 start-ups earlier this year, setting the stage for the selection of the next cohort this week.