Insurance Innovation Under Hartford Spotlight This Month

Hartford has no intention of giving up the title of Insurance Capital of the World.  And while corporate mergers, relocations, and more than a year of COVID dislocations, the industry is looking forward, not backward.  That is particularly evident with the return of the 2021 Innovation Challenge, a chance get a glimpse of what’s next for the industry, locally and beyond.

The Innovation Challenge is a contest designed to draw out ground-breaking ideas from entrepreneurs, students, and experienced professionals with intent to enable forward momentum beyond the end of the contest. The finalists have now been determined, and will present to a global audience at an Awards event on June 17, where the winner will be announced after presentations by the finalists.  The virtual 3-hour event, which begins at 11 AM, is free to watch. 

InsurTech Hartford ran its first event Innovation Challenge in 2020. The event received 100 submissions across 3 categories from 10 countries.  This year, the numbers are range.  The Innovation Challenges has been an 8-week process, beginning in mid-April, to gather submissions and review with a panel of insurance professionals.  Finalists in each of three award category will pitch to a panel of judges, and the judges will select a winner.

Contenders range from a cloud-based, programming-free, submit, underwrite, rate, quote, and policy issuance system to a start-up focused on insurance tailored for gig workers, a company that offers parametric products bring efficiencies to the industry to one that aims to reduce insurance claim cost and claim cycle time from days to hours, a business that describes itself as “the world’s #1 personal injury tool, to another whose tagline says bluntly, “stop insuring like it’s 1999.”

The nine finalists are in three categories:

​Travelers Emerging Product

In an increasingly evolving landscape, Travelers is looking for InsurTechs championing new and emerging products within the insurance and risk services space.

• Saya

• PainWorth

• Sola

Judges All-Around Favorite Award

An open category which a panel insurance experts and InsurTech investors will choose based on problem statement, problem/solution fit, feasibility, and ability to disrupt.

• Serenus

• Otonomi

• Protosure

Best Emerging InsurTech

Being an early stage startup isn't easy. This category is for new, emerging startups with less than $1m in combined revenue and capital invested.

• Coverhero

• Wenalyze

• MotionsCloud

InsurTech Hartford is a grass roots organization, founded and run by local insurance professionals. The community-focused part of the organization works to incubate a robust InsurTech ecosystem by bringing people together, educating, and promoting startup growth in the region. InsurTech Hartford also offers professional services to help industry organizations innovate.

Since 2017, the lead organizer in InsurTech Hartford has been Stacey Brown, Head of Global Technology Innovation at AXA XL.  Brown was featured last year on an industry podcast, highlighting the effort. 

Hartford’s insurance strength was highlighted last month by David Griggs, President & CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance, who wrote in an op-ed “Nationally, we have the highest insurance employment as a percentage of total employment. We are first in insurance payroll as a percentage of total payroll. And we are No. 1 in insurance gross state product as a percentage of total GSP. This industry alone, led by internationally renowned brands such as Aetna/CVS, The Hartford, Hartford Steam Boiler and Travelers, creates economic activity and skilled jobs that would be the envy of any of Hartford’s peers.”