The INSURTECH Book

InsurTech – Not a Zero Sum Game

By Nick Martin

Fund Manager–Insurance, Polar Capital

The insurance industry could be on the brink of moving from being capital rich to capital poor as new technologies rapidly expand the pool of insurable risks. Innovative, open-minded, and agile companies will transform yesterday’s uninsurable exposures into profitable growth opportunities that will further the industry’s critical contribution to the resilience of global communities. InsurTech startups are making progress but have yet to fully appreciate the scale of the opportunity. Incumbents who seek partnership with innovative startups are more likely to embrace it.

Time to Move Beyond the Current InsurTech Debate

The current InsurTech debate is all too often based on the premise that the shiny new startups will win at the expense of the tired old incumbents. The conversation centres around changing distribution models and improved customer centricity. However, InsurTech is so much more than a few cool new apps seeking to displace tired incumbent products. By leveraging emerging technologies and introducing new ideas from outside the industry, InsurTech can help incumbents further enhance the critical role insurance plays in society. It is often forgotten that insurance acts like oil that greases world trade and economic activity while providing the first line of protection to vulnerable people and communities in their times of need.

The Overlooked Multi-billion-dollar Market Opportunity ...