This March, The Fintech Times is shifting its spotlight towards insurtech, identifying the leading regions globally in insurtech innovation and the key factors contributing to their success.
From established hubs like Silicon Valley and London to burgeoning markets in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, a convergence of regulatory support, technological prowess, access to capital and entrepreneurial culture is fueling the evolution of insurtech solutions.
Today, industry leaders offer perspectives on the key regions and factors driving insurtech innovation worldwide.
Technological disruption
Neeraj Gupta, CEO of Policybazaar.ae, which is the overseas venture of India’s biggest insurance aggregator Policybazaar.com, highlights the critical factors such as talent, funding, regulations, and technological disruption contributing to the leadership of various regions in insurtech innovation.
“Several regions globally are leading the charge in insurtech innovation, driven by a combination of factors. Silicon Valley in the US stands out as a prominent hub, with a concentration of tech talent, robust venture capital networks, and a culture that encourages risk-taking. The US regulatory environment, while challenging, fosters innovation and experimentation, propelling the development of insurtech startups.
“In Europe, particularly in London, the insurtech ecosystem thrives due to the region’s historical significance in the insurance industry and its position as a financial hub. The European market benefits from a supportive regulatory landscape, collaborative industry initiatives, and a focus on digital transformation.
“Asia, notably China, India and Singapore, is witnessing significant insurtech growth. China’s large consumer base, rapid technological adoption, and regulatory openness to innovation contribute to its leadership. Singapore, with its strategic location and regulatory sandbox approach, has become a key insurtech hub in Southeast Asia.
“These regions share common factors contributing to their insurtech leadership, including access to talent, robust funding ecosystems, favourable regulatory environments encouraging innovation, and a willingness to embrace technological disruption. The global insurtech landscape continues to evolve, with these regions playing pivotal roles in shaping the future of the insurance industry through innovation and technology.”
The regulatory impact
Sandeep Kumar, managing director and global head of finlabs at Synechron, a digital transformation consulting firm focused on financial services and technology organisations, says insurtech innovation is thriving globally, buoyed by regulatory support, advanced technology, robust investment climates, and growing market demand.
“In the US, hubs like Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston have become hotspots for Insurtech startups specialising in digital distribution, data analytics, and claims processing, thanks to favorable regulations and abundant investment opportunities.
“In Europe, particularly the UK, Germany, and France, significant strides in insurtech are evident, with London’s financial ecosystem and supportive regulations nurturing startups pioneering digital insurance platforms and regtech solutions.
“The Asia-Pacific region experiences rapid growth propelled by consumer demand and regulatory reforms, with China and India leading the charge in AI, blockchain, and IoT innovations for insurtech.
“In Latin America, Brazil and Mexico are embracing Insurtech, focusing on microinsurance and mobile payment solutions. The Middle East and Africa see a rise in startups addressing local needs like Takaful and agritech insurance.
“These regions demonstrate a common thread: active support for regulatory frameworks, access to capital, vibrant startup ecosystems, and a keen interest in digital insurance solutions, driving transformative shifts across the global insurance landscape.”
It’s Asia
Zac Townsend, CEO and co-founder at life insurance company Meanwhile spotlights Asia’s role as an epicentre of insurance innovation, driven by rapid adoption of mobile tech, AI, and big data.
“Asia is currently a hotbed of insurance innovation. Asian nations are swiftly adopting cutting-edge technologies like mobile technology, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics.
“These advancements enable insurers to create inventive digital solutions like mobile insurance applications, web-based policy sales platforms, and usage-based insurance models.”
It’s LatAm
Latin America emerges as a major hub for tech innovation, according to Julio Pernía Aznar, CEO of Bdeo, a technology company for the insurance and fleet industries.
“Latin America is already a thriving hub for fintech innovation, which has led to new opportunities for innovation in parallel industries such as insurtech. Widespread access to mobile devices is a big factor in insurtech’s rapid adoption in Latin America, where 90 per cent of the population has access to the internet through their phones and usage exceeds the averages of many other regions globally.
“Following the footsteps of open banking, open insurance initiatives are also poised to revolutionise the relationship between insurance companies and customers in Latin America. Brazil was one of the first countries to introduce an open insurance plan.
“Similar to open banking, open insurance allows customers to share their data between different insurance companies, and insurers to use customer information to offer more personalised products and services. This is a major step forward in the digital transformation of Latin America’s insurance market.
“Finally, a positive outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic in Latin America was the accelerated adoption of remote and self-service insurance. The pandemic forced insurers to take this next step in their digital transformation and introduce these services due to mobility restrictions. These changes make Latin America an incredibly exciting region for insurtech innovation.”
Enablement technology
Rachael Rowe, RVP for financial services at global sales enablement company Seismic, discusses the varying adoption of enablement technology, noting its prevalence in the US and emerging success in EMEA.
“We’re seeing the most use of enablement technology in insurance in the US. However, EMEA is following the success. One of the main challenges in insurance markets with lower sales enablement maturity is the prevalence of traditional trading structures.
“Lloyds of London, for example, was established in a coffee house to carry out in-person deals, and to this day some insurance is still sold like this. These traditions and structures have definitely impacted the rate at which technology has been onboarded in the industry in the UK.
“Covid certainly shook things up and revealed the significant potential of certain technologies, such as online trading platforms for brokers, so we’re likely to see an increase in the use of more innovative insurtech in the coming year.”
Incubation environment
Vinod Singh, CTO of AI insurtech, Concirrus, highlights the US and Europe as leading insurtech innovators, citing factors like strong financial industry presence and favorable regulations, with Asia Pacific, particularly China and India, catching up due to tech-savvy populations and government support.
The US and Europe are currently at the forefront of insurtech innovation globally, Singh says. “In 2021, insurtech VC funding in the US hit an all-time high of $15.3billion, more than doubling the prior year. Several key factors contribute to these regions’ dominance.
“Firstly, there is already a strong financial and insurance industry presence, especially in cities like New York, London, and Munich. This provides an anchor for new insurtechs to tap into incumbent expertise and customers.
“Secondly, favourable regulations such as sandbox regimes in Arizona, Illinois, and Britain enable startups to easily develop and test products. Additionally, government tax incentives and grants, partnerships with insurers, access to investors, and a vibrant startup culture have created an incubation environment.
“Other regions such as Asia Pacific, led by China and India playing catch up as they benefit from a massive tech-savvy population, rising insurance demand, and government support for digitalisation. Fintech adoption and mobile penetration further power progress.”
Innovative ecosystems
Rajeev Gupta, co-founder and chief product officer of Cowbell, a specialist in adaptive cyber insurance, also highlights the significance of access to capital, regulatory support, entrepreneurial culture, and technological focus in driving insurtech leadership.
“Leadership in insurtech innovation is directly related to access to capital, a supportive regulatory environment, a culture of entrepreneurship, and a strong focus on technology.
“It’s no surprise that most insurtech startups are based out of Silicon Valley. In Europe, London and Zurich, mainly because of the strong presence of traditional insurers, and Israel for its strong technology leadership and entrepreneurial culture.”
Transformative shift
For David Tuppen, head of insurance, UK at digital transformation specialist GFT, several regions are leading the way in insurtech innovation.
“In the UK there has been a huge shift towards digital and mobile insurers with a growing emphasis on customer experience tailored offerings.
“In the US, much like here in the UK, regulatory sandboxes facilitate the experimentation of new insurance models without complete regulatory compliance in the initial stages, promoting product innovation.
“Meanwhile, countries such as China and India are also witnessing high levels of mobile tech growth, which has propelled digital payment adoption, further advancing the insurtech landscape.”
