Hi <<First Name>>,
It’s October already! We’ve no sooner unpacked from our hugely successful ITC Vegas delegation and taken a few deep breaths before another productive month is underway.
Firstly, welcome to new members Opter and Freely, and new partner Rothbury Insurance Brokers. Thanks for coming on board! You can find out more about them a bit further on.
September saw a few of us in Melbourne for Intersekt 2022, then after some final preparation it was off to ITC Vegas for a week of frenetic activity at the world’s biggest insurtech event. For first timers and experienced ITC Vegas attendees alike, it was a sight to behold! We’ve summarised the trip, so make sure you stay for the read.
Lots has happened amongst our members and partners, a few highlights - Futureproof has been selected as an Alpha start-up, Hillridge has completed their $2.3m seed round, upcover has launch a cyber and privacy product and Honey has partnered with Specialist Finance Group. We also encourage all our Insurtech members to consider the DXC Invitational - we think its a great opportunity!
And on the home front, we are coming to Brisbane in October and we’ve just locked in the date for a repeat of our highly successful Insurtech Australia’s InsurtechLIVE!
If you have questions, suggestions or comments, please contact us.
The Insurtech Australia Team
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Opter
Opter is Australia's first digital marketplace for private health insurance, using breakthrough AI to help consumers find hyper-customised policy bundles, automate their health cover and never miss out on a better deal.
Freely is an innovative, flexible travel insurance service and safety app that adds real value to the experience of travelling.
It's great to have Opter and Freely as part of the team!
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Established in 1950, Rothbury is New Zealand’s third leading insurance broking group with 25 locations and over 51,000 clients nationwide. Rothbury delivers commercial insurance solutions to small, medium and large enterprises and protects the assets of thousands of individuals. Rothbury prides itself on providing personalised service, smart solutions, quick action and commitment. Rothbury is a member of The Steadfast Group, the largest general insurance broker network and underwriting agency group in Australasia.
Welcome, Rothbury! It's great to have you join the community as our newest Ecosystem Partner!
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Futureproof selected as Alpha Startup
Futureproof is pleased to announce that it has been chosen by leading Asian life insurer FWD Insurance and 1337 Ventures as an Insurtech 'Alpha Startup', joining the 2022 cohort in the FWD Insurance Startup Studio.
This is fantastic news for Futureproof, and will go far in opening doors for them! You can read more about this development here.
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Hillridge raises $2.3m seed round
This month Hillridge announced the successful closing of a $2.3m seed round. CEO and Founder Dale Schilling thanked their many backers, stating this funding will allow Hillridge to extend its footprint in Australia and NZ and expand its weather insurance platform to SE Asia.
Congratulations to the team at Hillridge! Click here for the full story.
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upcover news
It's been a busy month at upcover. Their recent $4.7m successful seed round has enabled the team to launch pay by the month capabilities.
And that's not all! In late September, upcover launched their new product, Cyber & Privacy Liability Insurance for small business (which ties in very nicely with Cyber Security Awareness Month).
Well done, upcover - we look forward to hearing more.
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How effective are your company's compliance frameworks?
Last month we promised to share the link to the full podcast featuring Clyde & Co’s Special Counsel Yvonne Lam and Tetiana George, CEO and Co-founder of Curium, a discussion exploring whether current compliance frameworks are still effective post Covid-19 and the Financial Services Royal Commission. Well, here it is!
This initiative is part of a wider rollout of their new compliance proposition for the insurance industry, and summarises nicely the issues in the compliance space, including where the Curium Compliance module could be of benefit to those needing to comply with new ASIC regulations.
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KOBA's recent crowdfund
Q: Why is 289 a magic number at KOBA Insurance?
A: Because that's how many shareholders joined in KOBA's recent investment offer!
Congratulations to the KOBA team, who managed to raise nearly $700k as a result of their September crowd funding campaign with Birchal. For a wrap-up of the event, read here.
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Hamilton Locke and The Fold Legal
Great news on the Partner front - two of Insurtech Australia's partners, Hamilton Locke and The Fold Legal, have officially merged. This has resulted in the formation of one of Australia's biggest and most experienced financial services teams.
For more information on this exciting merger, read here. Congratulations to the new team!
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Marsh 2023 Tech Risk Study now open
Marsh has just launched its 8th Annual Global Tech Risk Survey - as its name suggests, this is a survey of tech companies to identify the top risk issues and challenges they are facing in the current environment. The survey forms the basis of a comprehensive report that delves into the most significant risk areas and explores how organisations are adapting their risk management strategies.
With tech/fintech becoming an increasingly important sector for Marsh in this part of the world, they would appreciate 15 minutes of you time to participate in this important survey. As an added bonus, all survey respondents are offered early access to the results! For an understanding of the survey's content, follow this link to download last year's report.
You can complete the 2023 survey here!
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Insurtech Australia - our name in lights at ITC Vegas!
ITC Vegas 2022 exploded with force again this year - it was a resounding success for all eleven of our Insurtech Australia members, plus others in attendance at the event which was held between 20th and 22nd September.
A large thank you to our Lead Sponsor QBE Ventures and for the support from Investment NSW, who assisted our ITC delegation both in the preparation of our pre-program activities and throughout ITC. It was clear there was significant investor presence with many VCs and private investors in attendance, showcasing the impressive investment environment in the US. Alex Taylor, Global Head of Emerging Technology at QBE Ventures offered his experiences of establishing and strengthening business relationships in the US with other members. George Wang, Founder and CEO of AYLA revealed ‘We’ve met exchange partners who already have 100+ insurance companies online…we’ve met potential partners in HR benefit programs who could help us connect to millions of users very quickly’.
Alongside ITC, Insurtech Australia curated a robust pre-event program to seek commentary from those experts based in the US including David Connolly, Partner at EY, Philip Karecki, Chief Technology Officer at DXC, and Stacey Brown, Head of Global Technology Innovation at AXA XL and Founder of Insurtech Hartford.
With over 9.500 participants at ITC Vegas this year, the rapid pace of growth across insurtech globally is being felt by all. The cohort gained insurtech insider advice and insights from Matt Connolly, Founder and CEO at Sønr and from Aussie insurtech ‘success story’, Angus McDonald and Chris Bailey of Cover Genius, as well as several pitches from Insurtech Israel.
Nick Hassam, Co-founder at Reask, was complimentary of the program, observing, ‘Insurtech Australia managed to find the perfect balance of pitching opportunities, influential presenters and market interactions that are essential for early-stage companies like ours. The connections we have made during this event are invaluable in bringing Australia’s insurance technology capabilities to the world’.
A glance at the agenda made it clear that embedded insurance remains at the top of the list as an opportunity for platforms to enhance distribution, utilise data and provide the ability for carriers to work with brands in partnership and create protection options for fast, efficient problem solving. Low, no-code opportunities continue to persist and challenge traditional IT data management and processes. Simone Dossetor, CEO of Insurtech Australia, hosted a panel session on ‘No/ Low Code Digital Claims Management’, and it was crystal clear that companies must embrace change to keep pace and adequately support the more efficient servicing of insurance claims and horizon of insurtech as a whole. “The adoption of no/low code solutions recognises that insurance business owners want to act quickly and take control back from over-worked IT departments and software vendors”, she said.
If you would like to participate in ITC 2023 or to find out more about other opportunities with Insurtech Australia, please get in touch with the team!
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Insurtech Gateway welcomes two new mentors
Insurtech Gateway Australia is pleased to welcome two new mentors: Ian Stone, and Benjamin Wirtz.
Ian has decades of executive and board experience across automotive, insurance, corporate restructuring and professional education, and Benjamin has many years of product expertise with a focus on delivering growth for businesses.
These valuable additions will further strengthen the already solid team of mentors at Insurtech Gateway.
If you have founded a pre-seed or seed insurtech and are looking for support and funding, please contact the Insurtech Gateway team here.
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Blake Oliver Connect
Blake Oliver's Connect event is just around the corner. This invitation-only event for shortlisted successful students has now closed, with selected candidates sitting down next week to this long-awaited opportunity. Over lunch, they will meet with insurance company, broking house or law firm executives, the participants selectively chosen based on degree skillsets and current hiring requirements.
This unique event is being run in conjunction with ANZIIF and Insurtech Australia.
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DXC Technology Invitational 2022 - Asia Pacific
DXC Technology, partnered with Insurtech Australia and UTS, is currently running their annual Invitational contest. The competition, now in its fourth year, is designed to facilitate collaboration between startups and major insurers, providing access to resources and new markets.
Applications are invited from participants throughout the Asia Pacific region and will close very soon - if you're interested, follow this link for entry details. Shortlisted applicants will pitch (either in-person or virtually) at the finalist ceremony held in Sydney on 20th October, where the winner will be announced. |
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DLA Piper Brisbane In-person networking event - Wednesday 19th October 2022
Insurtech Australia, in partnership with DLA Piper, is pleased to present this networking opportunity. Come along and meet others from the Insurtech Ecosystem and hear some of our Queensland-based Insurtech members share more about the business solutions they are developing to solve issues in the Insurance space.
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Member-Only Event: Sydney (In-person)
This tech industry association networking event is presented as part of the Spark Festival and is designed to connect and celebrate our industry associations.
Members will need to register here using the unique registration password they should already have received via email. Please contact carolyn@insurtechaustralia.org for more information.
Get in quick – places are limited, and RSVPs close on 14th October!
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ANZIIF Liability Conference - 8th November 2022
This one-day conference is packed with technical content with a keynote address, panel discussion, presentations from experts and more. ANZIIF looks forward to delivering a range of knowledge and insights that will help you understand the current state of the industry and make the best decisions for you and your business.
To register for the conference (held in Sydney but also available virtually), contact ANZIIF here.
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SAVE THE DATE - What's on in 2022!
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Member-Only Educational Sessions:
Insurance Regulation Focus - Hamilton Locke (formerly The Fold Legal) - Virtual Session
Session 3: Marketing and Promotion – Do’s and Don’ts (November - date TBA)
Insurtech Australia - Annual General Meeting:
Thursday 24th November 2022 at 3pm
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InsurtechLIVE is coming!
Insurtech Australia's annual InsurtechLIVE Sydney event is now locked in for:
Wednesday 15th February 2023
Get ready for an eventful day full of guest speakers, panel discussions, networking - and coffee!!!
Make sure you save the date.
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Become a Member or a Partner
Insurtech Australia is helping make Australia a world leader in Insurtech by fostering a diverse community of insurance innovation and collaboration by bringing together insurtechs, insurance practitioners, entrepreneurs, technologists, innovators, and industry stakeholders across Australia.
If you are an insurtech and you are not a member yet, please get in touch for how to join.
Alternatively, if you work for a corporate insurance organisation and interested in corporate partnership, please get in touch for more information.
More info.
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Share your news
Thanks for reading! Have something to share with the insurtech community?
Please send to hello@insurtechaustralia.org
Stay in touch
Join the Insurtech Australia Community group on LinkedIn and start a conversation! Click here to subscribe to this newsletter!
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