Insurtech Accelerator Programme Demo Day Attracting International Interest

‘It’s testimony to the strength of the Isle of Man’s insurance and associated regulated service industries that our Insurtech accelerator programme demo day on Thursday January 26 is attracting international interest,’ says Simon Pickering, Finance Isle of Man’s Head of Insurance and Pensions.

Simon explained that the event, which is being held at the Villa Marina, is the culmination of a 14-week Insurtech accelerator programme delivered in partnership with Zurich-based global innovation ecosystem F10.

He continued: ‘Response to the event has exceeded expectations – already we’ve more than 140 registrations confirmed. Originally it was aimed solely at the insurance sector, but we soon realised that the technology solutions that emerged from the programme worked equally well for other regulated sectors. What this means is that there’ll also be representatives from the pensions, banking, fund and wealth management industries, IT and e-gaming organisations, accountancy and law firms and trust companies, as well as owners of private concerns.

‘Central to the event will be the opportunity for us to welcome the return to the Island of the seven-strong cohort of programme partners. Every one of those partners comes with impeccable industry credentials and they’ve been so impressed, not only by our Insurtech proposition and wider tech-driven financial services, but also by the Island’s quality of life, that in their home countries they’ve effectively become ambassadors for the Isle of Man.

‘Interestingly, the Island’s regulator has attracted plaudits from a number of cohort members who have limited or no access to the regulator in their own countries. We also believe one or two of the seven are considering opening up an office in the Isle of Man and we understand that around nine proof of concepts are under discussion as a direct result of our accelerator programme.

‘Insurtech companies from across Europe, as well as from Singapore, will be represented at the event, which has also attracted journalists from four major UK publications – The Insurer, Insurance Post, International Investment and The FinTech Times.

‘We’re delighted that the Chief Minister has kindly agreed to deliver the welcome address and we’ve also been able to secure as our guest speaker Magdalena Ramada. Magdalena’s with WTW (Willis Towers Watson) in Madrid, where she’s a senior director and Insurtech innovation leader, focusing on strategic consulting for the insurance industry, so her expertise and experience should make for a really insightful talk. There’ll also be an opportunity to listen to cohort members’ latest tech solution pitches and then there’ll be time for networking before the event concludes.’

Magdalena Ramada

Simon added: ‘It’s fair to say that the cohort members we’ve been working with these past months have become firm alumni for life – some of them are even working together on joint ventures now. Looking to the future there’s the FinTech Innovation Challenge, launched last year and designed to spark innovation in the FinTech “world”, while whatever the next steps we take will largely be determined by industry feedback but will likely see further collaboration with F10.’

In closing Simon said: ‘Such has been the level of interest the programme has attracted it will inevitably help to put the Isle of Man on “the Insurtech map” and send out an unequivocal message that the Island is open for business with the world.’

The Insurtech Accelerator Programme demo day is on Thursday, January 26 at the Villa Marina.

To register for the event, click here.