InsurTechNY aims to attract insurance startup talent, investors

Many executives consider New York City to be the epicenter of entertainment and finance.

But in spite of the vast talent and capital in The Big Apple, it can be a place where InsurTech startups get lost. This has been a conundrum for dozens of insurance startups rooted in the New York City area.

Insiders say there are nearly as many InsurTechs in New York as in San Francisco, and all of them share the same need for great talent, strategic partnerships and investors as the few InsurTechs with well-known brand names.

“InsurTechs in the New York area are really overshadowed by the larger finance and banking industry,” David Gritz, co-founder of InsurTechNY, recently told PC360. “We think there needs to be someone who can be an advocate” for insurance startups.

To that end, InsurTechNY, the organization Gritz launched in 2019 after doing similar work in Silicon Valley, recently announced its 2020 InsurTech Startup Competition. The competition has two tracks and will award $300,000 in prizes to six winning teams.

The deadline for submissions is Feb. 7, 2020. Finalists will be announced in early March, and Winners will be selected on March 19, 2020, at the InsurTechNY Spring Conference.

InsurTechNY’s mission includes attracting startups and talent to the New York area, improving the regulatory environment, and connecting startups with investors. Judges for the competition will be evaluating startups for potential investment or pilot opportunities.

“We’re looking worldwide for the top startups that support the insurance industry to showcase their platforms,” Gritz said in a recent press release. “Our team has curated the most active investors and insurance innovation leaders to judge the competition.”

For more information, visit insurtechny.com.

See also:

• Insurance events & conferences: Winter 2020
• There’s no better time for a greenfield approach to innovation
• 2020 Insurance Outlook: Insurers adapting to a volatile economy