Insurtech Australia hails Singapore ITC trip a "huge success"

Insurtech Australia (IA) says its entourage of eight local startups to the Insurtech Connect (ITC) Asia in Singapore was a great success and showcased Australia’s premier expertise.

IA CEO Simone Dossetor tells insuranceNEWS.com.au having Austrade sponsorship, as well as coming from a highly regulated market, made the Australian contingent stand out from the pack.

Those seeking investment and partnerships established strong leads as the entourage easily lived up to the Austrade tagline “the best and brightest insurtech starts in Australia,” she said.

“It was a great flag and we really felt that was true,” Ms Dossetor said. “We had eight that really stood out with the variety and the depth compared to all the international insurtechs that were there, and represented our deep insurtech expertise, the academic realm, fintech expertise. We were the only one as a country that was really there in a big way.”

IA selected eight delegates for the region’s largest gathering of insurance leaders and innovators: Advisr, Evari, Reask, Kanopi Cover, Ayla, Mapizy, Curium and Day By Day.

Another group will attend ITC Vegas in September and there will also be an opportunity to pitch for a trip to the UK, planned for March.

“There’s definitely strong potential for our insurtechs looking to expand into Asia and it also created a buzz for Australia as a destination. We need to embrace that,” Ms Dossetor said. “We had a number of people come up afterwards and say ours were the best pitches they had seen which was really pleasing.”

The eight attendees pitched and made connections with corporate insurers in the region and venture capital firms. Around 20 delegates made up the Australian team, which had a promotional booth. IAG’s Firemark Ventures also sent a delegation.

Hollard-backed Kanopi Cover Founder and CEO Nigel Fellowes-Freeman tells insuranceNEWS.com.au much was gained from the event.

“The trip was very successful and a great opportunity for us to meet in person some current insurer partners as well as a number of potential partners we are speaking to within the Asia market,” he said.

“The support of both Austrade and Insurtech Australia to make it happen was fantastic and it was wonderful to be alongside a number of fellow Australian startups looking to make a mark in that market.”

Reask co-founder Nick Hassam spoke at the event as part of an AusTrade delegation to explain how the company uses data, technology and high-performance computing for climate catastrophe risk modelling.

“That demand wasn’t really being met with novel or modern technologies and all of it was using backward-looking statistical methods. New and modern methodologies such as broader AI and machine learning bring a lot more to the game,” he said