Total new worldwide funding commitments to the InsurTech sector in 2019 have already surpassed the 2018 full-year total, and during the third quarter exceeded $1.2 billion for the fifth consecutive quarter-year period, according to the new Quarterly InsurTech Briefing from Willis Towers Watson, a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company.
83 deals with a total value of $1.50 billion were announced in Q3, 2019, up 6% over the previous three months to reach the third-highest quarter for global InsurTech investment to date. Deal numbers were up 20%, and marked the first quarter since Q2, 2018 when investments in B2B InsurTechs outnumbered investments in distribution-focused ventures. The value of investments in property/casualty-focussed firms continued to rise, supported up by three mammoth deals backing Root Insurance, Hippo, and PolicyBazaar.
During the first three quarters of the year, a total of $4.36 billion has been deployed to InsurTech companies across 239 transactions. That already marks a 5% increase from the total amount of investment in all of 2018. Deal activity is on pace to beat last year’s total.
Dr Andrew Johnston, Global Head of InsurTech at Willis Re, says: “The continuing rise in InsurTech investment acknowledges the enormous role technology has to play in our industry, but we need to avoid becoming a sector jaded and frustrated by it. Today’s InsurTech is as much about hype and entrepreneurial culture as it is about appropriate technology for the (re)insurance industry.
“InsurTech’s greatest achievement to date has been to act like a defibrillator on the heart of the insurance industry. People across the sector now talk more positively about the use of technology. Some see it as the potential saviour of a broken system.”
The latest Briefing focuses on policy administration and central management systems. The Q3 edition features RiskGenius, which uses AI techniques to understand the contents of an insurance policy; the Canadian InsurTech ProNavigator, an AI platform to automate workflows that deploys natural language processing; and Britecore, a cloud-native administration platform delivered through Amazon Web Services.
The Briefing also includes a discussion with Philip Walker, CEO of iptiQ Americas, about the development and potential impact of the digital end-to-end platform iptiQ; an article about Willis Towers Watson’s Unify, an end-to-end business process automation tool that allows users to integrate and automate disparate systems; thought leadership from Jason Rodriguez, Data Science Lead at Willis Towers Watson’s Insurance Consulting and Technology Americas; and an examination of recent fundraising rounds by Hippo, the California-based home insurance provider, and Root, the American app-based motor insurer.
Rodriguez says: “Policy administration systems form the backbone of policy issuance. Over time, the process has become increasingly automated. With InsurTech innovations, insurers are able to achieve a complex, bespoke information technology solution that fits their businesses by abandoning one-size-fits-all systems in favour of a mix-and-match approach. This allows them to shop for value in one functional area while investing in a best-in-class solution in another.”
About Willis Re
One of the world’s leading reinsurance brokers, Willis Re is known for its world-class analytics capabilities, which it combines with its reinsurance expertise in a seamless, integrated offering that can help clients increase the value of their businesses. Willis Re serves the risk management and risk transfer needs of a diverse, global client base that includes all of the world’s top insurance and reinsurance carriers as well as national catastrophe schemes in many countries around the world. The broker’s global team of experts offers services and advice that can help clients make better reinsurance decisions and negotiate optimum terms. For more information, visit www.willistowerswatson.com/WillisRe
About Willis Towers Watson
Willis Towers Watson is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth. With roots dating to 1828, Willis Towers Watson has 45,000 employees serving more than 140 countries and markets. We design and deliver solutions that manage risk, optimize benefits, cultivate talent, and expand the power of capital to protect and strengthen institutions and individuals. Our unique perspective allows us to see the critical intersections between talent, assets and ideas – the dynamic formula that drives business performance. Together, we unlock potential.