Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1170674
2019 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 55 Entrepreneurs from 10 insurance-technology startups (shown above in a strategy session) recently participated in the second annual Hartford InsurTech Hub accelerator program. Shaking It Up Accelerator is rocketing Connecticut's IFS sector into the digital age By Carol Latter Hartford has historically been known as the "Insurance Capital of the World." But these days, Connecticut's capital city is firmly focused on the future, pouring considerable effort into becoming Innovation Central for the insurance and financial services industries. A case in point is Hartford's InsurTech Hub, an entity that describes itself as "a collaboration of insurance carriers, City of Hartford representatives and community stakeholders, all focused on industry evolution through collaboration and innovation." Powered by the global StartupBootcamp, the local accelerator program gives entrepreneurs from around the world the resources and support they need to change the face of the insurance industry – from the way consumers and businesses select and purchase insurance to the way they use it. These startups are also launching innovation tools and platforms that will allow insurance companies to connect with and engage both current and potential customers – and to better meet their clients' evolving needs. Dawn LeBlanc, managing director of Hartford InsurTech Hub, says the initiative, now in its second year, recently graduated its second cohort of 10 young companies – "the best and the brightest" of the 5,000 reviewed and the 500 interviewed to take part in the 90-day program. LeBlanc said most of the products or proposals created by these startups either prevent existing risks or help the insurance industry provide coverage in new ways, or for new types of risks. "All of that really helps keep those [insurance] companies strong, moving forward, and hopefully remaining in Connecticut – and supporting us [the industry] from an ecosystem perspective." And why do these entrepreneurs vie to put their lives on hold for three months and come all the way to Hartford? LeBlanc says it all comes down to critical mass and the opportunities they perceive here. "We have over 3,000 people who are involved in some way, shape, or form in the Hartford InsurTech Hub. And so that support – and access to pretty large, well-known insurers here – is the reason why they come. They're either looking to expand their companies that are located in another state or outside of the U.S., or maybe they had a successful business that wasn't really focused as much on insurance and now they want to expand on that." From the other side of the equation, she said, many insurance companies have been actively seeking out ways to become more innovative to keep up with emerging trends, risks and opportunities, but others have been less proactive or less successful in doing so. The accelerator program is meant not only to assist the startups, but to give insurers access to the most innovative firms that the marketplace has to offer them. In today's world, she noted, we have things that never existed before, like drones and Uber. And while society may find these disruptive technology and services extremely useful, they also represent both risk and opportunity from an insurance standpoint. INSURANCE & FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTION SPONSOR