First Isle of Man Insurtech Accelerator Program finishes on a high

The first ever Isle of Man Insurtech Accelerator program has concluded with a demonstration day (demo day) for scale-ups to present their transformative and ground-breaking technologies to the business world.

The event marked the culmination of the intensive four-month Insurtech Accelerator programme, organized in partnership with F10, designed to connect cutting-edge technology companies from around the world with the Isle of Man’s insurance industry.

Seven scale-up companies from the UK, Europe and Singapore were selected to participate – each offering innovative technologies with the potential to transform parts of the insurance landscape.

The demo day gave them the chance to showcase the technological advances they have made during the program in front of invited guests, including the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, the Hon Alfred Cannan, MHK, and Magdalena Ramada Sarasola, Senior Director and Insurtech innovation leader, at Willis Towers Watson.

Initially aimed at developing solutions for the insurance sector, it became clear over the course of the program that the technology had applications for wider regulated industries.

As a result, the event provided an opportunity for scale-ups to present not only to executives from across the island’s insurance industry, but also to senior figures from other sectors including banking, pensions, legal, eGaming and accounting.

Throughout the programme, participating companies received a range of support designed to help improve their offering. This included personal guidance and coaching, as well as the opportunity to work with leading insurance companies such as Zurich International, Utmost Wealth, RL360, Momentum International, EIP and Hansard.

The program also encouraged collaboration between participating companies – with some expected to form joint ventures as a result.

Michael Crowe, CEO of Finance Isle of Man, said: “We are delighted with the success of our first Insurtech Accelerator Program. It has been a privilege to watch these scale-ups develop and we are particularly excited to see how the relationship between them and other companies across the island continues to grow.

“This program has shown that the Isle of Man is an excellent place for FinTech start-ups and scale-ups to develop and test their products in a very supportive environment. This is an area of ​​real strength for us and I am excited to see the results of the FinTech Innovation Challenge launched last year to spark innovation in the FinTech world.”

Marc Hauser, head of F10 Europe, added: “After over a year of early talks and then close collaboration with Finance Isle of Man, we reached an important milestone. Reflecting on what we achieved, I am super excited and could not be prouder of what the ministry, the participating insurance companies and the start-ups have achieved. We absolutely exceeded our expectations; not only did we increase awareness of Insurtech on the island, but insurance companies also became more adept at collaborating and start-ups were able to discover new business opportunities. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who participated, and I look forward to the future.”