Startups are looking Beyond San Francisco: New York is the InsurTech Capital of the World
San Francisco is no longer the only place for technological startups to flourish. In recent years founders have left the Silicon Valley for cities such as Portland, Oregon; Denver, Colorado or Seattle, Washington. They are looking for more affordable cost of living and cheaper tech salaries.
Here on the East Coast, New York — a city originally known as a finance and communication hub — is quickly becoming the capital of the InsurTech companies.
Yes, New York is the home of amazing insurance startups that are all going after this trillion-dollar insurance industry.
I had to research this fascinating sector for one of my projects and I’ve decided to share my findings with you. The proximity of mastodon insurance players, such as AIG, Metlife, Marsh, Chubb/ACE, New York Life, and Assurant combined with the city’s communication and marketing talents have helped spur the rise of so many firms in the insurance technology space.
Here are the top, most promising, insurance startups in New York City.
METLIFE
For sure MetLife isn’t a startup. Founded in 1868 MetLife is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers.
What I find interesting, however, is that MetLife is hosting “Ignition” an event at its headquarters in New York City that brings together global MetLife leaders with cutting-edge start-ups and many of MetLife’s 16 venture capital (VC) partners to explore how disruptive technologies can be applied at MetLife. A go-to place for up and coming InsurTech.
OSCAR
Oscar Health Insurance is a technology-focused health insurance company founded in 2012 and is headquartered in New York City. The company focuses on the health insurance industry through telemedicine, healthcare-focused technological interfaces, and transparent claims pricing systems.
In 2018, Alphabet Inc invested $375 million in Oscar Health. The company has a reported valuation of $3.2 billion.
Interestingly, Joshua Kushner is the Co-founder. The CEO is Mario Schlosser
LEMONADE
Lemonade Insurance Company is a property and casualty insurance company that is transforming the very business model of insurance. By injecting technology and transparency into an industry that often lacks both, we’re creating an insurance experience that is fast, affordable, and hassle-free. Unlike any other insurance company, we gain nothing by delaying or denying claims (we take a flat fee!), so we handle and pay as many claims instantly as possible.
Total Funding Amount $480M
on April 11, 2019, Lemonade raised $300,000,000 / Series D from Allianz and 5 other investors.
INSHUR
The Cutting-Edge Commercial Automobile Insurance App for Professional Drivers
The INSHUR solution is a mobile-first digital insurance platform, driven by a chat-based agent called Ami.
The goal is to present a simple set of questions to the user, but underneath the hood, Ami relies on a sophisticated proprietary framework that allows INSHUR to configure new underwriting flows quickly with analytics to track user behavior.
Rapid initial growth – $24m of GWP within 10 months of launch.
INSHUR wrote over $24m of GWP in New York in the 10 months after launch in February 2018; the company is now also live in the UK
Founded in 2016, INSHUR set out to make it easy for drivers to secure TLC insurance with all the coverage needed for Uber, Lyft and other rideshare operators.
Total Funding Amount $9M
Key insurance clients/partners: Munich Re
PHARM3R
Pharm3r uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to collect, clean and aggregate data on all aspects of the life sciences market. Areas of focus include drugs, devices, clinical trials, and physician outcomes.
Pharm3r’s technology allows insurers quickly to detect, predict and price litigation risk. For example, an underwriter can see the number of adverse events reported for a particular active ingredient or compare the nature of reported product defects for a type of medical device.
Key insurance clients/partners: LifeScience Risk, Allianz, Chubb, Sompo, OneBeacon, Ironshore, Medmarc.
MAPTYCS
Not an Insurance startup but still a very interesting company in this ecosystem.
Maptycs is an evolutionary risk mapping & analytics solution that helps risk and insurance professionals transform risk exposure data in actionable insights.
SURE INC
Sure is a mobile app that allows you to purchase insurance when you want it, and where you want it. Sure is the future of personal insurance with Episodic Insurance. Getting insured is one of the most financially responsible actions you can take. they’ve made it easier than ever to feel protected. Sure helps savvy consumers like you with…
Sure has raised a total of $10.6M in funding over 3 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jun 14, 2017 from a Series A round.
Partners: Nationwide, Chubb, Markel, AmTrust, QBE, ASPCA Pet Insurance, Marsh, Assurant.
COVERWALLET
Focus: Small business
CoverWallet was started by tech entrepreneurs who worked in software startups in the past, building easy to use online products for consumers and enterprises. Frustrated with how opaque, high pressure and time consuming the management of commercial insurance was, we decided to build a better experience for other business owners and a concierge service for them. We brought our experience of building beautiful Internet products together with the state-of-the-art online technologies to create efficiencies, save you money, and simplify your life when it comes to managing business insurance. We offer nothing extravagant: “manage all my policies online, all in one place”.
CoverWallet launched in 2016 and has already been named one of the Best Entrepreneurial Companies by Entrepreneur Magazine and recently partnered with Starr Companies to develop new insurance products to better serve small businesses. Total funding amount $28.3M
JETTY
https://www.jetty.com/
Focus: Renters
Jetty offers a new kind of renters insurance, designed to help people get the protection they actually need at a price they can afford. Our mission is to protect our Members from setbacks of all kinds, from fire and theft to wasted time and money.
WELLTHIE
Focus: Health
Wellthie is helping to modernize the insurance shopping experience, offering the first and only national small group benefits marketplace designed to help brokers optimize small group sales and carriers maximize product distribution. Wellthie’s enterprise-ready SaaS platform is available to carriers and brokers nationwide.
In Oct. 2018 it has been included in the inaugural InsurTech 100 list of technology pioneers who are transforming the global insurance industry.
SPRUCE
Focus: Title
Spruce wants to integrate with your lender or real estate company to provide title insurance and escrow services that radically simplify and enhance the closing process.
Total Funding $21.1M
ZIPARI
Focus: Health
Ok, this one isn’t in New York proper but in Brooklyn.
The First and Only Consumer Experience Platform Built Specifically for Health Insurance
Zipari is the only consumer experience technology company to exclusively specialize in health insurance and offer a native understanding of the industry, which means we instinctively understand our clients’ goals.
Total Funding Amount $12M
FABRIC
Focus: Life
Also in Brooklyn.
Fabric Technology claims that it helps you secure your family’s financial future
Tens of thousands of families use Fabric to help protect their financial futures. First step? Get Fabric Vault, create a will or apply for affordable term life insurance.
Total Funding Amount $12.5M