Innovation, dead fish and lemonade

For years I’ve been presenting to, and working with, the boards of insurance companies around the world. We talk about the changing business landscape, the role new technology and customer propositions play, and how incumbents are struggling to innovate.

All too often, it’s not the innovation that’s the missing ingredient; it’s the lack of ambition. Without the latter, you’ll never have the former.

When thinking about the future of insurance, there’s one quote that beautifully sums it up:

Just brilliant. In fact, I’m not nearly doing them justice. Watch this, it’s great.

Why am I telling you about these rocket makers? Namely because there’s a world of talented, ambitious folk who are dreaming big and then doing whatever they need to make those dreams come true.

Dan Schreiber is just one of these. Having launched Lemonade just 2 years ago and raised close to $200 million, he modestly states “our ambition is expansive”.

And if you think Lemonade is one of those US businesses you don’t need to worry about, think again. They’re rolling out globally later this year.

2018, the year of the PoCs (that don’t quite live up to their hype)
Watching the convergence, and occasional collision, between Insurtechs and established players has been an interesting one. 2018 has been much talked about as the year where these two worlds came together.

On one side are the startups struggling to scale and in desperate need of distribution. The other, corporates failing to innovate whilst sitting on a pile of cash and customer data. Bring the two together and you open up a world of opportunity.

There’s load of reading material about how to launch and run a successful PoC so I won’t go into that. If you can’t find it, drop me a note and I’ll happily talk you through our approach.

But there’s also a step before a PoC which I believe most companies are yet to tackle. And it’s a really important one – selecting the right partners.

A little whille ago we published this:

There’s nothing wrong with that, I’d just be cautious about getting into bed with any of them before scanning the market opportunity in insurance for others and giving due consideration as to whether they’re a better fit.

Think connected home and Neos springs to mind. But what about the French company Luko and their ambition to enter new markets? Or concierge services? You’ve got Brolly who have stolen every headline under the sun. But what about Sherpa or Coverfy? Or, when exploring microinsurance how do you select between Wrisk, Sure and Toffee. And so on. You get the point I’m sure.

The good news is we can help. Not only do we have the world’s most comprehensive market opportunity in insurance scanning platform in Sønr, but we also run Partnership Days for our clients. They’re a brilliant way to engage your internal teams, connect with a dozen or so carefully selected startups, and explore near and far-term opportunities together.

Know which way the wind blows

I mentioned Windward a few weeks back after they secured a $16.5 million funding round led by XL Catlin. This week we caught up with Ami Daniel, the co-founder & CEO, to hear more about their journey and ambitions.

Now in its 8th year, the company started out using commercial satellites to track vessel traffic and send out alerts to local law enforcement when they spotted something suspicious. Example? Stopping Somalian pirates transporting illegal goods in their cargo holds.

Since then, though, the ex-naval officers have raised enough money to expand their offering, and are now also using their platform to help marine insurers optimise their risk selection.

It’s a great read – knot (yeah, sorry) one to miss.

That’s it from me. Have a good weekend.

Matt

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MATT CONNOLLY
Founder & CEO
+44 7788 711 104
www.tallt.ventures

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