New York Names InnSure to Handle Clean Tech Insurance Grants

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the nonprofit InnSure will administer the state’s $6.5 million insurance innovation fund that includes grants to encourage the development of new insurance policies and products that support new clean technologies.

The initiative, announced last September, aims to provide funding for products that manage the financial risk associated with climate change, supporting the state’s goal of reducing carbon emissions 85% by 2050. It falls under the Insurance Innovation for Climate-Technology Solutions program. Funding for this initiative is through the state’s 10-year, $6 billion Clean Energy Fund.

“Removing barriers to innovative, climate technologies that lower carbon emissions is a critical part of reaching New York’s ambitious climate goals,” Hochul said. “By supporting new insurance policies for New Yorkers purchasing cutting-edge, climate-friendly products, we can offer protection and reassurance for consumers and companies alike to help ensure our state continues to lead in climate innovation.”

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based InnSure runs a “climate risk and insurance sandbox” where insurance, technology, climate, data and other providers collaborate in working groups and laboratories on innovative ways that insurance can contribute to the battle against climate change.

InnSure will work with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to competitively award insurance innovators for the research and development of new insurance policies and products.

As the program administrator, InnSure will receive up to $1.5 million to work with managing general underwriters and managing general agents that can research, develop, and test new insurance products, and it will award up to $5 million in competitive grants in 2023.

NYSERDA CEO Doreen Harris said InnSure will provide the research and data needed to support new investments and bring more products to fruition for New Yorkers to use on a daily basis.

“Climate-related solutions will drive insurance industry innovation and growth over the coming decades,” InnSure said in announcing a simulator project with MIT last December. It estimates that growth in climate-related insurance products and services will present more than $100 billion in new business opportunities per year by 2030.