Deadline Approaches for New York-Bermuda InsurTech Early Stage Competition

January 22, 2021

The submission deadline for the 2021 InsurTech Early-Stage Competition is approaching on January 29, 2021.

Global insurtech hub InsurTech NY and the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA), Bermuda’s independent economic development public/private partnership, have joined forces for the competition, which attracts up to 100 startups from around the world with an opportunity to showcase their business and market potential to early stage investors and insurance leaders.

Early-stage companies eligible for the competition are insurtechs that generated less than $250,000 in annual revenue in 2020.

“We encourage those looking to accelerate innovation in the industry to apply and look forward to welcoming the winning team to Bermuda, the world’s risk capital with over $100 billion in reinsurance premium, access to specialty market carriers, and a friendly regulatory environment for quality startups,” said Jasmine DeSilva, business development manager responsible for risk and insurance solutions at BDA, in a press release.

Adding to the existing prize pool of $200,000, the BDA will award the winning team with a four-night stay in Bermuda and a business concierge service to connect startup founders to professional advisors, as well as pay the fees associated with participating in the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) regulatory sandbox or innovation hub.

The winning team’s proposal will be subject to the BMA’s formal application review, and once approved, will benefit from the regulator’s guidance.

Susan Pateras, a BDA board member with more than two decades of insurance industry experience, will join the list of investor and insurance carrier judges. Judges comprise angel investors, venture capitalists and insurance carriers including New York Angels, Park City Angels, Anthemis, Six Thirty, Sure Ventures, Luge Capital, Transverse, Nationwide, GreenlightRe and Grange Insurance.

“Finding an initial regulatory sandbox and access to reinsurance partners is one of the biggest challenges for new digital MGAs,” said David Gritz, co-founder of InsurTech NY, in a press release. “The Bermuda market represents an exceptional opportunity for new insurtechs, and our partnership with the Bermuda Business Development Agency is one example of how we strive to be an international gateway for insurtechs to find global opportunities for growth.”

The top 10 finalists will be invited to present at the InsurTech Spring Conference and will be announced in early March 2021.