It’s been an exciting couple of years for the insurance industry. Whether your organization has chosen to embrace the new or is instead hunkered down in a defensive posture doesn’t even matter all that much.
What matters is that we’re collectively thinking about new ways to do things. Lord knows our industry needs that. What matters is that people from outside the industry are taking an interest. Oh boy do we need that. Kids coming out of school actually setting their sights on insurance as a place to accomplish something ‘cool’.
There might not be common consensus on what Insurtech actually is or even how to spell it, but however you define it, it’s real and it’s here to stay.
At Ask Kodiak we choose to look at Insurtech in a certain way. In fact, we’ll let you in on a little secret: Anyone can be insurtech. Insurance companies, agencies, wholesalers, software providers, you name it. You just need the four key ingredients: Tech + Insurance + Creativity + Hustle. Those last two are the essential secret ingredients (keep that between us. it would be bad if that got out). Insurtech is about the people out there actually making something new happen in this sleepy industry.
It doesn’t matter if those new things are more tech than insurance or more insurance than tech, it matters that conventions are being challenged and risk takers are trying to create something from nothing in such a risk-averse industry.
We’re tremendously lucky to be based in Boston, because our town has emerged as something of an epicenter for companies with this magical combination of ingredients. We’re fortunate to have an exceptional blend of incumbents and startups, the old and the new, all in one place. On Thursday we’ll gather for Insurtech Boston at District Hall in the Seaport to celebrate insurance hustle.
This event marks the third time that we’ve hosted, and it’s humbling that our community has grown fourfold since this time last year. We’re honored to hand the microphone over to our friends – some well into their own journeys, some just getting started. Come out and meet someone new or learn about something new going on. We hope to see you there.
More about the authors
Michael Albert and Allan Egbert, Jr. are the cofounders of Ask Kodiak as well as two of the cofounders of Insurtech Boston.