The Global Insurance Accelerator said it is nearly doubling its seed funding for participating InsurTechs, starting with companies accepted into the program in 2020. A desire to stay competitive is behind the change.

“The GIA was established at the very forefront of the InsurTech movement,” Nicole Gunderson, managing director for the GIA, said in prepared remarks. “The funding and perks provided for startups at that time was more than equivalent to other accelerators in the industry, but like any startup, we’ve learned a lot in our first five years and need to continue to evolve and scale. Today, there is increased competition in the accelerator landscape, and our goal with this change is to provide a founder- and investor-friendly standard market structure.”

What that means is the GIA will increase the seed investment from $40,000 to $75,000 in return for a 5 percent equity stake. This change helps to cover housing in full, and the program will continue to have carefully chosen meetings with more than 75 insurance industry mentors. There’s also office space, relevant educational sessions, exposure at industry conferences and the opportunity to present at the Global Insurance Symposium with 600-plus insurance industry professionals in attendance.

As well, the GIA provides alumni companies with ongoing support after they complete the program, and it recently assisted 18 alumni companies who participated in InsureTech Connect, the industry’s largest networking event, which concluded in Las Vegas on Sept. 25.

Since the launch of the GIA, 36 startups accepted into the accelerator’s annual, 100-day program based in Des Moines, Iowa, have received $40,000 each in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent common equity. In addition, in the last three years, housing at the Staybridge Suites, just blocks away from the GIA offices, has been covered for at least one representative from each company. The GIA bills its accelerator program as creating value by providing extensive interaction with insurance company executives and professionals who serve as mentors through the support of 13 insurance company investors.

The decision to increase program benefits for future cohorts was voted on and approved by the 13 insurer investor members of the GIA board, including representatives from Allstate, American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company, Delta Dental of Iowa, EMC Insurance, Farm Bureau Financial Services, Farmers Mutual Hail, Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company, Global Atlantic Financial Group, IMT Insurance Company, Markel Corporation, Mutual of Omaha, Principal Financial and SFM.

Applications for the 2020 cohort are through the website at www.globalinsuranceaccelerator.com.

Source: Global Insurance Accelerator