This week, 12 participants in a special Americas-focused edition of the semi-annual 10-week Lloyd's Lab startup insurtech incubator program are beginning their work at its London headquarters.
The participants are, for new products: CoverYourAI, OpenCover, SAMP Risk and SHINC. For data, models and processes: Astroteq.ai, CatX, Maximum Information and Sixfold. Lastly, for building resilience in insurance markets: Authentic Art, Latú Seguros, Pascal Metrics and ZeroEyes. This is the 12th edition of the program.
The choice to focus in the Americas was in part because of the resilience of the region's insurtech startups Lloyd's has seen in prior cohorts.
"To help address insurance gaps globally, the Lloyd's Lab has set themes based in regions across the world," said Rosie Denée, senior manager of Lloyd's Lab. In past editions, the program has focused on Europe and the Asia-Pacific, with plans to invite other regions that Lloyd's serves globally.
"The Americas seemed a natural next step, both because of the ever-changing landscape and the fact that many past alumni have been based in that region," Denée said. "There's a rich history we already have. But while we have some companies looking to answer bespoke issues on the ground, that's not the only Americas angle."
Lloyd's Lab assigns 12 to 16 mentors to each participating company, who act like a board of directors and give honest and open feedback, according to Denée. "With the support of their mentors, companies are pushed to build out new solutions that they wouldn't perhaps think of doing otherwise, in a fast succeed - fast fail environment," she said. In this edition, 30 U.S.-based mentors are participating.
"The fantastic thing that I love about the Lab is that we can get some amazing minds into our doors who are doing things differently, who are seeing the world differently," Denée said. "They don't need to know insurance, but by providing a structure to help plug any gaps in their knowledge, they can then create something for our market that helps to tackle our customers' biggest challenges. It's really opening up a different way of bringing in talent from outside of the market and helping them develop something new and get going on their journey."
