These 8 Regions are Driving Insurance Technology Innovation
November 18, 2015 7:24 PM
Insurance technology innovation is on the rise, and owing to its regional history, there are clusters of it happening all over the country. Insurance Networking News has identified the regions where insurance carriers and technology vendors are developing the solutions that will define the industry for the next several decades.
Boston
There's already a vibrant insurance technology startup community in the Boston area, including the firms Onsource, Censio, Kodiak and Understory, according to bostonstartupsguide.com. In addition, the city is home to John Hancock Insurance, which is working with the startup accelerator MassChallenge to incorporate more new innovations into the insurance business.
Chicago
The Chicago area is home to a number of insurers with innovative technology organizations, including Allstate, State Farm and CNA. It's also home to Snapsheet, a startup for insurance claims which has been backed by USAA, among others.
Columbia, S.C.
Columbia is home to the Insurance Technologies Services Cluster, an organization devoted to "promoting the Greater Columbia areas wealth of opportunities within the insurance technology sector." More than 15,000 people are employed in insurance tech in the area, for companies including Aflac, Colonial Life, Interactive Intelligence, Accenture, EagleEye Analytics, and Seibels.
Columbus, Ohio
This city is actually at the center of an entire state of innovative insurance carriers. That includes everyone from Progressive, in the Cleveland area, to Great American and Cincinnati Financial in Cincinnati. Closer to home, Nationwide, SafeAuto, and State Auto take up residence in the capital.
Des Moines, Iowa
Iowa's stature in the insurance business is well-documented, with The Principal, Farm Bureau Financial, and Nationwide unit Allied Insurance all located there. But the city is also home to the Global Insurance Accelerator, which is recruiting its second class of insurance-focused startups that will receive funding and mentorship from the insurers in the area.
Hartford, Conn.
Despite insurance companies moving their main headquarters out of the central Connecticut city, the area still is home to the operational areas of companies like Hartford Steam Boiler, XL Group and Aetna that are experimenting with telematics, the Internet of Things, analytics and more.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Canada's largest city is making bold moves in insurance tech. Manulife, John Hancock's parent, is taking the same lead north of the border that its subsidiary is stateside. And the DMZ incubator at Ryerson University is actively recruiting insurance technology companies.
Silicon Valley
You can't underestiate the contribution of America's leading technology cluster to the insurance world. Companies calling Silicon Valley home range from core systems provider Guidewire to usage-based insurance-only carrier Metromile, to Esurance, to Automatic, a connected car startup recieving funding from several insurance carriers.