Venture capital

Digital insurers got almost 55% of the funding among insurtech companies.

The agency CEO talks about his vision for investments in a new initiative

Signs point to 2022 being another strong year for deals.

There were about 25 funding rounds.

The pandemic rollercoaster continues to rattle the insurance industry as we ride into 2022. One of the bright spots for our industry was the acceleration of technological innovation. All the uncertainty and changing consumer habits are fueling substantial changes in how insurance is marketed and sold by independent agencies.

In 2020, American Family Insurance launched a partnership with the Creative Destruction Lab and the University of Wisconsin-Madison that provides support and mentorship to start-up founders in their companies’ early stages. A year into the partnership and there are truly inspiring to learn from the startup founders.

The three winning teams will split $200,000 in prizes. Eligible insurtechs include those that had less than $250,000 in revenue last year.

In case you missed it, insurtech -- technology developed to improve and transform the insurance industry -- is having a bit of a moment. Forrester recently reported record-breaking funding for insurtechs, closing Q3 at $15 billion - more funding than in 2019 and 2020 combined - with more deals anticipated by the end-of-year.

During, “The View from Venture Capital,” at the Digital Insurance DIGIN conference, Dec. 10, three experts involved in venture capital firms discussed what they look for when funding a company and what’s ahead for the industry.

As the wave of SPAC mergers crested in the past two years, startups that chose this path found it difficult to keep up with more established companies and investor expectations. The insurtech companies that went this route are not exempt from experiencing that strain.