In an increasingly connected and global world, the question of where to do business is, perhaps, more pertinent than ever. London, New York, Paris? There are a number of cities that have a strong claim to being an insurtech hotspot, and we've summed up 10 cities with the strongest claims.
Here are our Top 10 insurtech hotspots in the world right now.
10. Hartford
We start with what might be, for the uninitiated, a surprise entrant on this list – Hartford, Connecticut. Despite being the state capital, it is home to little more than 100,000 people, but still claims to be the world’s insurance capital. “During the 19th century, a number of insurance companies established their headquarters in the city,” the local organisation Connecticut History explains. Today, Hartford still hosts regular insurance symposiums and is home to the likes of HSB, Covr, Maprisk and Insurity.
9. Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s background in banking and finance gives it an established pedigree, from which it has also built an insurtech legacy for the future. One of the city state’s most famous insurtechs is OneDegree, a digital insurer which focuses on verticals like pet insurance, home insurance, and health insurance. OneDegree, and companies like it, can draw on a deep talent pool: Hong Kong is home to three of the 10 best universities in Asia, according to Times Higher Education, and the state consistently ranks for its high English proficiency.
8. Paris
The French capital was bound to be included on this list, a bustling city with a population of more than 2m and four of the top 100 universities in the world, according to Times Higher Education. This eclectic graduate pool has given the city a flourishing insurtech reputation – even if Paris isn’t the first place you think of when discussing insurance, or indeed insurtech the first thing you think about Paris. Insurtechs in the city include Akur8, Descartes Underwriting, Luko and Shift Technology, according to industry database Crunchbase.
7. Tel Aviv
Despite having half the population of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and its historic old town of Yafo have formed a formidable reputation as a commercial centre. Israel has mandatory conscription, and many of those who take part end up learning valuable skills – including cybersecurity, as an example – that they can then take into the wider world. Indeed, Guy Goldstein, founder of US-based Next Insurance, is a former fighter pilot in the Israeli air force. Many Israeli startups often target the US or European markets from the outset, or move away from Israel as they scale, meaning the city loses many of its insurtech founders over time.
6. Singapore
From a financial and insurance perspective, the tiny nation of Singapore packs considerable punch for its diminutive size. It is home to insurtechs like Bolttech, which was recently valued at US$1.6bn, and Igloo, which has facilitated more than 300m digital insurance policies to date. Singapore is the best country in Asia to do business, according to the World Bank, and is home to another two of the best universities in Asia.
5. Berlin
The German capital is not usually renowned for its insurtech pedigree, or its financial scene at all for that matter; in fact, as far as financial centres go, it is often overlooked in favour of Frankfurt-am-Main, where the German Stock Exchange is. However, this lively and multicultural city has developed a vibrant insurtech sector composed of well-regarded brands such as SureIn, Friday, wefox, omni:us; and digital bank N26, which has some involvement in the provision of insurance solutions.
4. Zurich
No wonder Zurich makes our list of insurtech hotspots; the Swiss city has got an insurance giant named after it, and Zurich (the company not the city) recently announced almost US$25bn in gross written premiums (GWPs) for the first half of the year alone. But Zurich (the company not the city) is not the only string to Zurich’s (the city not the company) insurtech bow: this city of 400,000 inhabitants also lays claim to digital insurance company Helvengo and Swiss Re is headquartered in the city.
3. New York
The east coast often lost out on insurtech investment to California because of the Golden State’s established reputation as a tech destination, but gradually New York has been fighting back. Regularly topping lists of the best places to do business, the city has established an enviable reputation as a global commercial centre; indeed, Manhattan alone is home to 500m square feet of office space. Some of the insurtechs based in the city include Lemonade, Oscar Health, and embedded insurance company Sure.
2. London
Often considered the financial capital of Europe – a crown that it jostles with Paris and Frankfurt to retain – London is home to a sizeable insurtech sector. Indeed, when it comes to insurtech specifically, the city is unparalleled. It has the same number of insurtechs as the rest of Europe combined, according to one estimate, with firms such as full-stack insurer Marshmallow, decision intelligence platform Quantexa, and motor insurtech Zego all calling the British capital home.
1. Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley has built an understandable reputation as an insurtech epicentre, building on the leading reputation it has for technology more generally. The region, which surrounds the San Francisco Bay Area, is home to well-known insurtechs such as Next Insurance, Hippo Insurance, and the aptly named P&C insurer At-Bay. Despite covering a relatively small area, Silicon Valley has a large talent pool to choose from; the area is home to 4m people, 70% of them with some form of college education.
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