Global Insurance Accelerator names participants in its second year
January 26, 2016 by The Business Record Staff
The Global Insurance Accelerator, a Des Moines-based global business accelerator focused on developing and growing innovative insurance-centric startups, today announced its 2016 portfolio.
With a global pool of twice as many applicants as in the GIA’s inaugural year, the five standout teams selected to participate in the mentor-driven program represent the automotive, property and health insurance segments. The 2016 class includes:
- Smart Drivinc (St. Louis): Distracted driving and crash prevention app disables drivers’ cellphones while driving.
- Fluttrbox (Montreal, Canada): On-demand aerial imaging and mapping application that provides detailed property assessments via aerial drone images.
- WeSavvy (Dublin, Ireland): Health insurance app that rewards customers with cash off their insurance premium based on physical activity.
- Telematic (Madison, Wis.): Connected car app that offers auto insurance companies the ability to price insurance by monitoring driving and mobile usage.
- Serious Social Media (Orange, Calif.): Automated social media marketing software for insurance agents.
“We were thrilled by the amount of interest we received from a strong and diverse group of applicants across industry segments,” said Brian Hemesath, managing director of the GIA. “We are excited to build on our momentum from last year and thrilled to be supporting these truly innovative startups working to solve key problems in an industry in real need of transformation.”
Hailing from the United States, Canada and Ireland, the startups will move to Des Moines for the 100-day program that kicks off on Feb. 9. The accelerator offers each team $40,000 of seed capital, office space, one-on-one mentorship, business development training and access to the GIA’s extensive and diverse network of insurance executives and carriers, investors and industry leaders. In exchange, the GIA receives a 6 percent equity stake in each company.
Investors backing the GIA — all of whom have returned from 2015 — include the following insurance carriers: American Equity Investment Life Holding Co., Delta Dental of Iowa, Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa, Farm Bureau Financial Services, Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co., IMT Insurance Co. and Principal Financial Group Inc.
The program runs until May 19, but culminates in April with the annual Global Insurance Symposium, where each team will pitch its innovative insurance solution to more than 350 prominent industry executives from around the world.
Originally Posted at Business Record on January 26, 2016 by The Business Record Staff.
Categories: Industry Articles
