Investment in insurance tech start-ups triples to $2.6bn

Investment in insurance tech start-ups more than tripled last year.

Investments in insurtech rose from $800m in 2014 to more than $2.6bn in 2015, according to data from management consultancy Accenture.

While much of the money has come from traditional sources such as venture capital and private equity groups, established insurance companies are also making big investments.

Accenture global insurance practice head John Cusano said: “We are seeing a growing focus from insurance companies on insurtech.

Insurers, including Aviva, AXA, Allianz, AIG, MetLife and XL Catlin, have established their own in-house venture capital funds and insurers have committed more than $1bn to investments in start-ups in an effort to find new ways to grow and head off potentially disruptive threats. 

“They see it as a ripe place to invest their capital and they also see it strategically as a place to invest in distribution, the internet of things, automating the back office, and data and analytics.”