5 perspectives on insurtech from VC professionals

January 3, 2023 9:10 AM

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.

Venture capitalists have been a crucial part of the insurtech ecosystem as the industry has boomed and evolved. Here are the insights of five VC professionals on the insurtech boom.

Q&A: Rev1, Midwest VC firm, CEO Tom Walker talks insurtech

Tom Walker, CEO, president and founder of investor startup venture capitalist Rev1 Ventures, believes that the Midwest firm has the potential to make the region a funding center for a diverse range of high-growth startups.

Walker spoke with Digital Insurance to discuss what Rev1 brings to the table for early-stage innovators and entrepreneurs, how the firm is partnering with State Automobile Mutual Insurance on an insurtech fund, and what he thinks the future holds for the insurtech industry.

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Q&A: Rev1, Midwest VC firm, CEO Tom Walker talks insurtech

City of London Commuters Ahead Of U.K. Employment Figures

Jason Alden/Bloomberg

What insurtechs need to scale successfully

Now is certainly the time to be an insurtech, with the amount of venture capital investment flowing into the industry in the billions of dollars.

But with no apparent shortage of investors at the ready, insurtechs are facing a different challenge — the need to show not only a profit, but the ability to successfully scale their business.

In a competitive market, the insurtechs that can clearly show sound business economics and a well-defined blueprint to achieve profitable growth are likely to come out on top.

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What insurtechs need to scale successfully

White Point Imaging

Inside MassMutual Ventures' new fund

Doug Russell, managing director and head of MassMutual Ventures, has a clear idea of the type of insurtech startup the company is looking to back with its VC investment fund.

"Thematically, it is businesses that are developing products and solutions that insurance companies are purchasing, that have to do with securities, data, the use of data, the way you use data to make decisions – or helping with operational efficiency or effectiveness in some manner," said Russell.

Since its launch in 2014, MassMutual Ventures has invested $750 million in 60 technology startups in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific, and has recently expanded into Europe.

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Inside MassMutual Ventures' new fund

5 Questions: Why Parker Beauchamp started a new insurtech VC

Disruption and innovation in the insurance industry is not coming from outside the industry, but from large, well-established carriers that recognize the need for digital transformation, according to Parker Beauchamp, founder of new insurtech venture capital fund Markd.

In an interview with Digital Insurance, Beauchamp discussed how he developed his career in insurance, what impact he believes his new VC will have on the industry, and why what's best for consumers will determine which firms succeed.

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5 Questions: Why Parker Beauchamp started a new insurtech VC

Three lessons learned from mentoring insurtech founders

When Dan Reed of American Family Ventures agreed to act as a mentor for insurtech startups in a program launched by American Family Insurance in conjunction with Creative Destruction Lab and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he was excited to join in a new approach to supporting startups.

"The entirety of the insurance industry is on a journey of digital transformation that's like nothing we've ever experienced before," said Reed. "I believe there's nothing like a fresh perspective and new ideas to challenge our thinking and help us shape the future of our industry."

Reflecting on the partnership, Reed was thoroughly impressed by CDL's innovative program, through which he was able to observe the digital transformation of the industry first-hand as well as gain valuable insights into working with startups.

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Three lessons learned from mentoring insurtech founders