Lineker-backed insurer scores £1m in funding October 18, 2016 Internet of Things insurer Neos has hit the back of the net with £1m in initial seed funding, valuing the business at £8.4m. The company – a so-called insurtech startup – counts Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker among its backers and the latest funding round adds insurtech fund Eos Venture Partners. Neos is [...]
Insurtech investment in the UK has tripled September 6, 2016 Investment in the insurance technology sector – part of London's world leading fintech scene – is booming. More than $22m (£16.5m) has been ploughed into insurtech so far this year – nearly triple the amount invested in the whole of last year and faster growth than any other country in the world. The research from Accenture and CB Insights, [...]
UK fintech funding has fallen – but don’t panic just yet August 18, 2016 Cash being ploughed into the UK's fintech startups fell in the latest quarter – but don't panic just yet. The value of funding declined by 12 per cent to $103m (£78.4m) in the second quarter of the year, however, the number of deals being done in one of the hottest sectors remained steady, the latest figures from KPMG and CB Insights [...]
This insurer is calling the shots in the war for tech talent August 11, 2016 Finding appropriately skilled staff for technology projects is a problem which plagues many businesses, but one insurance company has told City A.M. it seems to have it sussed. Gary Hoffman, chief executive officer of Hastings Group Holdings, revealed the company was increasingly looking beyond other insurance firms to sniff out the best talent and turning to tech giants, such [...]
Inzura becomes the lastest company on the insurtech scene August 9, 2016 Inzura – a new digital insurance platform – is set to begin using smartphone data and photo recognition to calculate policies. It’s thought insurance companies will be able to take on less risk by fine-tuning policies. "We believe the smartphone will play a central role in the much-needed digitisation of insurance," said Richard Jelbert, chief executive of [...]
How artificial intelligence, peer-to-peer technology and blockchain are changing the insurance industry forever July 14, 2016 Just as fintech is transforming the banking world, “insurtech” has set its sights on the insurance industry. There are firms like Trov, which provides insurance on-demand and enables consumers to catalogue insured belongings. Buzzmove uses home removals data to create a new distribution model for insurance – people are more likely to renew or buy [...]
Many insurers are worried the technology-centric startups will steal their business June 13, 2016 Technology has got insurers shaking in their boots, as research out today shows many are worried technology-focused startups will snatch their business out from under them. The report by professional services firm PwC discovered that almost half (48 per cent) of insurers are concerned that as much as a fifth of their business could be [...]
Insurers predict they will need to cut costs over the next few months as competitors with a technology focus creep into their market place March 29, 2016 General insurers expect to see their profitability sink over the next three months, despite also predicting a rise in premiums, a study out today has found. The survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and PwC discovered that insurers, particularly those dealing with general insurance, are increasingly worried about competition from startup InsurTech companies and are [...]
Comeback currency of the year: Bitcoin beat the dollar by nearly 40 per cent last year to become the best performer of 2015 January 12, 2016 Bitcoin was the world’s best-performing currency in 2015, beating out the US dollar by nearly 40 per cent. The cryptocurrency has been on a roll lately, boosted to hit a 2016 high of $450 by recent turmoil on Chinese stock markets. In afternoon trading, the currency was at $446.31. “Bitcoin is living up to its [...]
Fintech 2016: Bitcoin rises again and compliance gets sexy January 7, 2016 It was another big year for fintech in Europe in 2015. The frenzy of activity in London has continued. There’s been an overload of conferences and events, an occasional dose of premature back-slapping, but most importantly some great companies have raised serious investment. The rest of Europe, Germany in particular, has leapt forward too – [...]