Insurance is a heavily regulated sector, resulting in high barriers to entry for new entrants. The FCA authorisation process to become regulated as an insurance intermediary can take up-to 18 months. Securing insurance capacity is another barrier to entry, which either requires raising a large amount of capital for the balance sheet, or securing capacity from an (re-)insurance partner. Most start-ups pursue the MGA model and look to partner with a (re-)insurer rather than going full stack, but this can still be a lengthy and costly process as partnerships can take many months to negotiate.
This is why I was so excited to join the Insurtech Gateway team in 2019. The Gateway Incubators support early-stage tech founders with securing underwriting capacity, regulatory compliance, pre-seed funding and expert guidance on product market fit, distribution strategy and the design of the insurance product. A one-stop-shop where founders can get all the support they need in one place.
Over the past 3 years I have been supporting our portfolio founders through their incubation, helping them hit key investment and insurance milestones at each stage of their journey and this is how we do it.
DE-RISK AND SCALE AT SPEED
Insurtech Gateway Incubators invest in one company at a time to guarantee hands-on guidance for every founder. By tailoring a unique programme for each entrepreneur, the Gateway team de-risks early-stage businesses and gets them to market in record time.
PRODUCT MARKET FIT
- Expert guidance on the product, target market, distribution and scale-up model.
- Access to build partners across tech and insurance.
INSURANCE PLATFORM
- Insurance Product and Capacity
- Expert guidance on the insurance product structure
- Plug into UK (re-)insurance capacity for launch.
- Plug into global (re-)insurance capacity for scale-up.
- Pilot propositions with leading insurers.
- FCA Authorisation
- Guided process to become an FCA regulated business
- Become an Appointed Representative of the Gateway in a matter of weeks.
- Transition to full FCA authorisation without any interruption to ongoing trading.
- Insurance Metrics
- Defining critical insurance metrics and milestones for launch and scale-up.
- Driving understanding of the key insurance metrics across all stakeholders.
INVESTMENT
- Pre-seed to Series B funding, with dedicated Gateway Funds.
- Access to a global venture capital network.
- Support with defining critical investor metrics for launch and scale-up.
At the Gateway we are always keen to meet founders from non-insurance backgrounds. Experts from outside the industry look at old problems in a fresh light and have the skills to fundamentally change how we assess risk. If you are a founder with a big idea or have already founded a pre-seed or seed insurtech, we have the experience and the tools to help you launch and scale faster. Please get in touch.