Holmes Murphy has partnered with M3 Insurance, PayneWest Insurance, ABD Insurance & Financial Services, Conner Strong & Buckelew and Assurance to launch BrokerTech Ventures.
The programme is aimed at investors and innovators building the next generation of technology solutions for insurance agencies and brokerages.
BrokerTech Ventures will deploy a highly intentional accelerator curriculum, as well as a veteran mentoring network, seed funding for a portion of the chosen startups’ research and testing, and a distribution platform to deploy the technologies.
The window for startup companies to apply for a spot in the first BrokerTech Ventures cohort will open in late October of this year, with programme launch planned for February 2020.
According to Dan Keough, Holmes Murphy chairman and CEO, some of the automation, analytics, and other ideas that come out of the accelerator will have a potential benefit for captives, as well as for independent agencies and brokerages.
Keough explained: “At Holmes Murphy, and with our own investments in building out Innovative Captive Strategies, we believe that our greatest investments are those in which we uncover innovative solutions for our customers.”
“A win for our customer, is a win for us, for the startup/entrepreneur—and ultimately, BrokerTech Ventures. Once fully built, BrokerTech Ventures will include not only an accelerator but also an innovation lab and an early-stage investment hub as well.”
He added: “We welcome entrepreneurs and startups with a captive focus to consider an approach with BrokerTech Ventures in the future.”
“The very nature of the captive insurance industry is predicated upon a forward-thinking or predictive model of risk management, ownership, and control. Given our multi-agency approach, BrokerTech Ventures will allow us to reach innovations at a pace in which we could not achieve, on our own.”