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Global Insurance Accelerator announces seven teams for 2023 cohort

Global Insurance Accelerator
December 23, 2022

The Global Insurance Accelerator (GIA) has announced the seven startups that will make up its 2023 cohort.

This year’s cohort is made up of companies who are looking to solve some of the industry’s real challenges and problems including: leveraging data (both new and existing) to improve underwriting, creating deeper connections between science and insurance, ease chronic pain and helping insurers to better understand, connect, and partner with their current customers.

“Coming in as the new Managing Director this year, I am so honored to announce this group of amazing founders as the first class our team will have the opportunity to work with,” said Dan Israel, Managing Director of the GIA.  “Our continued focus on providing founders with the ability to participate in a hybrid program – spending time both in Des Moines as well as returning home (globally this year), has allowed us to attract founders who are primed to change the industry.  As we build our team with new staff and expertise, I am excited to see how much progress this group will make over the next 100-days – and beyond!”

The GIA’s 2023 cohort members include:

  • Amelio Health uses smart analytics-driven insights from a learning management system, wearable data, and live health coaching to drive better outcomes for those on claim with chronic pain.
  • Informedic is building a web application that will extract all of the relevant information from medical records and make a preliminary decision as to whether or not the underwriter should accept the applicant.
  • Invive is an AI-driven startup that uses the science of aging to help life insurers improve the accuracy of their underwriting and strengthen their customer engagement.
  • Lightship Neuroscience is helping auto insurers create safer roadways for drivers of today and tomorrow with its new class of neuroscience-based analytics predictive of brain performance while driving.
  • ReBLDing is a multimarket solution for homeowners, contractors & insurance companies that creates trust, transparency & timing thereby eliminating the gap where the problems happen & the costs rise.
  • ReFocus AI is a machine learning platform that pinpoints which policyholders are most likely to leave at their expiration date with 90% accuracy up to six months before the renewal date.
  • SOFT EDGE is offering solutions for quick and precise automatic hail damage detection and precise measuring of damage area using AI and ML on mobile devices.

The seven startups will each receive mentorship from insurance executives and professionals from all lines of business, along with a $50,000 investment and housing for the in-person portions of the program. Since the program began in 2015, the GIA has invested over $2.7 million across 58 startups to advance the InsurTech industry.

The GIA will conclude the 2023 program with final presentations during the Global Insurance Symposium on April 19, 2023.  

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Global Insurance Accelerator announces seven teams for 2023 cohort | Clay & Milk
A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.
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