Midwest startup accelerator gener8tor announced today that it has selected five companies to participate in its first OnRamp Insurance Accelerator, a new program in partnership with two Twin Cities insurance giants: Allianz Life Ventures and Securian Financial.
The five companies in the first cohort were chosen from a pool of 545 applicants, gener8tor said in a statement. Each of the selected startups will receive a cash investment of $100,000, office space and access to gener8tor's network of mentors and investors. OnRamp kicked off on June 6 and will culminate with a demo day at the end of August.
Gener8tor first announced the OnRamp program in November. Allianz and Securian are big players in the insurtech space. St. Paul-based Securian Financial provides insurance, investment and retirement plans to families and individuals. Golden Valley-based Allianz Life Insurance Co.’s venture arm makes investments in North American insurance startups and backs these companies in all investment stages from seed to growth.
The OnRamp Accelerator is led by Pooja Shah, who previously was an associate at QBE Ventures in Sun Prairie, Wisc. The program will operate out of gener8tor’s new Twin Cities offices at WeWork Uptown and Osborn 370 in St. Paul.
"We're excited by the breadth of the companies that are in the first cohort," Shah said in a release. "The teams are tackling a wide range of problems from better access to the right asset mix for retirement accounts to predicting customer churn to digitizing direct mail."
The creation of this new program builds off gener8tor’s OnRamp Insurance Conference, which brings together the industry’s leading corporations, investors and startups. The event specifically focuses on connecting insurance startups and investors with insurance executives in corporate venture capital, innovation, M&A and strategy.
2019 OnRamp Insurance Conference (Full Cut) from gener8tor on Vimeo.
In previous years, the conference was held at Chicago’s Soldier Field, but this year, it was at Target Center in Minneapolis.
Here are the companies in the first OnRamp Insurance Accelerator cohort:
Accern
New York-based Accern operates a data science platform that automates the research and underwriting process for financial institutions and helps them make better data-driven decisions. The company currently has more than 40 clients, including Allianz, IBM and Norges Bank.
Claimspace
Claimspace's platform aims to deliver a transparent claims experience for insurance carriers and their customers. The Sydney, Australia-based company integrates with existing systems or can be used as a standalone solution and gives insurers visibility across claims portfolios and product lines.
Inkit
Minneapolis-based Inkit tracks and automates personalized letters and other pieces of physical mail. The company has more than 35 customers, including Asana, P&G, Bright Health and Sotheby's.
Micruity
Micruity adds pension-like insurance products to employer 401(k) plans by streamlining transactions between plan administrators and life insurance carriers. The Toronto, Canada-based company facilities the placement of annuities into retirement plans, increasing annuity sales for life insurance carriers and creating a guarantee that feels like a pension for employees.
Relivitiy6
Boston, Mass.-based Relativity6 aims to maximize customer retention for insurance carriers and financial institutions. Built at MIT, Relativitiy6 reduces monthly churn by 1 percent and creates a 5 percent quarterly revenue, the company says.
