Introducing the InsurTech Capitals of the World

By | March 7, 2018

With insurance technology companies starting up in the U.S. from Silicon Valley to New York and globally in London, Shanghai and elsewhere, which city or cities can lay claim to the title “InsurTech Capital of the World”?

Carrier Management magazine, the Wells Media Group publication for property/casualty insurance executives, answers the question in its most recent issue, using an analysis provided exclusively to Carrier Management by Venture Scanner, an analyst and technology-powered research firm, in an article titled, “Where Is the InsurTech Capital of the World?

London, New York and San Francisco rank highest by a simple count of the number of InsurTechs in each city.

Top 20 Cities for InsurTech Startups
Ranked by Startup Count
Startup Total
Rank City Region Country Count Funding ($M)
1 London England GBR 64 $160.8
2 New York NY USA 61 $1,387.8
3 San Francisco CA USA 58 $2,312.7
4 Chicago IL USA 36 $306.9
5 Toronto Ontario CAN 18 $73.4
6 Paris Ile-de-France FRA 18 $67.3
7 Singapore Central Region SGP 17 $99.7
8 Boston MA USA 16 $186.2
9 Mumbai Maharashtra IND 16 $103.8
10 San Diego CA USA 16 $2.4
11 Austin TX USA 15 $205.0
12 Atlanta GA USA 15 $12.8
13 Madrid Madrid ESP 14 $0.7
14 Berlin Berlin DEU 13 $109.6
15 Los Angeles CA USA 12 $40.0
16 Seattle WA USA 11 $23.7
17 Gurgaon Haryana IND 10 $161.6
18 Philadelphia PA USA 10 $158.5
19 Denver CO USA 10 $54.1
20 Brooklyn NY USA 9 $55.3
Top 20 (by startup count) 439 $5,522.3
All Cities with Five or More InsurTechs 625 $10,849.1
Total 1,438 $19,000.0
Source: Venture Scanner

However, based on concentration of funding dollars, Palo Alto, Calif., edges out San Francisco for the top spot—each reports more than $2 billion—while London sinks to 12th place.

As of January, Venture Scanner counted 1,438 InsurTechs with $19 billion of funding, with 625 of them located in cities that have five or more InsurTechs.

“More than 800 others are scattered in cities with four InsurTechs or less, underscoring the fact that insurance technology startups are a worldwide phenomenon,” said Susanne Sclafane, Carrier Management’s executive editor and author of the report.

Carrier Management’s report features several lists, including: Top 20 Cities for InsurTech Startups Ranked by Startup Count and Top 20 Cities for InsurTech Startups Ranked by Total Funding Dollars.

Top 20 Cities for InsurTech Startups
Ranked by Total Funding Dollars ($M)
Startup Total
Rank City Region Country Count Funding ($M)
1 Palo Alto CA USA 7 $2,386.6
2 San Francisco CA USA 58 $2,312.7
3 New York NY USA 61 $1,387.8
4 Shanghai Shanghai CHN 6 $1,387.3
5 Hamilton Hamilton BMU 7 $526.7
6 Chicago IL USA 36 $306.9
7 Minneapolis MN USA 7 $298.7
8 San Mateo CA USA 7 $210.8
9 Austin TX USA 15 $205.0
10 Boston MA USA 16 $186.2
11 Gurgaon Haryana IND 10 $161.6
12 London England GBR 64 $160.8
13 Philadelphia PA USA 10 $158.5
14 Zurich Zurich CHE 6 $118.3
15 Berlin Berlin DEU 13 $109.6
16 Mumbai Maharashtra IND 16 $103.8
17 Mountain View CA USA 6 $100.2
18 Singapore Central Region SGP 17 $99.7
19 Toronto Ontario CAN 18 $73.4
20 Paris Ile-de-France FRA 18 $67.3
Top 20 (by funding) 398 $10,361.9
All Cities with Five or More InsurTechs 625 $10,849.1
Total 1,438 $19,000.0
Source: Venture Scanner

The Carrier Management report details the InsurTech boom, with a map of InsurTechs by U.S. state and counts for European and Asian cities. It also includes an analysis of the popularity of InsurTechs in Israel, Singapore, California and New York, and breaks down the distribution of property/casualty vs. life and benefits InsurTechs for the top cities.

The report uses Venture Scanner data from all publicly known funding events, including all sources (venture capital, corporates, private equity, etc.) and rounds (early stage, late stage, post-IPO equity, etc.). According to Nathan Pacer, Venture Scanner’s co-founder and chief research officer, the vast majority of those funding events (more than 95 percent) occur from 2011 onward.

Source: Where Is the InsurTech Capital of the World?

Topics New York InsurTech Tech London

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