SPECIAL FEATURE: INSURTECH
More than just money Meet an investment company that helps insurtechs by providing them with the support they need to succeed in insurance By John Deex
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nsurtech pioneers may be poised to revolutionise the general insurance industry, but in most cases good ideas won’t be enough. Start-ups need capital to survive and thrive, certainly. But they also need access to the market and established industry expertise. That’s why specialist insurance investor Envest has unveiled a renewed focus on the insurtech sector, with the launch of joint-venture incubator Insurtech Gateway Australia. Envest was formed in 2016, but the foundations were laid much earlier when Managing Director Greg Mullins, who hails originally from South Africa, was working at South African insurer Hollard. He built up a “substantial private equity piece” within the insurer’s Australian operation before private investors provided him with backing he needed to set up his own company. Envest was born, and it has gone from strength to strength. Its current 25-business portfolio includes brokers, underwriting agencies and other insurance investments. Its first investment was an insurtech – Claim Central – and it has also backed technology-driven underwriting agency Blue Zebra and drone insurance specialist Precision Autonomy. Each has been successful, so when Envest was approached by former Insurtech Australia chief executive Simon O’Dell about a new project, Mr Mullins was keen to get involved. “He asked if we’d heard of the Insurtech Gateway in London,” he tells Insurance News. “We went and met with them and the three of us then formed a joint venture to start the Gateway in Australia. “It is a genuine insurtech incubator play. We find
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people with great technology, solutions or ideas. Maybe the idea is not fully formed, but we help them through that process with a very structured four to six month program. “We put some capital into the business and behind the founders, we get it through that incubation and then if we think it is a go, we put more significant capital behind it and power it into the market.” But as previously noted, providing the capital is just the start of the story. The Gateway gives access to the mentoring and industry connections that can be decisive factors in securing success. “That is why I was really excited about the Gateway concept,” Mr Mullins says. “Partnerships are absolutely critical. It’s not just about the cheque any more, it’s about ‘can they help me get from A to B?’ “That only happens through partnership, not people just writing out a cheque and hoping for the best.” Engaging with the established industry is also vital. Mr Mullins believes insurtechs can do well on their own up to a point, but may never achieve “meaningful market share”. The incumbents – as established insurance companies are designated by the insurtechs – are way too entrenched and experienced to just disappear overnight. Mr Mullins says industry outsiders who see insurance as “easy pickings” are mistaken. “There is a perception that this must be an industry that is behind the times, and technology could come in and change things,” he says. “What a lot of these people don’t understand is that this is an industry which has been dominated for a long time by a few players with big market share, strong balance sheets and clever people working there. “I’m looking for technology that is actually going to enable, not disrupt. I don’t like that word disruption,
Investing in the future: Greg Mullins
