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Silicon Valley Insurance Accelerator (SVIA) today announced the launch of its InsurTech Innovation Lab (Lab), a research, design and development center, at the SVIA Core Systems & Insurtech FUSION conference in San Francisco. The Lab is available to insurance companies, InsurTech startups, and established solution providers through SVIA’s Membership program, which provides participants access to the Lab, and to SVIA’s knowledge, events, activities and its innovation ecosystem, according to an SVIA statement.
Mike Connor, CEO, SVIA.
SVIA reports that the lab can fast track projects from simple proof of concepts to standing up complete solutions, products, and even companies. Its services include concept development and validation, design, development, hosting, and outsourced business processes. SVIA, together with its founding Lab partners, will fulfill the Lab’s mission of accelerating the creation of the digital generation of the insurance industry. SVIA will evaluate and manage Lab projects undertaken by SVIA certified partners. SVIA and its Lab partners, using their knowledge, best practices, connections and resources, will assist members on the objectives of reducing the time, cost, and risk of bringing high value InsurTech enabled solutions to market.
Innovation Bootcamps
In addition to Lab projects, the Innovation Lab plans to host Innovation Bootcamps throughout the year. The Bootcamps are designed to bring new technologies and services providers together with companies interested in exploring and potentially piloting InsurTech efforts for proof of concept, product development or solution development. Technology areas of focus will include artificial intelligence (AI), machine to machine (M2M), blockchain, and robotics.
“The Lab offers an outstanding opportunity for those companies interested in exploring InsurTech to do so without the high risk, cost, time, and skill commitment involved in establishing their own in-house InsurTech lab,” comments Mike Connor, CEO, SVIA. “With our founding partners offering participating members access to their outstanding resources and vast experience, the Lab enables the insurance community to truly join forces to help our industry as a whole define and drive the next generation of insurance—the digital generation.”
“Insurers, InsurTech startups, and the established vendors that serve the industry need an innovation hub that can help them work collaboratively. SVIA’s InsurTech innovation Lab brings the community together to accelerate the innovation needed to protect and insure our digitally connected world,” comments Tony Villa, CEO of Insuresoft. “Through the Innovation Lab, Insuresoft, SVIA, and other partners will help insurers and InsurTech startups understand and meet those needs. Much of the work of the lab will be helping member companies individually and collectively harness emerging technology like IoT, AI, and Blockchain to create new, better products, business models, and processes as well as enabling industry infrastructure helping them establish and maintain leadership roles in the digital industry that is forming.”
Open Innovation Accelerator
Founded in January of 2016, SVIA describes itself as the industry’s first open innovation accelerator and outpost. Its events and activities bring insurance, InsurTech, and technology firms and investors together to discuss digital insurance opportunities and challenges and to build partnerships and a community with a shared InsurTech interest. To date SVIA has hosted over 1,200 individuals and have had over 200 top innovators present at its events.