George Kesselman (the self-styled 'mr_insurtech') takes a look at Asia and its suitability for an InsTech boom.
After the energy and debate that SBC InsurTech created in London in 2015 and early 2016 it will be interesting to see if it can have the same impact in Asia where they are joining the ecosystem slightly later than the did in London: The Digital Insurer has been in some place for years, Aviva's Hoxton Digital Garage has a thriving Singapore-based sibling and half-a-dozen other (re)insurer-led innovation centres are up and running.
But the large, diverse, under-insurered market means this will be fascinating area to observe over the come year.
Asia is attractive from both, an insurer and an InsurTech perspective due to the size of its significantly underinsured population. The region has traditionally seen a large part of the risks self-insured through family and community networks. As the region experiences rapid growth in the affluence of its population, together with an aging population, the risk exposure is then becoming even more apparent and the need for alternative risk transfer mechanisms, including insurance, increase. InsurTech, alongside traditional insurance, can provide or enhance risk transfer need in the region.
http://www.startupbootcamp.org/blog/2016/may/the-emergence-of-an-insurtech-ecosystem-in-asia.html
