Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Established in 2004, Leader’s Edge is the award-winning content platform for The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, covering legal and legislative issues, international business and regulation, management trends and best practices, technology, and more. Leader’s Edge is written and recorded for large and mid-sized commercial insurance and employee benefit executives around the globe.
Agents historically were with InsurTech. We're kind of sitting on the sidelines just seeing what technology was being provided to them. And with BrokerTech Ventures, specifically, it was about how do we become more involved? We can help drive the technologies that need to be there for our organization.
Sandy Laycox:Welcome to the LeadersEdge podcast. I'm Sandy Laycox, editor in chief of LeadersEdge. In this podcast sponsored by BrokerTech Ventures, I talk with Jon Jacobin, executive director of the BrokerTech Ventures Accelerator. Jon and the rest of the BTB team are gearing up for a fall filled with conferences, starting with InsureTech Connect, which will be held in mid October in Las Vegas. BTV hosts BrokerTech Connect, a micro event of sorts within ITC.
Sandy Laycox:And John gives us some insight into the event, starting with a quick primer on ITC itself.
John Jackovin:So ITC or InsurTech Connect, is a once a year, event that happens in in Vegas. It's the largest InsurTech event, I believe, that exists. I'll use the world, but that seems overly large in scope, but it just may be. And so, it brings together, you know, historically InsurTechs and venture capitalists and carriers, and more recently, brokers, into the space where there's content. The way it works is day 1, there's a lot of content, which is where BrokerTech Connect falls into.
John Jackovin:And then on days 23, think big expo hall, all the startups meet, and there's, you know, there's there's tons of booths and, areas, specially designed depending on what type of, of startup and where you're servicing. So it's a it's a it's a really, really big impactful event, in the, insurance and InsurTech space.
Sandy Laycox:So let's talk a little bit about BrokerTech Connect and why initially BTV, got involved in this and then sort of how it's evolved to what it is today.
John Jackovin:Yeah. So, boy, this actually, I believe is before my time, in the InsurTech space and with with BrokerTech Ventures. But, in in 2019, they they had this concept of of agency connect, the folks at InsureTechConnect of of ways of getting agents and brokers involved. And that was, if you kinda align, fall of 2019 with global pandemics. You'll know that it occurred, you know, probably 4 months before everything changed in the world.
John Jackovin:And so, they ran that 1 year, and then obviously things changed in 2020. And we we actually worked with InsurTech Connect on Agency Connect, which was a virtual program Right. At that point. And then in 21, when it came back, it was it was really, we we actually rebranded it to, BrokerTech Connect to kinda go to coincide with with BrokerTech Ventures. And and and from there, the the goal and the concept being of of BrokerTech Connect has always been, how do we get agents more involved in the, in the InsurTech space?
John Jackovin:And I I think, you know, the the impetus for, BrokerTech Connect, and the impetus for, BrokerTech Ventures were actually kind of similar in in the capacity where agents historically were with InsurTech. We're kind of sitting on the sidelines just seeing what technology was being provided to them. And with BrokerTech Ventures, specifically, it was about how do we become more involved. Right? How do we help craft the narrative and get involved in the industry so that we can help drive the technologies that need to be there for our organizations.
John Jackovin:And, and it's similar with BrokerTech Connect, where we're looking to, you know, help and inform so that brokers, even outside of the BrokerTech Ventures community, can learn about what's happening in the space so that they can, you know, continually advance their organization through the the the use and adoption of technology.
Sandy Laycox:With technology developing at an increasingly accelerated pace, there's a lot to talk about at an InsureTech event. John shares a bit of the agenda for this year's BrokerTech Connect.
John Jackovin:Oftentimes, you'll go to conferences and you'll hear kind of the same the same narrative coming out. And and we we try to to tweak it to to to just even if it's a similar topic, we change change the perspective, change the angle so that we're we're hitting it from a a a a different side. And so, you know, some of the things obviously, AI is is huge. Right? Yeah.
John Jackovin:And and people talk about AI all the time, and they talk about, you know, the the kind of the ethics behind AI. Right?
Sandy Laycox:Oh, they are talking about that? That's good.
John Jackovin:Oh, yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's it's the one it's the one narrative out of AI that, that that seems to be pretty pervasive and and how to, you know, how to determine whether or not, you know, something is inherently biased.
John Jackovin:And it's real it's really difficult, to do if it's just the system generated content. And so, so that's that that's been kind of beaten beaten a bit to death. And so what we're looking at, is AI like, let's talk about all the crazy stuff that could happen, good good and bad when it comes to comes to AI. So instead of just kinda focusing on this, like, right down the middle, let's let's look at the the the potentially amazing and, potentially catastrophic things that could, that could happen when it comes to, when it comes to AI. You know, one of the things that, you know, obviously being, you know, running the the accelerator, my focus is on start ups.
John Jackovin:So we we've we've always gotta have, some start up content in there. And and one of the questions that I get all the time are, like, why does some start up succeed with BrokerTech Ventures, and and and why does some not? Yeah. And so we were I was like, well, what if we what if we actually just had a a session talking to our partners about, you know, why companies get through, why companies get in, why companies, you know, why start ups do really well and while others may may not. Like, what are those what are the things that happen as part of the process that that influence that?
John Jackovin:And so, so I think that's gonna be really, really insightful when it comes to, you know, the from the start up's, perspective. You know, there there's there's one that that I came up with the with the title, but, it's a it's pretty pervasive in in in startup world of of, you know, unsexy startups. So, the the thought being, like, rise of the unsexy startup. And and and everybody wants to, like, tackle the the cool stuff. Right?
John Jackovin:The the areas there where it's it's bleeding edge technologies. But there are so many companies out there that are just doing stuff in really mundane, boring places within insurance that are just absolutely killing it because they're solving such a pain point. And so we're we're gonna, you know, highlight some of the, some of the startups that have gone through, our program that are doing that. And, hopefully, it will give, you know, startups that are out there or even, like, you know, anywhere in in the insurance supply chain kind of an understanding that, hey, there there are there are startups out there that are looking to tackle real problems. And so, there's some there's some really, interesting content that I think will be that will be available.
Sandy Laycox:Since kicking off in 2020 amid the global pandemic, BrokerTech Connect has made great strides. Here are some of John's favorite moments from over the years.
John Jackovin:Oh, favorite moment of the conference so far. Far. That's, that's an that's a that's an interesting one. So probably, usually, because I'm kind of the the point person when it comes to, you know, when it comes to, Burker TechConnect, And I'll I'll I'll have a couple different answers to this. So maybe favorite moments.
John Jackovin:So so the 1st year, we, for we couldn't get the the PowerPoints to, to display correctly on the screen, which you you're thinking. Right? Like, come on. It's a it's a projector, and it's and it took it took, like, 4 hours
Sandy Laycox:Oh, good Lord. Of
John Jackovin:I know. Right? They had to replace equipment and all this stuff, and we finally got it working. And that was one of the biggest, like, you know, exhales of, of the the conference. And it it's it's so mundane, and it's so almost slightly irrelevant, but it was like we finally got it working.
John Jackovin:And, and so that was that that is a moment of of pure joy that kind of like sticks out in my mind. You know, I have met so many amazing startups that have gotten into our program at ITC. BluePond, Sentinel, Page Dips, and the first time I ever met them. And they stopped by. And so, it's like you, it's such a the 2 days were of the expo.
John Jackovin:So the the Wednesday Thursday where, where we have our BTV lounge. And, you know, I spend the majority of time just sitting in a chair while, startups just kind of, like, circle around. I won't say like vultures, but you get you get the idea. Yeah. Just waiting waiting for 1 startup to stand up and then, you know, musical chairs, and the other one, the other one sits down.
John Jackovin:So it's it's it's very depleting, you know, because you're constantly talking, and and having to think. But it's also really amazing when you can you can talk to a startup that's doing something really, really impactful in the industry and and and make a connection and see them come through the process and then, you know, get selected at the end, which is not an easy thing to do, but it's it's it's been the genesis of a lot of companies that have, succeeded within within BTV.
Sandy Laycox:BTV's busy fall doesn't stop with ITC. John shares what's next on the agenda for his team.
John Jackovin:Yeah. So October, definitely focused on, ITC and Birkitte Connect. November, we're gonna gonna be focusing on a couple other new events, at least for us. So, the CIB is putting on a working group, where, you know, operations and working group. And and one of the sessions is this, innovation session where, it's a little bit coming from the startup world, I can see, in like, a startup weekend, right, where people kind of gleam onto a startup idea and then work on that.
John Jackovin:And within this session, we're actually, it's a little bit different. It's going to be a topic, right? And these working groups are going to work on a specific topic that's been vetted and voted upon. And, and what's really cool is, so BTV gets to gets to help and assist in that process, from, you know, the the topics that get created all the way to the to the implementation. And and one of the things that we're we're gonna be doing is bringing some of our startups, to actually help work within that session.
John Jackovin:And and it's because, obviously, to be a founder, and it's it's the founders of these startups that are gonna be in in attendance. And it's it's gonna be cool because, you know, as a founder, you really have to just think differently. And you have to think that, hey, what you know, for for a startup to be successful, they basically have to say, the way it's being done right now is bad or inefficient or, you know, something where they can change and insert themselves. Otherwise, there would be no no value in the in the product or service that they provide. And so, so we're gonna have, to call it 10 to 12, startups that are gonna be working within these different pods of of of teams to help them think about these ideas.
John Jackovin:Yeah. And then back to back, so then the the the next week, we're gonna be hosting, in Des Moines, Iowa, the, the rapid InsurTech Accelerator. So, so last year, this was, this was done in conjunction, with an event in Israel around kind of global insurance and InsurTech. This year, COBI is going to be bringing that to Des Moines. And along with Berkatech Ventures, we'll have Manchester Story, the Global Insurance Accelerator, and just picked up the University of Iowa to help, to help with the, to help with the coordination of everything to, to to really help drive, this, this rapid InsurTech Accelerator.
John Jackovin:So think there's all of these, InsurTech industry organizations around the world, and each part of the world gets to essentially, nominate a startup to, to participate. So they will, at that that second week, second full week of November, they'll all descend on Des Moines, where we're going to start building out a 4 day agenda from everything from, you know, mentors in all different sorts of areas within the insurtech space to, you know, could be government officials, could be, you know, industry organizations, could be a lot of different content, but in a way to drive acceleration in these startups. And being in the United States will obviously have a bit of a U. S. Bend on it.
John Jackovin:But the reality is that a lot of startups, especially in InsurTech, the United States becomes a target market at some point, even if it's not initially there. And so, so we're really excited. Obviously, the fall is going to be a very busy time for us, but we're excited to see what we can do and see how BrokerTech Ventures can, you know, continue to grow and and help the industry.
Sandy Laycox:That was John Jacobin, executive director of the BrokerTech Ventures Accelerator. I hope you enjoyed our conversation. For more with BTV, visit leadersedge.com.