Editor's comment: It's all about the money

Advisors can be worth their weight in gold but one of the most common pieces of advice mentioned when we spoke to a group of angel investors in the sector was that time is money and to make sure you have a big pile of reserves to fall back on.

Of the firms in our top 100 insurtechs, powered by Sønr, in this month’s issue many weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouths and they have paid their dues. Money doesn’t grow on trees and, in some cases, they have had to bet their bottom dollar on their idea before they got funding for their firms but they have between them received nearly £2.5bn in capital investment in 2019. 

As well as counting the full coffers last year, 2019 marked a turning point for insurtechs as market traction was greater than ever, with firms seeing huge customer acquisition and revenue numbers.

But while it might look like our insurtechs are a dime a dozen there are many failures dotting the highway to get here. For several of those failing to access capacity was a major issue. If passion paid the bills then I’m sure we’d see many more individuals leaving the big firms to start their own insurtechs but sadly that’s not all it takes.

For those who have made the listing I hope they feel like a billion dollars but as we face an economic downturn and having hard cash in the bank becomes even more important I hope we continue to see insurtechs tackling areas where they can make a difference and bringing home the bacon.

In the past money has talked for big insurers and we have seen smaller insurtechs absorbed into big firms but I, for one, hope we don’t have to see too many more insurtech wakes in the near future but rather that they continue to strike it rich despite all the hardships that are yet to come.