Global Insurance Accelerator Adds New Investors
Momentum continues for the new Global Insurance Accelerator. The Greater Des Moines Partnership announced today Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company, Farm Bureau Financial Services, and IMT Insurance Company have joined the Principal Financial Group, Delta Dental of Iowa, American Equity Investment Life, and Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance in supporting this new initiative. Now with seven sponsors, the program is over half way to reaching its goal of 12.
Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company President & CEO Larry Jansen says, “Grinnell Mutual is proud to be part of the Global Insurance Accelerator as the future of the Iowa Insurance industry is very bright. Technology plays a key role in the success of our companies as well as our industry, so we are pleased to offer our support to technology innovation.”
The Greater Des Moines Partnership announced the Global Insurance Accelerator in May. This initiative will create a world class accelerator to help grow insurance-based technology startups. The Global Insurance Accelerator is modeled after the highly successful Techstars program, a leading accelerator based out of Boulder, Colorado with locations across the globe. Techstars accelerators assist ideas to become prototype products in a 90 to 120-day period. Like Techstars, the teams entering the Global Insurance Accelerator will be provided with a seed investment of $20,000 and an optional (at the discretion of the insurance partnership) $100,000 in a convertible debt note. In exchange for the funding, the accelerator will receive equity in the company. The program is set to launch in the fall.
About the Global Insurance Accelerator (GIA)
Launched in 2015, the Global Insurance Accelerator (GIA) fosters innovation in and for the insurance industry via a mentor-driven, 100-day program. GIA supports an annual cohort by providing each graduate company $40K of seed money in exchange for six percent equity. During the program, cohort members get insurance-specific mentoring via 1:1 meetings with industry executives, as well as basic business infrastructure assistance, coaching on garnering investments, and product-specific insights into strategies for increasing applicability to and feasibility for the insurance industry. The GIA extended network includes insurance company investors, startups and mentors from across the global business and insurance communities. For more details please visit globalinsuranceaccelerator.com.