Des Moines, IA – March 16, 2021 – BrokerTech Ventures (BTV), the industry’s first broker-led convening platform and accelerator program, today announced the addition of its newest carrier, Zurich North America, to the platform.

As a customer-led organization, Zurich North America fosters innovation in its efforts to bring forth new risk management solutions to its customers. It is one of the largest providers of insurance solutions and services to businesses and individuals, with customers representing industries ranging from agriculture to technology, including more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 organizations. The company is part of Zurich Insurance Group, which provides a wide range of property and casualty, and life insurance products and services in more than 215 countries and territories.

“Bringing Zurich North America into our BTV convening coalition is game-changing and elevates our carrier status to an even higher pedigree,” said Dan Keough, Holmes Murphy chairman and CEO and co-CEO of BrokerTech Ventures. 

The addition of Zurich North America now brings BTV to 11 of the strongest insurance company brands, along with 13 blue-ribbon independent agencies ranging from Silicon Valley to New Jersey.

“In effect, BTV is comprised of 24 forward-leaning insurance brands,” said Keough. “We have intentionally and thoughtfully come together, representing multi-billions of dollars in collective distribution and insurance company depth to help our customers identify their risks sooner and drive down their costs faster.”

“Zurich has a rich history and interest to lean into insurance innovation. We see BrokerTech Ventures as an opportunity to broaden our lens on insurtech, with the vantage point of the broker as a critical component for insurtech's ultimate success,” said Sumeet Bhatia, VP, Head of Innovation for Zurich North America. “We have been following BrokerTech Ventures since they deployed the company in 2019, and we are thrilled to move our Zurich North America relationship forward in an official capacity.” 

Through its annual Zurich Innovation Championship — one of the largest startup innovation competitions in the insurance industry — Zurich collaborates to find innovative solutions that can enhance the way Zurich serves customers’ needs. “This new arrangement with BrokerTech Ventures will take that initiative for Zurich to the next level,” added Bhatia.

In addition to this newest agreement, BTV recently announced its engagement with InsurTech Israel and Ayalon Insurance Company to partner in deploying The Israeli Insurtech Accelerator, headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. Additional international accelerator engagements in Latin America and Europe are under review for deployment in 2021. 

BTV also recently announced its 2021 cohort where the hyper-accelerated accelerator will run March 1–April 1, 2021, with follow-along engagements throughout the summer months.‍

For more information on BTV, please visit www.brokertechventures.com.