Insurtech UK Unveils Policy Recommendations for Incoming Government

Insurtech UK has published a roadmap of recommendations for the next government, so that the UK can retain and strengthen its leading global status in insurance innovation following the UK's Election, held July 4th.

The plan outlines how the next Government can proactively foster a supportive environment for UK insurtech to thrive. Insurtech has a key role in the UK economy. Insurtech UK claims the UK is home to the world’s second largest insurtech cluster, with an estimated combined value greater than $20 billion. The industry supports more than 60,000 jobs across the UK, contributing nearly ￡5 billion to the UK GDP.

The Roadmap sets out how the next government can pave the way for UK insurtech to flourish through three overarching themes:

• a regulatory regime that enables more new entrants
• an investment environment that facilitates funding
• more action to unlock opportunities to scale

The plan presents multiple points of advice for the next government to follow. Some of the core recommendations include establishing a regulatory framework that incentivises more new entrants and establishing an investment environment that encourages funding and takes action to ensure companies do not miss the right moments to scale up.

The Roadmap also calls for the Department of Business and Trade to establish a long-term framework that will facilitate easier international expansion and investment opportunities for UK insurtechs.

From a financial perspective, the Roadmap suggests extending the (Seed) Enterprise Investment Schemes to all categories of insurtech to incentivise investment and extending Enterprise Management Incentive qualifying criteria to attract experienced talent.

Insurtech UK also calls for new government-backed reinsurance schemes which will enable coverage of new societal risks and support affordable insurance policies for greater financial inclusion.

Finally, to overcome entrance barriers and drive growth, the Roadmap recommends introducing a fairer VAT/IPT regime. The holistic set of recommendations aims to ensure UK insurtech reaches its full potential.

The full set of recommendations can be found here.