MTB’s Must-Watch: Automotive Insurtech Scaleups in the US

ARTICLE ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON @Mind the Bridge BLOG: https://mindthebridge.com/mtbs-must-watch-us-automotive-insurtech-scaleups/

8 World-Changing Automotive Insurtech Scaleups in the US

Two industries that have a lot in common, and continuing to converge in the current uncertain worldwide scenario. Let’s have a look.

It is obvious today that while we talk about automotive and insurance, we need to take into account two very specific factors impacting US, Silicon Valley and the industry as a whole that a year ago couldn’t be predicted:

• Covid-19 and the current pandemic;
• California wildfires.

In regards to the pandemic, there’s been tremendous change in consumer behavior, especially when it comes to transportation and mobility (stay on the lookout, our full Mobility article will come in the next few weeks). Listening to the news on TV and socials you can glimpse the inability to provide mobility from Public Transportation, at least until now. Some changes happened in recent weeks where the PAs from different areas of the country decided to reopen and find a way for people to get access to public transportation, though still not as widely used as before. While speaking with a friend of mine, an executive in the automotive industry, I discovered some of my early ideas around this were right; the automotive industry got a big hit at the beginning of the year that’s now going back–and possibly the pandemic could turn it into a good positive flow for the industry globally.

Today more than ever people are in need of personal vehicles rather than “old-fashioned” mobility on-demand. This being due to the inability to track whether or not the previous user of the vehicle carried the virus, wondering “is this the safest mode of transportation?” I have done more research on this and according to a BCG study, as of May 15, 2020 the pandemic stimulated a changing behavior for all of us as consumers of transportation, in exchange of a the safest option, for the time being. 

In the insurance world, we have witnessed an unprecedented change, and it’s entirely possible for insurers to disrupt the conventional schemes. During a survey run by PwC experts in Q1, interviews with insurers’ CEOs found that 70% of them will prioritise or invest in customer experience by March 2021. At the center of the customers expectations resides sustainability, without missing in the basic aspects (operations, and reliability).

According to PwC survey, “Focusing on sustainability is an opportunity to demonstrate the value of insurance and strengthen public credibility, but it’s only achievable if businesses act with care and integrity in all other aspects of their operations.”

When it comes to sustainability, it is vital that we put into picture the wildfires in California and the climate change discussion. These factors are making many consumers all over the world (due to media coverage of such events) concerned whether they should evaluate a more sustainable option or maintain a “lazier” approach, like sticking with the old way of doing things. 

Having said that, in California and in Silicon Valley, companies seem to be placing attention on the first side of the coin—sustainable options. 

Below you’ll read through a list of our favorite startups active in automotive and insurance, solely in the US market. The concentration of energy and sustainability-focused companies is astonishing. It seems after all that EV technology is still leading the way over autonomous driving. Though these worlds can certainly and will overlap, investors appear more interested in providing support to sustainable endeavors in the short term (see the investments deployed to each company below).

Don’t get us wrong, we also saw what happened with Zoox and Amazon. But today consumers’ concerns seem to be leaning towards the electric and sustainable way of moving, not necessarily autonomously.

Find the list of MTB's 8 favorite Automotive Insurtech Scaleups in the US, click the link or the image below:

?? https://mindthebridge.com/mtbs-must-watch-us-automotive-insurtech-scaleups/