Modern Insurance Magazine Issue 66

INSURTECH
InnSure
QCharlie, InnSure’s mission is rooted in its goal of
catalyzing innovative ways that the insurance
industry can contribute to the battle against climate
risk. How has InnSure’s vision evolved since its
inception?
Initially, we started looking at innovation
through the lens of ‘how can insurers be better
A prepared for the impacts of climate change?’
Since then, our focus has evolved to heavily consider
what the world needs from insurance in order to
address, mitigate, and adapt to the impacts of climate
change.
QI was thrilled to learn about the $5 million
innovation prize you just announced. It’s amazing
to have New York Governor Kathy Hochul and
the support of the New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority (NYSERDA) behind this initiative!
Can you tell me more about it, and how it works to
exemplify a strong collaboration between the public and
private sectors?
A
The insurance industry has unique capabilities to
identify, analyze, and transfer risk. But the world
is innovating so quickly that insurance can’t
keep up.
Insurance innovation needs to keep pace with the rate
of advancement in other sectors. This is especially true
with respect to the energy transition, which affects
buildings, transportation, and the energy sector. For
this to happen, insurance needs to deeply invest in
R&D.
We recognize that it’s hard to be the first to jump
into a new market. That’s where the prize comes
in. NYSERDA invested $6.5 million into insurance
R&D, and we’re confident that investment will yield
innovative insurance solutions. But the true impact of
the program lies in its potential to catalyze industry
action well beyond the specific companies selected for
funding.
happening in micro-insurance, group catastrophe
insurance, parametric insurance and the like, and we’re
definitely keen to discuss a few of those areas in more
depth!
Q‘Climate tech’ has become a buzzword. So, what
are some of the trends and novel new technologies
you’re seeing in the industry?
The breadth of ‘solutions’ in the industry is
amazing. In the renewables space, there’s rapid
A scaling of mature technologies, like wind and
solar. While those technologies can be challenging
because both wind and sun are dependent on the
weather, they’ve spawned a revolution in large scale
energy storage. Technologies like advanced geothermal
energy production is also exciting, because it provides
an always-available energy source and shifts the
workforce from oil and gas to clean energy.
We’re seeing an equal amount of innovation in
transportation, including things like sustainable
aviation fuel (SAF). Green hydrogen is also being
developed in earnest, which will move the needle in
hard-to-decarbonize areas, like the industrial sector.
QCan you tell me a little more about InnSure Corps,
and how our readers might get involved?
InnSure Corps is a networking, professional
development, and social impact organization,
A serving as a powerful resource for professionals
to connect and collaborate at the intersection of
climate, technology, and insurance. The organization
empowers the next generation of insurance leaders,
climate professionals and community innovators to
supercharge their professional growth and leadership
skills, opening doors to new opportunities and career
advancement.
Readers can visit our website to join or learn more.
Through this program, hundreds of talented insurance
professionals will engage with innovative professionals
from other sectors working on the energy transition.
By presenting a wide variety of insurance-centric
solution providers, and dozens of possible business
models to capacity providers, we are creating an
accelerated path to attack the insurance gap. The
collision of money, ideas, talent and data initiated
by this challenge will have a domino effect, and the
cross-functional ecosystem coalescing around the
program will outlive it.
QWe’re delighted to have you on stage this year
at Insurtech Insights USA! The panel will explore
how we can insure the energy transition, further
considering the insurance sector’s role in responding to
climate change. Can you give our readers a preview of
some of the approaches that insurers are taking to mitigate
climate risk?
A
The insurance industry is working on both sides
of the equation. They’re insuring the energy
transition and the technologies that are part of
it, but they’re also finding ways to close the growing
protection gap. There are a lot of exciting things
Charlie Sidoti
Executive Director, InnSure
Charlie Sidoti is the Executive
Director of InnSure, a non-profit
innovation hub catalyzing novel
insurance solutions that address
climate change risk. Charlie’s
35+ years in insurance includes
senior leadership roles with
P&C insurance carriers, 10 years
leading insurance-adjacent
analytics-focused startups, and
founding InnSure in 2019. Charlie
is driven to reimagine how the
insurance sector can better help
society solve the most difficult
climate risk challenges via better
insurance products and services.
62 | MODERN INSURANCE