UK’s tech start-ups may be better placed than most other sectors to ride out the disruptions of Brexit — so long as the government does not mess up anything else.   More agile by structure, more global by mindset and more reliant on informal networks than bureaucratic hierarchies, tech start-ups are hard-wired to adapt to change, whether it be the Covid-19 pandemic or Britain’s rupture with the EU. They would far rather Brexit had not happened, but they will make of it what they can. The truth is that during its EU membership, Britain emerged as the undisputed tech capital of Europe. 

Insurtech is a vital part of this innovation ecosystem with UK companies winning customers from Australia to the USA and. of course throughout Europe and Asia.

Claims management, Bind & Quote, Payments & Reserving, Policy Admin, Supply Chain Management, Broking Platforms, Business and Travel Cancellation Interruption, Product Innovation and Management....the list goes on.

"Ian Hathaway, co-author of The Startup Community Way, says that when politicians become interested in tech they often set big strategic objectives and try to pick corporate winners. In Britain, this interventionist itch has been highlighted by the government’s $500m investment in OneWeb, the lossmaking satellite operator, and its plans to recreate Darpa, the US research agency. “Government does have a role to play, just not the one that politicians often want it to be,” Mr Hathaway says. “Entrepreneurs seek the answers from the market. I would challenge governments to think the same way.” 

  John Thornhill FT 22nd Jan 2021

British insurtechs have invested years and years of capital, time, sweat and tears and are reaping the rewards. 2020 made rapid change and innovation a necessity and those no-code platform vendors in the market showed the value as insurers, brokers, MGAs all brought new products and services to market very quickly. Digital transformation and innovation moved from small point solutions to wider overarching strategic deployments and the speed of this is ramping up.

There are plenty of successful and growing insurtechs in mainland Europe, North America, Australia/New Zealand not to mention the giants in China. 

Thornhill concludes:

"In the case of post-Brexit Britain, that means the government should respond in small, practical ways to help entrepreneurs, rather than falling for the fallacy that it can reinvent Silicon Valley. In other words, the success of Britain’s tech sector will largely depend on how far Brexit politicians resist their urge to take back control."