Insure Africa Gist

I was on stage at InsurTech Insights last week.

Here are my takeaways. 👇


This was once again the largest InsurTech event in Europe, gathering thousands of people from the European insurance market. Re/insurers, startups and investors were all together in the same room for two days of panels and networking sessions.

Overall, it was more balanced in terms of business positioning compared to last year.

In 2025, almost every startup was about "AI in insurance". In 2026, artificial intelligence remains a hot topic and this was probably the hottest trend among startups showcasing their solutions during the event. But it was no more than 1/3 of all of them I'd say.

Claim management was another hot trend at ITI. Many startups highlighted how their solutions could benefit that section of the value chain. Including how technology could revamp payment in insurance (which is a growing trend, not only in the healthcare space).

The third major trend is related to the "emerging risks" category. And this is what we talked about during our panel discussion on stage. Basically: how incumbents can adapt as the risk landscape evolves both fast and dramatically.

I find this topic very insightful as it's a dilemma in my opinion: either incumbents retreat (leave markets, surge prices, remove coverages from contracts, etc) or they can build "Resilience". And I believe technology could help. First with data to better understand, model and price these evolving risks. Then by broadening the value chain and consider the risk value chain, where insurance is only a section, alongside with prevention for instance. Ultimately, by partnering with non insurance players which might be more relevant than they are on specific sections of that value chain (risk assessment, prevention, answer to damages, etc).

This is why we believe "emerging risks" (or it's tech-based answer "Resilience") is to become the next wave of insurance innovation. In that background, it was great to not only discuss that opportunity on stage, but also meet startups already leveraging technology into that direction !


BY: Florian Graillot