How Insurtech Can Revitalize Communities

In mid-April, for the final time, Brian Hemesath took the stage at the Des Moines, Iowa, Global Insurance Symposium to kick off the showcase event for the insurtech accelerator he had stewarded for the past five years.

The Global Insurance Accelerator had started with just a folding chair and a card table in a dusty office, with companies that didn’t even have logos prepared, had blossomed into a worldwide phenomenon.

In the first year, seven insurance companies sponsored the program for six startups; by 2019, those numbers had increased to 13 and ten, respectively. More resources, upgraded facilities, and notable investments and successes have trickled out of the group over its half-decade.

Hemesath decided to step down to ensure that the accelerator never suffered from legacy thinking. That’s how startup culture works, he noted: It’s important to be able to move on to the next thing.