BOSTON, Oct. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ACORD, the global standards-setting body for the insurance industry, announced the winner of the 2019 ACORD InsurTech Innovation Challenge (AIIC) at ACORD Connect in Boston this week. MakuSafe Corp., an SaaS/Data & Analytics company which seeks to improve worker health, safety, and productivity while reducing worker compensation claims and mitigating workplace risks, advanced through multiple rounds of live-pitch competitions to beat out dozens of other contestants

MakuSafe, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, will receive a $15,000 cash prize, as well as other prizes. In total, the 2019 Innovation Challenge awarded $75,000 worth of prizes to standout InsurTech startups.

"The ACORD InsurTech Innovation Challenge brings together an impressive group of innovators with a collective vision to improve the insurance industry," said Bijesh Jacob, SVP of Technology and Standards at ACORD Solutions Group. "These are the types of companies that will drive our industry into the future. ACORD is proud to play a role in enabling positive change that will benefit the industry worldwide."

MakuSafe Co-Founder and CEO Gabriel Glynn said, "We're so grateful to be named the winner of the ACORD InsurTech Innovation Challenge this year. Our team has worked so hard for the last three years and this award is great recognition of their efforts. Because of help from organizations like ACORD, and the insurance industry partners we work with, we are able to make great strides in improving workplace safety and our mission to make sure that every worker makes it home at the end of the day." 

Brian Hemesath, host of the ACORD InsurTech Innovation Challenge Finals said, "ACORD's innovation challenge was the first competition of this type, and we are proud to be back for the 5^th year. Pitch competitions can be tricky and highly subjective, but ACORD takes a unique approach judging candidates in four categories: ingenuity, applicability, impact and quality of articulation. You hear the passion from these companies. They are on an adventure and I hope they inspired the audience today at ACORD Connect."

The contestants initially competed in regional semifinals in Chicago, London and New York, where their live pitches to the panel of judges were evaluated based on ingenuity, impact, applicability, and quality of articulation. Three finalists then advanced to the AIIC International Finals this week to compete for the top prize.

Judges for the final round of the AIIC included:

• Joe Dainty, AGM, London Market Transformation at DXC Technology
• Barbara Ingraham, Managing Director, Excess and Surplus at Verisk
• Sudha Meghan, CEO at RozieAi (2018 AIIC winner)
• James McElhiney, CTO at Corvus

The other finalists included:

• Protosure, a no-coding SaaS eCommerce solution for any insurance product line, allowing users to rate, quote, issue on multiple sites simultaneously.
• Riskbook, an online platform where brokers can easily share their risks with a worldwide audience of underwriters, allowing brokers to have access to a large pool of capital for their clients and underwriters to take control of their deal flow and grow their premium income.

Visit www.acordchallenge.org to find out more about the ACORD InsurTech Innovation Challenge.

About ACORD

ACORD (Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development) is the global standards-setting body for the insurance and related financial services industries. ACORD facilitates fast, accurate data exchange, and efficient workflows through the development of electronic standards, standardized forms, and tools to support their use. ACORD members worldwide include hundreds of insurance and reinsurance companies, agents and brokers, software providers, financial services organizations and industry associations. ACORD maintains offices in New York and London. Learn more at www.acord.org.

Contact:
Beth Jarecki
Beth@lpendragonus.com

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