ACORD InsurTech Innovation Challenge Winners Named at ACORD Connect 2018

PEARL RIVER, N.Y., Oct. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ACORD, the global standards-setting body for the insurance industry, today announced the winners of the 2018 ACORD InsurTech Innovation Challenge (AIIC). The winners, who advanced through multiple rounds of live-pitch competition to beat out nearly 100 other contestants, were selected during ACORD Connect 2018 in New Orleans this week.

The 2018 AIIC Winner in the Early-Stage Startup category was:

Chisel, an artificial intelligence platform focused on optimizing the process of extracting information from submissions. Chisel offers the global insurance industry out-of-the-box solutions that apply natural language processing and AI to unstructured data sources such as insurance documents. These solutions empower insurers, reinsurers, and brokers to free trapped knowledge and automate E&O policy checking, submission prioritization, quote comparison, and claims triage.

The Winner of the Late-Stage Startup category was:

RozieAi, a state-of-the-art language comprehension and context management solution that helps brands offer personalized customer care at scale. Their niche is in creating customer experience and knowledge management solutions built on memory and intuition. 

Each winner will receive a $10,000 cash award and other prizes, in addition to the prize packages awarded to all Finalists. In total, the 2018 AIIC has awarded approximately $150,000 worth of prizes.

"ACORD sits at the intersection of insurance, technology, and research, and we bring together almost every major carrier, broker, and solution provider worldwide. This uniquely positions us to provide this forum to share ideas, help shed light on new innovations and work together to define the future of the industry," said Malou August, Vice President of Standards & Membership at ACORD. "Our AIIC winners both represent a strong desire to bring positive change and innovation to the insurance business. They certainly have the potential to advance our industry in compelling ways."

The AIIC brings together insurance innovators across all lines of business, investors and venture capital partners, technology startups, and industry mentors and experts. Brian Hemesath, Managing Director of Global Insurance Accelerator, who helped organize and moderate the event, said, "We are honored to partner with ACORD on this event and watch it grow since its inception. Startups can never have enough opportunities to tell their story, and the AIIC represents a meaningful way for these companies to connect with the insurance industry."

ACORD's judges reviewed nearly 100 applicants to select contestants in two categories: Early-Stage and Late-Stage Startups. These contestants initially competed in regional Semi-Finals, where their live pitches to the panel of judges were evaluated based on ingenuity, impact, applicability, and quality of articulation. Three finalists in each category then advanced to the AIIC International Finals this week to compete for the top prize.

"We appreciate the recognition from ACORD, the global standards-setting body, for the work we are doing to benefit the insurance industry. It reinforces the value that we can provide to the industry in automating tasks and implementing ACORD Standards," said Ron Glozman, CEO and Founder of Chisel.

"We are so honored to win this award and are grateful to ACORD for its investment in innovation. It was wonderful to share the journey of how we developed RozieAi, and the impact it will have on the future of the insurance industry," said Dr. Sudha Meghan, Founder and CEO of RozieAi.

Judges for the Final Round of the AIIC included Dawn LeBlanc, Managing Director of Hartford InsurTech Hub/Startupbootcamp; John Kellington, Senior Vice President and CIO of Cincinnati Insurance Companies; Nathan Golia, Editor in Chief of Digital Insurance; and Matt Aaron, Co-Founder of Insurance Agent App.

The other Finalists included:

Early-Stage Startups:

• Digital Fineprint, using predictive analytics to turn social data into insurance data.
• Pablow Inc., which provides a single app, Bonzah, for car share/rental customers to purchase policies.

Late-Stage Startups:

• APEXA, a digital platform that automates the screening and ongoing monitoring of life insurance advisors.
• Kovrr, a predictive cyber risk modeling platform which empowers and enables P&C insurers to manage hyper dynamic cyber risk.

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
[email protected]

SOURCE ACORD