Bermuda seeks to accelerate insurtech growth
BDA has plans to attend InsurTech Israel Global Summit, having enjoyed fruitful experience of ITC Vegas in 2022
Bermuda Business Development Agency chief executive underscores the island’s talent for innovation
Bermuda hopes to attract more insurtech businesses to the island by connecting with delegates at the InsurTech Israel Global Summit, David Hart, chief executive of the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA), said.
Speaking to Insurance Day during the Bermuda Risk Summit last week, Hart said he has plans for the BDA to send a delegation to the inaugural insurtech conference in Tel Aviv in September.
The idea for BDA’s attendance there began when it met InsurTech Israel chief executive, Kobi Bendelak, during ITC Vegas in November last year. ITC Vegas is the world’s largest insurtech conference and there were more than 9,000 attendees at its 2022 event.
“As we shared with him our platform here in Bermuda and our attributes, we found he already knew the island is a risk capital of the world. The light bulbs started going off for both parties and we realised a lot of InsurTech Israel’s members would find potential opportunities for growth here,” Hart said.
“We realised they’re doing some amazing things in the tech space in Israel and it was probably worth some further conversation. Our attendance at the summit isn’t 100% locked in, but I’ve got my sights on it.”
Other must-attend events for the BDA this year, Hart said, include Money 20/20 Europe in Amsterdam in June, ITC Vegas in Las Vegas in October/November and Cop28, in Dubai in November/December.
“Whenever we’re making business development trips around the world, we always go armed with an invitation to have our contacts overseas come back and see us in Bermuda. That could be at our climate summit in June, our tech summit in October or our next Bermuda Risk Summit in 2024. We know once we get them here, they quickly understand just how ripe this market is for opportunity,” Hart said.
