$5M Insurance Innovation Prize for Energy Transition

The Insurance Innovation Prize is a new $5M, government-backed prize to support teams working on insurance products and policies that fill gaps in the (re)insurance market for the energy transition. The prize was announced by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and is supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

What is the opportunity?

• Much in the way biotech disrupted pharma in the 1990s, renewables are disrupting oil and gas today. As technologies mature with the support of federal policy and spending, it is critical for energy transition companies and the (re)insurance industry to closely collaborate on developing insurance products and policies.
• Those that move first are likely to capture market share in growing industries. The insurance market for clean energy assets alone is expected to reach $15B by 2030. There is also a ripe opportunity for the creation of new energy transition-focused products and policies in the $233B home insurance and $260B auto insurance industries.

How will the prize funding be disbursed?

• InnSure will disburse up to $5M in non-dilutive grant funding to at least five teams developing products or policies to fill insurance gaps in the energy transition, or up to $1M per company. Companies are expected to bring an insurance product or policy to market in New York State within 18 months of the grant date, the standard product development lifecycle in the insurance industry.
• Funding will be disbursed in tranches in response to achievement of agreed-upon milestones. To help companies progress toward milestones, InnSure will offer a comprehensive suite of acceleration services, covering activities like raising risk capital and obtaining regulatory approvals.

Who is eligible to apply to the Prize?

• While entities can either be for- or non-profit, they are looking to deploy the catalytic funds into commercial solutions that eventually have a path to financial self-sufficiency.
• Applicants may be located anywhere in the world subject to New York State and Federal Government trade restrictions, though teams should be aware that they will likely need to travel to New York as part of the process of receiving approval for their product or policy. ​Applicants can be any stage, from seed stage startup through publicly-traded companies.
• All solutions must directly benefit New York State energy ratepayers and demonstrate a path to launching in-market within 18 months from the grant date. Products or policies must focus on accelerating climate change mitigation (i.e., supporting the deployment of technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions); those exclusively focused on adapting to life with climate change are not eligible for funding.

For more information, visit InnSure.