George Kesselman has held high-ranking roles in various global insurers, the latest being COO of
AIG Indonesia, but during the course of his career, he felt that insurance’s originally noble purpose to protect clients’ financial well-being was being derailed in the name of profit.
Kesselman, 34, founded InsurTechAsia, which aims to bring together insurance practitioners, entrepreneurs, and various stakeholders throughout Asia. The non-profit organization, which claims to be the first in the region, facilitates collaboration between insurers and tech start-ups.
The InsurTechAsia team selected Singapore as its pilot location and gathered over 200 individuals with passion to make a difference in the insurance industry. Kesselman believes that as a non-profit organization, results are measured by the impact it makes in the future, and not how much it makes in the present.
“So far, we’ve created a strong foundation in Singapore, and have successfully connected local start-ups to potential industry partners and investors, assisted overseas startups doing regulatory due diligence as part of setting up in Singapore, and helped corporate leaders understand the landscape and best ways to engage with start-ups,” he told the
Singapore Business Review.
In the next two months, InsurTechAsia plans to expand its reach across the region, opening new locations in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur.
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