Aviva Canada took another decisive step in driving forward innovation in the insurance industry when the company hosted its latest insurtech event in Toronto last week. Hosted at Aviva Canada’s Digital Garage, an ultra-modern workspace on the 49th floor of the First Canadian Place building, the #InsurTechCanada kickoff event focused on the “Future of Mobility” and brought together thought leaders, start-ups, venture capitalists, auto experts and tech enthusiasts to share stories and swap ideas.
The event was the first in the InsurTechCanada five-event series - developed and curated by OneEleven and Aviva Canada - which will examine the impacts of specific technologies on the economy, society and the insurance industry.
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“We’re thrilled to be partnering with OneEleven on this InsurTech Canada series of events,” said Ben Isotta-Riches, chief information officer at Aviva Canada. “Leveraging the power of partnerships and collaboration is in our DNA at Aviva Canada. We’ve added tech disruptors to our list of valued partners and together we’re going to change the industry. This is just the beginning as there will be more insurtech events like these to come.”
The breakthrough event was moderated by Ryan Spinner, head of digital and innovation at Aviva Canada, and showcased a number of up-and-coming tech start-ups that are making noise in the mobility space including Litmus, Netlift and RepairMatch.
“The insurtech community is starved in Canada and this is why we’re here with OneEleven to host these events,” said Spinner. “My challenge to you this evening, as we learn about start-ups in the autotech space, is to get involved. Don’t sit on the sidelines and accept status quo. You have an obligation to get involved.”
The event also featured General Motors head of open innovation Ted Graham, as keynote speaker. He spoke on trends in the tech mobility space including electric, connected, autonomous and shared vehicles, as well as his experiences as an UberX driver.
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Also speaking at the event was Brian Kobus, from OMERS Ventures, who focused on the latest developments with autonomous vehicles in Canada and the autotech start-up landscape, which is seeing significant investment. Kobus’s outlook for growth in the space was extremely bright: “Canada is well positioned to build on early momentum in the auto tech market,” he said.
In addition to working together to produce and host the InsurTech Canada series, Aviva Canada and OneEleven are also teaming up to provide Canadian start-ups with the resources and support they need to develop their business ideas. Later in the year, the two companies will co-host a ‘hackathon’, something which Haroon F. Mirza, managing director and entrepreneur in residence at OneEleven, described as “extremely exciting.”
“The success of yesterday’s kick-off event shows the value of collaboration between innovation hubs and innovative corporate partners,” Mirza said. “We’re thrilled to play our part in putting insurtech on the map in Canada.”
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