Insurance Firms Can Fuel The Startup Ecosystem

Insurance companies collect premiums from people seeking protection from a future event, and in turn, compensate customers who experience losses from this insurable event.

- Gopal Jain

This creates a cash-surplus for insurers, which they deploy to meet customer liabilities and generate shareholders returns. It effectively makes an insurance company both a risk mitigant for customers, and a source of long-term capital for enterprises.

Since they hold much of this capital in trust for their customers, it is imperative for them to balance their risk and rewards over the longer term. They make strategic calls on portfolio allocation, along with regular tactical calls, based on market conditions, and then finally, individual asset allocation decisions. Insurance firms — directly and indirectly-invest in debt and equities in the public markets, while they have stayed largely away from private markets.