The U.S. insurance market is massive, complex, and full of opportunity. It is also notoriously difficult to crack from the outside. In the first session of Jumpstart USA, a joint program between the InsurTech Association and the Indian InsurTech Association, a panel of operators and advisors shared what they have learned about entering the U.S. insurance market as an international company. The session was moderated by Josh Hollander, CEO of Horton International North America and ITA co-founder, and featured Brian Refici of MarshBerry, Anurag Shah (founder of Aureus Analytics, acquired by SIAA), Jonathan Jackson (CEO of Provisico), and Namit Chopra of EXL. Rahul Nawab represented the Indian InsurTech Association, and Gene Goddard of Metro Hartford Alliance provided perspective on Hartford as an entry point for international companies.
The takeaways were practical and grounded in experience. These are not hypothetical frameworks. They come from people who have made the journey or helped others do it.
A $3.5 Trillion Market in Three Very Different Segments
Brian Refici set the stage with a market overview. The U.S. insurance industry spans three distinct categories: property and casualty (over $1 trillion), health ($1.5 trillion), and life ($1 trillion). Each operates differently, is regulated differently, and buys technology differently. For international companies, the first step is choosing which segment to target. Within property and casualty alone, there are thousands of individual risk classes, each with its own buying patterns and regulatory requirements across 50 state regulators.
Refici also highlighted a significant shift in investor expectations. The InsurTech 1.0 wave (roughly 2017 to 2018) prioritized growth over profitability, and many of those early bets did not pay off. The companies succeeding now, the InsurTech 2.0 cohort, are those that survived, built something meaningful, and can demonstrate a clear path to profitability. “Building something for the sake of building it was probably earlier that trend,” Refici said. “Building it with a means to an end, and that end ultimately being increased profitability, is really top of mind for investors.”
What Works at Home Will Not Work Here
Anurag Shah, who built Aureus Analytics in India before entering the U.S. and eventually being acquired by SIAA, offered a candid view of the differences in buying behavior. One major learning: do not assume that what works in your home market will replicate directly in the U.S. “We assumed coming into the U.S. that whatever products we built and the way we deliver in India would replicate as is. That was definitely not true,” he said.
Shah also pointed to a distribution channel that many international companies overlook: independent agents and brokers. “That might be a completely new area for someone coming from India,” he said. “The distribution side is definitely where that plays, and it is a massive opportunity with comparatively shorter sales cycles.” For companies selling enterprise solutions to carriers, the sales cycle is long in both markets but long in different ways. In India, it involves heavy negotiation. In the U.S., it tends to be more bureaucratic, with procurement teams, compliance checks, and multiple stakeholders involved.
Focus Beats Breadth, and Compliance Is Non-Negotiable
The panelists converged on a consistent theme: focus beats breadth. Jonathan Jackson of Provisico, a UK-based flood risk intelligence company, said his biggest regret was not narrowing his beachhead sooner. “We looked at a number of different areas. We kind of came in and looked at the market and tried to see where the hot spots are, as opposed to just saying, let us target this one particular space,” he said. Namit Chopra of EXL reinforced this from a solutions perspective, noting that EXL has deliberately focused on commercial and specialty lines, specifically underwriting workflows, where carriers are most receptive to AI and automation that improves profitability.
Chopra also flagged regulatory compliance as a non-negotiable starting point. Handling PII (personally identifiable information) and PHI (protected health information) correctly is table stakes, and the rules vary by state. California, New York, and Washington are particularly strict. “Just make sure you are working with the right masked data,” Chopra said. “And as you work across different states, make sure you work with the right set of regulatory lens.”
Several practical pieces of advice emerged for international companies considering the U.S. market. Have a physical presence; buyers need to see you. Invest in accelerator programs as a structured way to build introductions and validate product-market fit. Present your solution with the lowest possible risk to the buyer, because insurance is a risk-averse industry and anything that reduces perceived risk will shorten the sales cycle. And learn the language of the market: hit ratios, loss ratios, combined ratios, regulatory filings. If you cannot speak credibly about how your product impacts these metrics, the conversation will stall.
Jumpstart USA will continue with additional sessions covering topics in more depth. If you are interested in entering the U.S. insurance market, visit insurtechassociation.org for membership details and upcoming events.
