Amsterdam, 23 December 2020 - A vast majority of insurtechs (88%) expect stronger demand for their products and services, as a result of the covid-crisis accelerating demand for digital across the insurance industry, according to new study The Pulse of Insurtech. The Pulse of Insurtech study was conducted by Digital Insurance Agenda (DIA) in partnership with McKinsey & Company, among more than 100 insurtechs and investors around the globe. Triggered by the covid-crisis, customer behavior has fundamentally changed, with increasing expectations towards digital services across industries, including insurance. As a result, insurtechs are optimistic, with 71% of insurtechs taking a positive view of their sales pipeline for the coming months. Longer term optimism is even greater, with 88% of insurtechs expecting stronger demand for their products and services, once the crisis is over. While insurtechs are optimistic about their prospects in the wake of the covid-crisis, investors are a bit more cautious. A majority of investors (65%) expect less funding to be available for insurtechs for the coming months. In this area insurtechs take a more optimistic view, with only 35% of insurtechs expecting less funding to be available. Recent funding rounds still seem to support this view. The majority of investors (61%) expect most of their insurtech portfolio to be “back to normal” at some point in 2021, but several investors expect this will take longer. This won’t be a return to pre-crisis conditions though – we’re heading towards a “New Normal”, with the shift to digital being here to stay. Before we see the end of the crisis, there is broad agreement that we will still have to deal with ongoing uncertainty for months and maybe the year ahead. Roger Peverelli, Co-Founder of The DIA Community says: “Now that the dust of the pandemic is starting to settle, we can shift our view towards the future. And that future is looking bright for insurance innovation and insurtech – there is broad agreement about that, our study shows 2021 will be all about focus on adding value and taking action, seizing the opportunities that will arise from this crisis.”