Innovation hub for on-demand insurance products opens in Toronto

An insurance cloud platform provider has opened an “innovation hub” in downtown Toronto to “ideate, experiment, test and deploy” new on-demand insurance products.

Slice Labs announced Wednesday the opening of the Slice Launch Studio for the company and its partners to test and deploy new products on the Slice Insurance Cloud Services (ICS) platform.

Insurers and technology companies from around the world can come to the Launch Studio to collaborate on hackathons, a key step in Slice’s approach to getting product to market quickly, the company said in a release. Slice will also host events year-round, bringing together thought leaders from across the globe to discuss and address emerging and increasing risks. Slice is currently working with insurers in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Southeast Asia to launch new on-demand insurance products, using a minimum viable product methodology which allows for launch in under three months.

The Co-operators Group, which recently launched its digital insurance brand Duuo and an on-demand homeshare insurance product via Slice ICS, is the pilot partner for the Launch Studio. The Guelph, Ont.-based carrier will host a hackathon with the goal to build the vision for its next on-demand insurance product.

Duuo provides insurance for homesharing hosts who rent their properties from sites like Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO. The Co-operators president and CEO, Rob Wesseling, told Canadian Underwiter in July “there are a number of product ideas that we have on the list now.” Although he didn’t offer specifics, he said there will be a “steady stream” of product launches in the future. “The sky’s the limit in terms of P&C opportunities, life opportunities and health opportunities in the episodic and on-demand space.”

The Slice Launch Studio is located on the 42nd floor of the Scotia Plaza (40 King St. West in downtown Toronto) and is open from 9-5 p.m. ET Monday to Friday by appointment to protect the ICS user intellectual capital. Participants can make appointments at www.slice.is/launchstudio.