Insurtech Talent Development in Hong Kong – From Insurance to Insurtech: Strategies for Building a Sustainable Talent Pipeline

24 From Insurance to Insurtech: Strategies for Building a Sustainable Talent Pipeline Exhibit 6: The Hong Kong’s Dynamic InsurTech Map (Q2 2023) Source: The Digital Insurer 65 The Digital Insurer (2023). Hong Kong’s Dynamic InsurTech Map . https://www.the-digital-insurer.com/dynamic-insurtech- maps/hong-kong 66 The University of Hong Kong (2023). HKU Startup Job Fair 2022 Fall . https://www.cedars.hku.hk/index.php?route=event / event&event_id=101051 67 The University of Hong Kong (2023). HKU Startup Job Fair 2023 . https://www.cedars-cp.hku.hk/hku-startup-job-fair-2023 Local universities are one of the main sources for talent recruitment. From time to time, insurance companies give recruitment talks at universities. For example, Bowtie Life Insurance Company has given talks at the HKUST and at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). However, the lack of easily accessible information in Hong Kong about the local insurtech scene makes it difficult to arouse students’ interests in this sector. Exhibit 6 is The Hong Kong’s Dynamic InsurTech Map produced by The Digital Insurer and the Fintech Association of Hong Kong.65 Despite an array of different companies active in the city’s insurtech ecosystem, students may not have sufficient exposure to these companies to understand the insurtech sector beyond just the few local virtual insurers. The thin presence of insurance and insurtech companies as compared to the fintech sector at the universities also poses a barrier for building a talent pipeline with university students. In the HKU Startup Job Fair 2022, the insurtech sector was only represented by two companies: Bowtie and One Degree, whereas the fintech sector was represented by eight companies.66 In the recent 2023 edition, the event showcased 26 startup companies, among which five were fintech companies but none were from insurtech.67 A similar case was observed at HKUST, where only one insurance company participated in the most recent Career Mosaic, an annual career fair at HKUST, but a total of 16 financial and investment firms – including six fintech companies – participated in the fair.