The Leadership in Insurance Podcast - Insurtech & Innovation Tony Lew on how InsurTech NY Built More Than Just a Conference
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Feb 9, 2026 Tony Lew, co-founder of InsurTech New York who runs a conference, VC fund, MGA accelerator and corporate innovation programs. He explains why the conference stays intentionally small for meaningful networking. They discuss centering the 2026 theme on humans working with AI across distribution, underwriting and claims. Tony also covers fund performance, founder traits and how to support early-stage MGAs.
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InsurTech New York Is An Ecosystem Not Just An Event
- InsurTech New York is a multifaceted ecosystem not just a conference but a conference, corporate innovation programs, an MGA accelerator, and a seed-stage VC fund.
- Tony Lew co-founded it in 2019 to build a New York insurtech community and now runs a ~1,000 person spring conference plus multiple programs and a fund with deep startup flow.
Conference Size Chosen To Preserve Networking Quality
- The conference deliberately caps at about 1,000 attendees to balance senior attendance with meaningful networking.
- Tony says 1,000 is large enough to attract leaders but small enough to avoid attendees getting lost in the crowd and is logistically manageable.
Human Side Of Insurance Emphasizes Humans With AI
- The 2026 conference theme is the Human Side Of Insurance to emphasize technology must augment, not replace, human roles.
- Tony frames AI as a tool that will change how humans engage across distribution, underwriting, product and claims, but humans remain essential.