Convening Insurtech Innovation

Since 2019, BrokerTech Ventures (BTV) has been bringing together brokers, carriers, and insurtech startups in various forums to foster collaboration and engagement in the insurtech space.

Last year, BTV convened the inaugural BrokerTech Connect (BTC) in Chicago to help take the work of its partners and its accelerator cohorts to the next level by providing them with a tightly curated, bespoke conference dedicated to insurtech innovation. The insurtech ecosystem aims to continue what began in 2025 when BTC returns to the Windy City at the end of August.

BrokerTech Ventures always intended to hold its own conference, according to BTV Chief Operating Officer and Holmes Murphy Chief Marketing Officer Susan Hatten. “There were plenty of conferences out there, but most of them were tech-forward conferences,” she says. “We had a vision of creating an event where it was built for brokers and by brokers and supported by the carriers and wholesalers, where we invite technology to join us.”

That vision has remained consistent after the first BrokerTech Connect last year, says Kacie Conroy, BTV’s chief innovation officer and vice president for digital products at broker M3 Insurance. For her, that vision will never really change—there will always be power in bringing people together to exchange ideas and learnings and talk through how best to innovate within the insurance business cycle, Conroy explains.

“Brokers sit at the center of the insurance ecosystem. We see firsthand how client needs are evolving and where technology is creating new possibilities,” Conroy says. “BrokerTech Connect provides brokers with a dedicated forum to connect those dots, challenge conventional thinking, and lead the innovation that’s shaping the future of our industry.”

Not Just Investing

Hatten and Conroy believe BTV’s unique role as a convener is one of the reasons for this event’s success. Conroy expects attendance in 2026 to significantly increase from last year’s 200—the maximum for which the conference had capacity at the time.

“We’re effectively bringing together competitors in our industry in a ‘precompetitive’ space,” Hatten says. “In our world, we call them partners. We also describe our partnership by using the term ‘co-opetition,’ meaning we surround ourselves with best-in-class peers in our industry and come together to solve common problems.”

Conroy believes that this kind of gathering, where BTV has “woven together this connective tissue of brokers, carriers, and startups,” is necessary for truly transformative innovation in the insurance industry. For her, when those three sides of the industry triangle start working in alignment, “That is completely magic.”

As Conroy explains: “This is not a conference where you’re just like taking notes about how you’re going to do something 1% better. We’re coming out with: this is what we’re going to build, or this is how we’re going to interact differently, more effectively, in a more innovative way for our clients.”

Shaping the Future

Hatten and Conroy have high hopes for BrokerTech Connect this year and going forward. Hatten’s vision is not for BTC to be the largest industry conference, but the best conference built by brokers, for brokers.

In that vein, Conroy intends for BTC to reframe the innovation conversation by highlighting brokers’ importance in the insurtech space, given their central role in the distribution channel. “If you go to other larger conferences, their focus is diluted,” she says. “The technology is the most important thing, or this opportunity is the biggest thing. And that’s why we’re so unique in being the only broker-led conference.”

Ultimately, Hatten and Conroy want participants to understand what the industry can build when brokers, carriers, and startups come together as a collaborative community. BTC will help stakeholders create a road map for future innovation, Hatten and Conroy say, and they hope attendees leave energized and inspired to follow it.