InsurTechNY Startup Competition
Terms and Conditions of Entry
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED.
This InsurTechNY Startup Competition (the “Contest”) begins January 10, 2023 at 12:00pm Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends at the conclusion of the Final Live Pitch Event, currently scheduled to take place on March 30, 2023 (the “Contest Period”). This Contest is Organized by StartupOwl, LLC, DBA InsurTechNY, 156 Wildflower Circle, Yardley, PA, 19067, USA (“Organizer” or “InsurTechNY”). Registration into this Contest constitutes acceptance of these Terms and Conditions of Entry (“Terms”) and the decisions of Organizer, which shall be final and binding in all aspects.
ELIGIBILITY
General Eligibility Criteria. This Contest is open to individuals who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. This Contest is also open to Eligible Entities who apply via an Authorized Representative. An Eligible Entity is a sole proprietorship, corporation, partnership or other entity that is in compliance with the applicable laws, decrees, regulations and guidelines of its jurisdiction of residence. Eligible Entities may be required to submit proof of eligibility to Organizer in the form of an Employer Identification Number, Articles of Incorporation, Certificate of State Registration, or other form of government-issued documentation deemed acceptable by Organizer in its sole and absolute discretion. An Authorized Representative is an individual who is (a) 18 years of age or older, and (b) a legally authorized representative of an Eligible Entity for purposes of submitting an entry to the Contest. An Authorized Representative may be required to submit written proof of his or her authorization to submit an entry into the Contest on behalf of an Eligible Entity. Proof of authorization will be evaluated by Organizer in its sole and absolute discretion. Organizer is not responsible or liable for any disputes between individuals and/or entities arising under or related to the Contest. Eligible Individuals and Eligible Entities are each hereinafter referenced as “Participant,” “you,” or “your.” Participants who are not legal residents of the United States agree to be solely responsible for any legal obligation or liability, whether incurred by Participant or Organizer, that may arise out of Participant’s participation in the Contest as a resident of any non-U.S. country or jurisdiction.
Additional Eligibility Criteria. The following additional eligibility criteria also apply
Participant must be an Authorized Representative of an Eligible Entity or an eligible individual entrant;
Participant must have an annual revenue from the year 2022 less than $250,000 USD.
Participant’s product offering must be relevant to the insurance industry and address technology or market opportunities as determined by Organizer in its sole discretion.
Ineligibility. The following individuals and entities are not eligible to participate (1) any individual or entity professionally involved in the development or administration of this Contest; (2) employees of or entities that are governments and/or government-affiliated companies or organizations; or (3) any employee whose employer's guidelines or regulations do not allow entry in the Contest or acceptance of the prize(s). In addition, the following are also not eligible to participate: residents of Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Sudan, and/or any individuals or entities that are prohibited from doing business in the United States by the government of the United States. This Contest is void in these countries and where otherwise prohibited or restricted by law.
HOW TO ENTER/PARTICIPATE
The Contest will hold one track for Early-Stage companies. The Early-Stage track will run for startups with less than $250,000 in annual revenue. The Contest will follow a two round selection process as described in 2(b) and is subject to change at the sole discretion of the Organizer.
Registration Pages. The Contest registration pages (“Online Entry”) will be available at: https://www.insurtechny.com/competition/
Round 1: Online Application. At the Contest website, potential Participants must follow these steps:
Step One - Round 1: Online Entry (January 10, 2023 5am US ET - February 10, 2023 11:59pm US ET): Complete and submit the Online Entry. Participants must complete the entire Online Entry and answer all questions to be considered. Completed Online Entry must be received by Organizer no later than February 10th, 2023 at 11:59pm ET. Organizer at its sole discretion may expand this acceptance time period.
Step Two - Round 1: Initial Screening: Once your Round 1 Entry Form has been received by Organizer, Organizer in its discretion may review your Submission for purposes of compliance with these Official Rules. While your Round 1 Entry Form is undergoing this review, it is not yet considered a Submission into the Contest. Only after your Round 1 Entry Form is accepted by Organizer (in its sole and absolute discretion) will your Round 1 Entry Form become a “Submission” into the Contest. Organizer will review the initial application to select the top Submissions to send to judges.
Organizer may request at its discretion a Participant to conduct a virtual presentation or interview with the Organizer and/or a subset of Judges.
Step Three - Round 1: Online Judging: (February 11, 2023 - March 1, 2023): Online Judges will review and score Submissions (see Judging Criteria below) to identify ten Participants to move ahead in the Contest as Round 2 Finalists. Organizer will endeavor in good faith to notify Participants whether they have qualified to participate in Round 2 of the Contest by email, telephone, or other mechanism (in Organizer’s sole discretion) by no later than approximately March 8, 2023. Participants will have 48 hours to confirm their participation in Round 2. If a Participant does not respond by the deadline, the Participant may be disqualified or forfeit a possible prize.
Round 2: Final Pitch. Once the Round 2 Finalists have been identified, the remainder of the Contest process will continue with a pitch presentation.
Step Four - Round 2 Pitch/Demo Materials (Deadline March 14, 2023 at 3pm US ET): Round 2 Finalists will be required to provide their final Pitch Materials to Organizer via email or cloud-hosted shared drive (details will be determined by Organizer) by 3pm ET on March 14, 2023 to allow the Organizer to review all Round 2 materials prior to the Final Pitch.
Step Five - Round 2 Final Pitch (March 2023): The final pitch event is currently scheduled to be presented as part of the InsurTech Spring Conference on March 30, 2023 in New York City. Each Round 2 Finalist will be required to deliver a three-minute in-person pitch at the event. The Final Pitch Judges will evaluate each pitch (see Judging Criteria below) and identify three Prize Winners who will be awarded the prizes described below. Organizer reserves the right to modify, cancel or terminate the Pitch Event in case of unforeseen circumstances. In such circumstances, Organizer will work in good faith to communicate such changes to all Round 2 Finalists in advance.
JUDGING CRITERIA
a. Judging Overview. Submissions will be reviewed by Organizer and Judges. Judges may include investors, insurance carrier leaders, and industry experts. Judges will rank Participants across the following evaluation criteria listed in 3(b). Also, the final pitch will include evaluation criteria based on the quality of the presentation delivery.
b. Criteria. Submissions will be judged on having the most commercial potential characteristics determined by the product, market, and team. Examples of investable criteria include degree or product differentiation / novelty, strength of team, clarity of go-to-market strategy, and size of market opportunity.
PRIZES
Subject to the Terms, the prizes will be awarded from partner organizations from a prize pool of $200,000 in value. The prizes are a combination of services and products that InsurTechs need.
Prizes by Ranking. Within each track the following division of prizes will be allocated for the top three ranking companies.
Carrier/Broker Prize: $50,000 in Prize Value
Angel Investor Prize: $50,000 in Prize Value
InsurTech Fund Prize: $50,000 in Prize Value + Potential $50k investment from InsurTech Fund
Prize Conditions. Prize will be awarded in the name of the Participant (individual or Eligible Entity) as recorded in Organizer’s records. No substitution, assignment, transfer, or cash redemption of any prize is allowed by any Prize winner. Organizer reserves the right to substitute a prize with another prize of equal or greater value should the advertised prize become unavailable for any reason. Neither Organizer nor any of its prize suppliers will replace any lost or stolen prizes after being awarded to Winners. Prize values are provided by the Contest partners and are the Organizers best estimate of the value. Organizer also reserves the right to change the prize amount at its sole discretion.
NOTIFICATION OF WINNER(S).
Organizer will make good faith effort to notify potential Prize winners in person at the Final Pitch Event. The decisions of Organizer and Judges will be final and binding in all matters. Organizer may also send potential winner(s) a declaration of eligibility / liability / publicity release ("Release"). Unless restricted by law, potential winners receiving such a Release may be required to complete and return it within the time period specified therein. The prize may be forfeited and, in such case, an alternate potential winner may in Organizer's discretion be selected from among the remaining Finalists (using the criteria described above), if a potential winner: (i) cannot be reached; (ii) fails to obtain all signatures on the Release and to return the documents in a timely manner as required pursuant to these Official Rules; or (iii) cannot accept or receive the prize for any reason. Prizes will be sent to winners as quickly as practicable following notification (and receipt of any Release and related documentation, if applicable).
CONTENT AND LICENSE TERMS
Rights and Original Content. By participating in this Contest, each Participant warrants and represents that all the content submitted by Participant to the Contest (including without limitation all Round 1 content and Round 2 Pitch Material content):
is original and has been legally created, and that Participant owns or has properly licensed all rights to the content therein, including, without limitation, relevant copyrights; and
does not infringe the intellectual property, privacy or publicity rights or any other legal or moral rights of any third party.
Third-Party Rights. All content submitted by Participants into any round or phase of the Contest must not depict recognizable third-party marks, copyrights, brands or other property unless Participant has obtained all proper licenses and/or releases. Any video content submitted to the Contest must not contain any elements that would infringe upon any third party's rights (intellectual property or otherwise), and must not include any commercial content that disparages Organizer, its affiliates, partners, customers, competitors or any third party in any way. Organizer’s determination as to whether any content submitted to the Contest by any Participant potentially violates the rights of any third party is final. The Contest Submission and the Entrant’s participation must not violate any local, state, provincial, national or foreign law, including any right of publicity, right of privacy or any other proprietary right.
Permissions and Releases. Participant acknowledges and agrees that it is responsible for obtaining any and all documents, policies and authorizations necessary to create its Round 1 and Round 2 content and submit such content to Organizer in connection with this Contest, including but not limited to publicity releases, permits and venue permissions, as may be necessary; and Participant represents and warrants that it has done so and can make written copies of such permissions available to Organizer upon request. For all video attachments, Participant specifically represents and warrants that it has obtained permission from each person whose name, image, likeness and/or voice ("Likeness") is included in the Video, and that such person(s) has/have granted Participant all necessary rights to use the person’s Likeness as described in these Rules, and that Participant can make written copies of such permissions available to Organizer upon request. If the Likeness of a minor is included, such grant of rights must include written permission from the minor’s parent or legal guardian authorizing the use of the minor’s likeness on behalf of the minor. The Video must be produced using non-union talent or talent that has not been and is not currently under any union or guild agreement that results in any ongoing obligations resulting from the use, exhibition or other exploitation of the Video. Participant represents and warrants that it has obtained written permission when filming any part of the Video on private property not owned or controlled by Participant, where such permission is required.
Grant of License. As between Participant and Organizer, Participant shall retain ownership in and to any content Participant submits to the Contest (“Participant Content”), including all intellectual property rights related thereto. By entering this Contest, Participant hereby grants Organizer, its affiliates, subsidiaries, parents, and agents, an irrevocable, worldwide, sub-licensable, transferable, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to Participant Content and all intellectual property rights related thereto to use, copy, publish, modify, distribute, create derivative works of, execute, and publicly display Participant Content (including all ideas, expressions, and other materials) in whole or in part, without prior review, payment, compensation, or additional consent by Participant, as part of the Contest (including but not limited to the administration of the Contest, for the evaluation of the Contest Submission, and in advertising and publicity related to the Contest) and in advertising and publicity related to Organizer’s business. In granting this license, Participant understands and agrees that Organizer is under no obligation to exercise any of its rights, licenses and privileges herein granted. Participants hereby agree to do such other things and execute such other documents as may be reasonably requested in order to allow the Organizer to make such use of and exercise such rights over, their Participant Content.
By submitting Participant Content, Participant acknowledges and agrees that Organizer and its designees (i) are continually and independently of the Contest and Participant’s Participant Content working on creating, developing, improving upon and expanding Organizer's product and service offerings, including supporting technology, networks, software, and systems, and may already be developing or may develop in the future products, services, technology, networks, software, and systems that are similar or identical to the Participant Content, and (ii) may receive content from other Participants that may be similar or identical to the Participant Content Participant submits. By entering this Contest, Participant hereby releases Organizer for use of Participant’s intellectual property rights related to the Participant Content, and hereby agrees not to sue Organizer, its employees, directors, affiliates, subsidiaries, parents, agents, successors and assigns for any actual or alleged infringement or misappropriation by any Organizer product, service, technology, network, software, or system of Participant’s intellectual property rights related to the Participant Content. Furthermore,
Participant hereby waives any and all claims Participant may have had, may currently have, and/or may have in the future related to Organizer's review, acceptance, and/or use of the Participant Content Submission, and agrees that Organizer is under no obligation to review, use, or in any way process Participant’s Participant Content, regardless of the status indicated on the Contest Website. Participant agrees that nothing in these Official Rules grants Participant a right or license to use any name, trademarks or service marks owned by Organizer or any of its affiliates. Participant grants to Organizer the right to include Participant’s entity name (if Participant Content is from an Eligible Entity) as a Participant on the Contest Website and in materials related to Organizer's promotion of the Contest and of Organizer. Other than these uses, Participant does not grant Organizer any rights to Participant's trademarks.
GENERAL CONDITIONS
Model Release. Participant grants permission to Organizer and its authorized representatives to use his/her/its name, address (city and state/province/territory/country), photograph, voice, and/or other likeness for advertising, trade and promotional purposes without further compensation, in all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide, and on the Internet and world wide web, in perpetuity, without notice, consideration, review or approval.
Organizer Decisions Binding. Participant agrees (a) to be bound by these Terms, and the decisions of Organizer, which shall be final and binding; and (b) waives any right to claim ambiguity in the Contest or these Terms, except where prohibited by law. Organizer reserves the right in its absolute discretion to disqualify a Participant if it believes that you have breached any of the Terms, any applicable law or have otherwise infringed the rights of any third party.
Travel for Participants. If any prize involves travel, all potential winners are responsible for obtaining all necessary travel documents, including valid passports, visas and travel insurance, and complying with all health or other government regulations.
Prizes As-Is. Participant acknowledges and agrees that Organizer has neither made, nor is in any manner responsible or liable for, any warranty, representation or guarantee, expressed or implied, in fact or in law, relative to any prize or the Contest. All warranties are hereby disclaimed; and each potential winner will accept the Prize "AS IS." All costs and expenses, including support services, not specifically listed above as part of the prize, are solely the winner’s responsibility.
Amendments. Organizer reserves the right to amend these Terms at any time and any such variations may be notified to Participants.
Termination. Subject to applicable law, Organizer reserves the right in its discretion, to (a) cancel, terminate, modify or suspend this Contest and these Terms, for any reason, at any time and without any liability, and (b) limit or restrict participation in the Contest, upon notice.
Force Majeure. Organizer shall not be liable to any Participant or other person for failure to supply any prize or any part thereof, by reason of the prize becoming, for reasons beyond the reasonable control of Organizer, unavailable or impracticable to award, or for any force majeure event, technical or equipment failure, terrorist acts, labor dispute, or act/omission of any kind (whether legal or illegal), transportation interruption, civil disturbance, or any other cause similar or dissimilar beyond Organizer’s control.
Governing Law. This Agreement is made under and is interpreted according to the laws of the State of Pennsylvania. The parties agree that the courts of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, shall have jurisdiction over any claim by either party under this Agreement.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND RELEASE
PARTICIPANT AGREES THAT ORGANIZER, ITS AFFILIATES, DIVISIONS, SUBSIDIARIES, RESELLERS, DEALERS, DISTRIBUTORS, BUSINESS PARTNERS, ADVERTISING/PROMOTION AGENCIES, AND ALL OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, REPRESENTATIVES AND AGENTS (“RELEASED PARTIES”) WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR, AND WILL BE RELEASED AND HELD HARMLESS BY PARTICIPANT FOR ANY CLAIMS, LIABILITIES, OR CAUSES OF ACTION OF ANY KIND OR NATURE FOR ANY INJURY, LOSS OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES TO PERSONS, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DISABILITY OR DEATH. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, EVERYTHING ON THE CONTEST SITE AND IN CONNECTION WITH THE CONTEST IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, IN WHICH CASE SUCH LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION SHALL APPLY ONLY TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY THE LAW IN THE RELEVANT JURISDICTION.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND WINNERS’ LIST
For a copy of these Terms or the names of winners, please visit the Contest Website. Winners’ list will be made available on the Contest Website approximately twenty (20) days after the Contest Period and will be available for a period of at least sixty (60) days.