The first participants in Des Moines’ new Global Insurance Accelerator are truly global, with startup technology companies coming from Brazil and Germany as well three Midwestern companies and a Silicon Valley startup in the inaugural class.  

The Global Insurance Accelerator on Tuesday announced the first six technology startups that have been selected to receive funding and participate in the 100-day accelerator program.

They are:

• Tyche – San Jose, Calif. Tyche is using legal, financial and insurance data to build predictive models of legal risk. It plans to help stakeholders in lawsuits understand, manage and value their litigation portfolios.

•  CityMile – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CityMile’s mobile technology solutions bridge the gap between humans, their vehicles and their insurers, saving drivers money and improving safety.

• Drive Spotter – Omaha. The “Rumble Road” team uses wearable devices, image processing and other patent pending technologies to reduce driver distraction and other risks of interest to the insurance industry.

• Pablow – Berlin, Germany. Pablow is a next-generation global insurance platform that connects targeted travel insurance to small travel retailers.

• LifeDB – Des Moines. LifeDB bridges the gap between a life insurance policy and the intended beneficiary. Its software makes it easier and faster to facilitate the payment of a life insurance claim.

•  ClinicNote – Ames. ClinicNote is a software platform designed to simplify the relationship between private-practice therapists and insurance companies by eliminating inefficiencies by automatically aggregating therapy session notes to generate required insurance reports and reimbursement claims.

“This initiative is about bringing innovation to the insurance industry,” said Jeff Russell, CEO of Delta Dental of Iowa, which is one of seven Central Iowa insurance organizations backing the program.

“Reflecting back on early conversations, I’m so excited to see this effort coming to life,” Russell said. “Multiple insurance companies are working together on this, which is a first among accelerators across the country. As intended, it is a global effort.”

An initiative of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, the Global Insurance Accelerator was launched last year with the backing of seven Central Iowa-based insurance organizations: American Equity Investment Life Insurance Co., Delta Dental of Iowa, Farm Bureau Financial Services, Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa, Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co., The IMT Group and Principal Financial Group Inc.

Participants in the accelerator will receive seed funding, mentoring and introductions to executives in a program that will culminate in presentations during the Global Insurance Symposium in May.