The chairman of InsureTech Connect provided the opening remarks for the conference. He discussed how the conference brings together entrepreneurs, investors, and executives in the insurtech field from around the world. He then shared his personal experience with a house fire to emphasize how the industry impacts real people and discussed the need for change and innovation in the face of challenges from Silicon Valley startups. The chairman predicted several trends in insurtech through 2017, including an expansion of startups in the ecosystem, more corporate venture capital firms investing, current startups expanding internationally, innovations beyond peer-to-peer models of risk bearing, and growing momentum for parametric insurance.