Aon's Accelerate Programme Qorus-NTT DATA Innovation in Insurance Awards 2026

Aon’s Accelerate programme, launched on 6 August 2025, and is a dedicated advisory and insurance solution programme designed specifically to support growing UK businesses, in particular tech start-ups and scale-ups. It was created to address a structural gap in the insurance and broking market.

Essentially, the insurance world is geared toward businesses of a certain size. Early-stage tech companies, even with £10–30 million backing, might only generate a few hundred or a few thousand pounds in insurance income. Consequently, they find themselves pushed into “e-trade” insurance - automated, push-button cover with minimal advisory input, despite operating in complex, rapidly evolving risk environments.

The problem is that these businesses are scaling fast. They’re raising investment, launching in new geographies, filing patents. Their risk profile changes dramatically within a year, but their insurance programme often fails to keep pace, and they are rarely getting the advice they need.

The Accelerate programme changes that. Instead of asking, “Why work with a £1,000 income client?”, it asks, “What could this business become?” Today’s £1,000 client could be £50,000 or £200,000 next year. More importantly, it can support their growth from day one using Aon’s global infrastructure and relationships.

The Accelerate programmes innovation lies in redefining the broker–client relationship from passive insurance placement to proactive, embedded advisory partnership, leveraging the structured use of Aon’s broader capabilities.

Rather than engaging only at annual renewal, the Accelerate programme assigns dedicated advisers who maintain regular contact throughout the year, monitoring changes in funding, geography, product development, intellectual property (IP) portfolios, hiring and commercial contracts. It connects clients with IP specialists, mergers and acquisitions experts, employee benefits advisers, HR support services and global offices.

This extends the proposition beyond commercial insurance into a broader growth solution. For instance, clients expanding internationally can quickly access local regulatory and insurance expertise through Aon’s global network.

The programme integrates risk management directly into growth strategy. For example, when companies pursue private equity investment or expansion into new territories, the Accelerate programme ensures their insurance and risk posture reflects those changes.

The programme fosters early-stage loyalty and long-term strategic alignment. By supporting smaller firms that may currently generate modest fees, the Accelerate programme positions Aon as a long-term growth partner. This mirrors incubator models used in banking, legal and accounting sectors, but is relatively novel within large-scale broking.

At its core, the Accelerate programme recognises that many tech businesses derive most of their value from intangible assets - patents, source code, trademarks, algorithms, data and proprietary designs. These assets often represent the “commercial engine” of the business, yet traditional SME insurance models fail to treat them as strategically critical.

The Accelerate programme works as both a client value proposition and a strategic growth initiative. It removes barriers as businesses scale, builds durable relationships at early stages, strengthens governance standards within the UK tech ecosystem, and converts risk management into a tangible commercial advantage.