The university takes over shares in a spin-in company that wants to transform the insurance sector

The University of Liverpool became a founding shareholder of the spin-in company, which was set up to develop technology for use in the insurance and financial sectors.

Spin-ins offer companies a new approach to working with universities to develop commercial opportunities in exchange for equity shares.

Established in December 2022 and based in Dorset and led by insurance industry experts, Intellegri will relocate to the University of Liverpool to commercialize software developed by Professor Simon Maskell from the School of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering.

Intellegri will have exclusive rights to further develop the university’s software for use in the insurance and finance sectors.

Developed by Professor Maskell and Dr Alex Phillips, experts in Bayesian modeling and inference, the software is based on a statistical model that enables accurate, continuous and real-time capital risk assessment for insurance companies.

Intellegri is integrating the software with a cloud-based platform to develop a new product for insurance companies, capital providers and their clients to better model their capital adequacy requirements and improve their approach to Solvency II regulation.

Professor Maskell said: “I am thrilled to be part of this new university spin-in company to continue my work.

“The statistical model used to create this software was developed as part of my EPSRC-supported Big Hypotheses (BH) research project and funding from the Impact Accelerator Award.

“The goal of the BH project is to develop breakthrough algorithmic solutions that can be applied in real-world settings, across multiple sectors in both industry and government, and this new software is an example of that. I look forward to working with Intellegri to develop this model into a new product.”

Andre Finn, founder and chief strategy officer of Intellegri, said: “Big Hypotheses took over 10 years to develop and was funded with £14 million. It’s proven; is capable of calculating millions of scenarios in near real time and has the potential to revolutionize capital reserving and reporting for insurers.

“We are thrilled to welcome Professor Maskell, Dr Phillips and the University of Liverpool to the Intellegri team as we bring the Big Hypotheses model to market.”

Emma Nolan, director of enterprise at the University of Liverpool, will take up a seat on the Intellegri board as a university-nominated director. She said: “This is a great model for universities – working with experienced management teams and their investors can significantly accelerate the time to market for university technologies.”

The government used Professor Maskell’s expertise in Bayesian modeling to estimate the UK’s R number during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is currently providing its statistical data to help locate missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

The creation of this spin-in was supported by the University of Liverpool’s enterprise team. The university’s portfolio is growing, and 24 spin-out companies have been established over the last five years.