Why E-sports Could Be Insurance’s Next Big Opportunity

Opportunities for insurance in the e-sports space has grown to a point where it can’t be ignored, says an industry observer.

Video gaming is at an all-time high during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to information collected by data and measurement firm Neilsen.

Eighty-two percent of global consumers played video games and watched video game content during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, it reported.

But the growth of e-sports has been on an upward trajectory for years — it is now a billion-dollar industry. It’s too big for insurers to overlook, and yet it’s not that unfamiliar once you start exploring it, explained Jade Giltrap, media team leader at CFC Underwriting.

“There are so many similarities to lots of industries and lots of businesses we already insure,” she told Canadian Underwriter. “It actually aligns really well with the sports industry in general. So, when looking at things that are new and emerging, [e-sports] is for sure growing. When you pull it back into tangible areas people already understand, there are so many different things they can align it with.”