Women shattering barriers in the insuretech space

Women are confidently taking control of their lives and pursuing careers that they wouldn’t ordinarily follow because of fear of being perceived as pushy and aggressive. Women are now recognising their strength and are taking action to shatter barriers to success. Even in the face of tremendous adversity, women across the country are reaching incredible milestones.

To encourage women to be unapologetic about their success and to take up space, Momentum launched a campaign last year called “She Owns Her Success” which aims to inspire women to continue to make their voices heard and share their success stories to empower other women at the start of their individual journeys to success.

Carol Atkinson is one of those women who has taken it upon herself to change and evolve as the world of technology demands.

Carol Atkinson, the Managing Partner of Momentum Metropolitan Holdings’ disruptive innovations business unit ‘Exponential’, believes in the power of technology – particularly to help drive positive change, and create and protect people’s safety. She recognises that safety and security are at the epicentre of our lives, especially in South Africa and specifically for women, and takes multiple forms from financial security to physical safety and cyber security.

This is why she has spent the past 25 years developing solutions that bring new technologies and different safety aspects together to help us all feel that someone has got our back so we can focus on other important aspects of our lives. “My passion for digital transformation, development of start-ups and the endless opportunities to combine these technologies into something innovative has really driven me into a deeper understanding of tech as an enabler to move forward to greater heights,” says Carol.

Exploring cutting edge technology and disruptive innovations in areas such as insuretech has led to the introduction of tools such as Momentum Short-term Insurance’s Safety Alert, a panic feature that allows you to call for help when your own personal safety, or someone else’s safety is threatened thus, ultimately bringing peace of mind to our clients. The Safety Alert feature is available via the Momentum App to all existing Momentum Car and Home Insurance policyholders, as well as any new clients who take cover with us, at no additional cost.

“For me, the intersection of all these technology and safety aspects has both created opportunities and contributed to my personal success,” she says. Using technology as an enabler has helped her own her success, and hone her resilience to learn from her mistakes so she can forge ahead with her vision to make life better and safer.

She urges other women on their own journey to success to use their passion and diversity of thinking to achieve their dreams and make the world a better place. “You have so much to offer the world, take a leap of faith, learn as you go and trust in yourself. Follow your heart to success.”