Zurich Innovation Championship announces 13 winners
- Zurich’s global startup program attracted a record 3,500 submissions
- The chosen startups now enter a four-month accelerator phase to develop their solutions and prepare for market launch later this year
Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) has picked 13 startups to transform the world of insurance and find new ways to serve customers, in the latest edition of the Zurich Innovation Championship.
The selected startups are the 2023 winners of Zurich’s global startup program that was first launched in 2018 and has since grown to become the largest open innovation contest for startups in the insurance industry. This year saw the launch of its fourth edition, with winning initiatives selected in five categories: commercial insurance, customer experience, digital enablement, distribution partnerships and sustainability.
“Through collaborating with startups, we continue to source the bold and forward-thinking ideas that are needed to create a real impact for our customers,” said Ericson Chan, Group Chief Information & Digital Officer. “With this year’s winning initiatives, we continue to push the boundaries of today’s insurance.”
This year’s winners present solutions to a range of challenges where insurance can take a proactive role, from using biosensors to improve health outcomes to interactive content marketing for drivers, and digital tools to improve commercial performance and customer care.
The winners in each category are:
In addition to this year’s winners, Zurich has ongoing collaborations with 30 of the previous Zurich Innovation Championship winners and participants, with some of the initiatives already scaled across multiple countries.
“In recent years, the insurtech market has bloomed and we see many opportunities to leverage those new ideas and technologies and embed them in the way we work,” said Paolo Mantero, Group Chief Strategy Officer. “These initiatives tackle important areas where we believe embracing transformation is crucial for the future of insurance.”
From validating their initiatives to kicking off pilots
The winners enter a four-month accelerator during which they will test the practical viability of their initiatives and prepare a business plan together with the Zurich business units that selected them. The 13 startups will benefit from both financial and non-financial support, including coaching by Zurich executives as well as internal and external topic experts. Those who can successfully validate their initiatives will then work locally and globally with Zurich towards joint adoption.
In addition to working with the winning initiatives, Zurich will also explore ways to collaborate with other participants of this year’s Zurich Innovation Championship. From last year’s tournament, Zurich is currently working with six additional participants alongside nine of the global winners.
More information
Find out more about the Zurich Innovation Championship and its 2023 winners on https://www.zurich.com/zic.
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Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer serving people and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. Founded 150 years ago, Zurich is transforming insurance. In addition to providing insurance protection, Zurich is increasingly offering prevention services such as those that promote wellbeing and enhance climate resilience.
Reflecting its purpose to ‘create a brighter future together,’ Zurich aspires to be one of the most responsible and impactful businesses in the world. It is targeting net-zero emissions by 2050 and has the highest-possible ESG rating from MSCI. In 2020, Zurich launched the Zurich Forest project to support reforestation and biodiversity restoration in Brazil.
The Group has about 60,000 employees and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information is available at www.zurich.com.