Zurich chooses a dozen startups to help shape future of insurance

Zurich Insurance Group has picked 12 startup companies to collaboratively create, test and execute innovative solutions that have the potential to “challenge the boundaries of insurance” and help shape the future of the industry.

The companies were selected from approximately 2,600 applications across four categories – insurance reimagined, prevention and mitigation, simplicity, and sustainability – for  Zurich’s global startup tournament, which is now in its third edition.

The 12 chosen startups will be exploring solutions including technology to detect and prevent cyberbullying; smartphone access to video-based health and wellness monitoring; tools to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of companies and individuals; and settling insurance claims automatically using AI and blockchain.

They will be working with  Zurich on an operational plan in a three-month accelerator phase, where they will benefit from both financial and non-financial support such as mentoring by  Zurich executives and experts and access to business use cases, after which an implementation phase will bring the successful ideas to life and scale them globally.

“The breadth of ideas that we received from startups around the world was incredible and gives us a glimpse of what tomorrow’s insurance will look like,” said Ericson Chan (pictured), group chief information & digital officer. “Our winners have well thought-through and innovative solutions, and we look forward to developing these together to provide new solutions to our customers and simplify the way we interact with them.”

Stuart Domingos, head of group innovation, added: “This is when it gets really exciting as we collaborate to test, grow and execute, allowing for a joint adoption of the most promising use cases.”

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