Softbank seeks reinsurance tie-ups after Swiss Re deal dropped

Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group continues to hunt for ways to accelerate the digital upheaval in the insurance industry, including tie-ups with unspecified reinsurance players, said David Thevenon, dealmaker of the company’s Vision Fund, according to a Reuters Oct. 16 report.

In May, 2018 Swiss Re and SoftBank agreed to end discussions about a potential minority investment of SoftBank in Swiss Re. Softbank had sought to take a stake worth as much as $10 billion in the reinsurer.

“We have talked to big insurance groups to figure out where we can play, what might be interesting,” Thevenon reportedly said. “There are several similar combinations and permutations about a bet we could place,” he noted.

Softbank has been in discussions with big insurers about partnerships or other tie-ups that could see them supply underwriting and regulatory know-how to the new-model insurance companies in its portfolio.

Softbank’s Vision Fund plans to pump more money into insurance, a sector it sees as both ripe for disruption and a potential booster for its bigger bets in cars, health and financial services, Reuters noted.

In the past year, Softbank’s has backed China’s largest online insurer ZhongAn as well as PolicyBazaar, India’s online insurance distributor, and app-based US home insurer Lemonade.

“We believe that technology and how data is used, processed and collected is going to transform insurance,” Thevenon reportedly said.

Softbank believes a new breed of “insurtech” companies can work with other firms within its portfolio such as local transport operater Uber and office sharing firm WeWork to roll out new products and services to their client base.

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