Two North America insurtechs named to Zurich Innovation Championship global finals

Finalists bring promising climate resilience and claims efficiency solutions to the forefront.

Innovation Championship fosters new and innovative ideas to better serve customers.

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Jul 07, 2020, 08:41 ET

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., July 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Zurich North America Insurance has selected insurtech companies, Jupiter Intelligence and ClaimFlo powered by Safekeep, Inc. to represent North America in the Zurich Innovation Championship. The global competition – now in its second year – is designed to create collaborations between Zurich and insurtechs and bring new ideas and energy to the forefront. The competition offers the best and brightest startups and entrepreneurs the opportunity to work with Zurich to find innovative solutions that can enhance the way they serve customers' needs.

"Connecting and building relationships with insurtechs is a huge part of our innovation strategy," said Chief Operating Officer Anurag Batta. "Safekeep and Jupiter were selected because of the potential value they bring both to our North American customers and to Zurich's global efforts around sustainability and efficiency."

Jupiter Intelligence provides catastrophic risk modeling that factors in ongoing climate change. They deliver risk-focused and actionable climate-related insights, which have the potential to enhance efforts to create climate change resilience for Zurich customers.

"As an early stage company, it's very valuable to work with customers who are shaping the future of their industries," said Rich Sorkin, CEO of Jupiter. "We're especially excited to be working with Zurich, who is a global leader, increasingly in climate analytics, which we know is important to the company for many reasons."

Safekeep is a New York City-based fintech and its ClaimFlo solution is a rules-driven, straight-through processing platform for property and casualty claims. Applying machine learning to complex regulatory and special handling rules, the solution has the potential for increasing efficiency and cost effectiveness in identifying and processing claims for investigations and recovery.

"I am excited to be working with Zurich because we are solving for a very real problem that would have a direct and measurable impact on loss ratios and the bottom line," said Jeff To, CEO of Safekeep. "I am humbled and grateful for this opportunity."

"Safekeep and Jupiter provide the wow factors we were looking for - to represent Zurich North America in the global competition and ultimately to augment our innovation capabilities in bringing new products and services to our customers," said Head of Innovation Sumeet Bhatia. "Jupiter provides us the opportunity to enhance climate change resilience for customers and communities. Safekeep's ClaimFlo solution offers the potential for increasing efficiency and effectiveness in identifying and processing subrogation claims."

In announcing last September that they would hold the second Innovation Championship, Zurich called for "bold ideas" focusing on sustainability and "protecting the next generation."

Jupiter and Safekeep's ClaimFlo are two of eight regional finalists from around the world representing North America; Latin America; Asia Pacific; and Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA). All eight now will move forward to compete in the global finals, which will take place virtually this year in October. The Zurich North America Innovation team will work with the two North America finalists over the next three months in preparation for the global finals where Gold, Silver and Bronze winners will be chosen.

The North America Innovation team received 240 submissions from companies in 43 countries from all parts of the world. In February 2020, they invited 16 insurtech companies to the Innovation Lab at its North American headquarters in Schaumburg, Ill. to present to 30 senior leaders about how jointly working with them on new concepts would help further drive innovative solutions at Zurich. This ultimately led to today's selection of Jupiter and ClaimFlo powered by Safekeep.

The first Zurich Innovation Championship took place in 2018 and concluded in January 2019. Learn about the eight regional winners from around the world here at the Zurich Innovation Championship landing page.

About Zurich North America

Zurich North America is one of the largest providers of insurance solutions and services to businesses and individuals. Our customers represent industries ranging from agriculture to technology. Zurich North America is part of Zurich Insurance Group, a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets.

Zurich North America is part of Zurich Insurance Group, a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With approximately 55,000 employees, Zurich provides a wide range of property and casualty, and life insurance products and services in more than 215 countries and territories. Zurich's customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, as well as multinational corporations. The Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, 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 on www.Zurich.com.

SOURCE Zurich North America