Zurich North America gears up for Innovation Championship and the opportunity to collaborate with startups on ideas that can shape the future of insurance

- Startups can apply to collaborate with global insurer Zurich on challenges faced by customers, society and the planet.

- Selected initiatives to gain project funding of up to $100,000 to help startups prove themselves and prepare operational growth plans.

- Zurich Innovation Championship established as one of the world's largest insurance startup competitions as it enters third edition.

News provided by

Zurich North America

Nov 02, 2021, 13:07 ET

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Zurich North America, with its parent organization Zurich Insurance Group, is inviting startups from around the world to enter the third edition of the Zurich Innovation Championship for a chance to grow and collaborate on solutions to some of the insurance industry's biggest challenges.

Zurich made the announcement earlier today at the WebSummit 2021 in Lisbon, Portugal. Registration via www.zurich.com/zic is open through Dec. 23, 2021. Zurich will select up to 12 promising applicants in early 2022 for an intensive three-month Innovation Championship Accelerator phase.

"The Zurich Innovation Championship allows us to connect with transformative innovations that can address the evolving needs of our customers, brokers, employees and the planet," said Neeren Chauhan, Head of Strategy, Innovation & Business Development for Zurich North America. "The competition offers the best and brightest startups and entrepreneurs the opportunity to shine on the world stage and collaborate with a global company whose work is deepening and extending the insurance value chain."

Startup applicants and their initiatives must address business challenges that fall within one of four categories:

Prevention and Mitigation: Solutions that will improve the customer experience and help better understand, prevent and manage risks.
Simplicity: Simple solutions that improve the insurance value chain from risk assessment to elements of insurance distribution.
Sustainability: Dedicated to sustainable solutions for our customers, communities, brokers and employees, as well as solutions to help build confidence in today's society.
Insurance Reimagined: All other initiatives designed to create differentiating propositions related to Zurich's purpose to "build a brighter future together."

Accelerator phase with financial support

As one of the largest open innovation contests with startups in the insurance sector, Zurich Innovation Championship offers young entrepreneurs substantial benefits in terms of funding, promotion and implementation. A unique financial support of up to $100,000 will be provided for each of the 12 startups in a three-month accelerator phase, together with support from Zurich professionals. These will allow the startups to prove themselves and prepare an operational plan to grow the joint business proposition.

The accelerator phase is a new addition to the Zurich Innovation Championship and will take place from April through June 2022 followed by an implementation phase that will run through September 2022.

In the 2019/2020 edition, three winners were selected. Gold went to ClaimFlo, a processing platform for property and casualty claims developed by New York-based fintech Safekeep. Two startups claimed Silver: Pops Diabetes Care, which offers a new way to test blood sugar levels, and Jupiter Intelligence, whose modeling tool factors in ongoing climate change. They emerged from a field that began in 2019 with more than 1,350 entrants.

There are currently more than 12 innovation projects underway with entrants from the first two editions of Zurich Innovation Championship, demonstrating Zurich's commitment to collaboration.

Further information

For applications, additional background and regular updates: www.zurich.com/zic

About Zurich

Zurich North America is one of the largest providers of insurance solutions and services to businesses and individuals. Zurich 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. Read more at zurichna.com/services/about-zurich.

SOURCE Zurich North America