Startups are shaking up the insurance industry with digital business ideas. At the same time, established companies are trying to profit from the founders. The new Munich InsurTech Hub aims to accelerate innovation.
(Excerpt from an article in the IHK Magazine, author Sabine Hölper — read the full article online here)
Physician and entrepreneur Roman Rittweger has undertaken something extraordinary: The 53-year-old has founded a private health insurance company. This in itself is newsworthy, as it is the first new private health insurance company in over 17 years. Above all, however, ottonova is the first completely digital health insurance company. New customers register online, and every transaction is handled via an app. There are no longer any insurance brokers or branches.
Welcome to the world of InsurTech startups. These are young companies that offer insurance services digitally. Just as FinTechs are aiming to shake up the traditional banking world, InsurTechs are trying to shake up the venerable insurance industry. One of the hotspots of this young scene is Munich, where ottonova is also headquartered.
The InsurTech Hub aims to promote startups
Now the location is receiving another major boost: The InsurTech Hub Munich opened this summer. It is one of twelve digital hubs across Germany selected by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as breeding grounds for innovations and new business models. The InsurTech Hub is intended to promote startups, facilitate their access to venture capital and expertise, and increase Munich's attractiveness as a business location for founders. InsurTech startups and other experts from all over the world are expected to come to Munich – and this gathering, in turn, is intended to have an international impact.
“The aim of the hub is to build a global ecosystem for insurance innovations in Munich,”
says Tom van den Brulle, Chairman of the new association for the InsurTech Hub Munich and Global Head of Innovation at Munich Re. This includes modernizing and digitalizing the established insurance industry and strengthening it so that it can compete internationally. Van den Brulle (47) puts it quite clearly:
“We want to bring together creative companies that develop technological applications for the insurance industry.”
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If you want to know more — read the whole article in Read the IHK magazine online.
