The Zurich Innovation Championship returns for its fifth edition

The Zurich Innovation Championship, organized by Zurich Insurance Group, returns for its fifth edition.

The Zurich Innovation Championship is described as the largest open innovation competition for startups in the industry, and has attracted more than 8,000 entries since its launch in 2018. More than 50 startup collaboration projects are currently underway as a result of the global programme.

“Building on the success of the first four editions, which have led to more than 50 ongoing collaborations, our program continues to evolve and increase its impact,” Paolo Mantero, the group’s chief strategy officer, said in a statement. “This makes me even more excited for this year’s edition and the initiatives we will see as a result.”

The 2024 categories are Commercial Insurance, Digital Simplify, Life & Health, Retail Property and Casualty. A total of 10 winners will be selected.

Startups and startups of all stages of maturity can apply until February 14, with winners of the global round announced in May and the Innovation Demo Day in September.

“Each of the startups selected for the acceleration phase will undergo a 12-week program to mature the initiative by verifying the desirability, feasibility and feasibility of the hypothesis developed for the global finals,” Zurich noted.

“This will happen in close cooperation with the Zurich business unit that has selected the startup. Unlike a traditional accelerator, this phase will also focus on accelerating the adoption of this technology within the Zurich business around the world.”

Ericsson Chan, Zurich’s CIO and group digital officer, believes they are “redefining insurance at the dawn of hyper-innovation” by joining forces with leading innovators and startups.