Zurich Innovation Championship 2020
Do you have what it takes? Sign up now.
Zurich is launching its second Innovation Championship. Are you a startup or entrepreneur with bold thinking and groundbreaking ideas that can help us protect the next generation? This is your chance to join our second instalment of our global startup tournament, this year with the theme “Protecting the Next Generation”.
As a leading global insurer we are looking for outside inspiration on how to tackle challenges around climate, health, automation and other issues that are expected to put a strain on the next generation. Together with you, we want to make a lasting impact in a changing world and build a more sustainable tomorrow for our customers globally.
You have a fresh new solution that might not entirely fit this year’s challenge? We also offer a “Wildcard” category.
How the Zurich Innovation Championship works: there will be three stages of the Zurich Innovation Championship, narrowing finalists from Country, Regional and Global rounds. By August 2020 we will have three winners.
Sign up before 24 October for the opportunity to receive free early-bird coaching from our experts to improve your chances of making it to the next round and eventually work with Zurich on a local pilot, with the goal to scale it globally. Applications close on 17 December 2019.
What are the prizes?
The three winners of the Global round will partner with Zurich to bring their pilot plans to life in their chosen market or markets. The prize package comprises:
Resources to implement pilot program
Exposure through press release and/or media channels
Recognition from Zurich Group Leadership Team
Focus on sustainability
Find more information on how we approach sustainability here:
Timeline
Launch Date
The Zurich Innovation Championship is open for submissions
Submission deadline
All applicants will have to submit their applications to be eligible.
Local evaluation
Shortlisted startups will be evaluated by the countries they applied to. Startups are expected to travel to present to the juries.
Pilot
The winning startups will start a pilot with their selected countries.
Our 2019 winners
Chisel AI developed a natural language and AI processing solution that allows global insurance brokers and carriers to complete administrative and process-focused tasks up to 400-times faster than a human and with much greater accuracy.
Zesty.ai harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to help global property/casualty insurers better assess risk by using machine learning to model catastrophic and attritional property losses with unprecedented accuracy.
Soldier.ly, a pioneering company founded by an Australian veteran, has developed the world’s first smartwatch stress detection app that provides users with real-time assistance and interventions.
LifeNome’s XHealth platform combines precision health and wellness with precision underwriting to create a powerful combination of healthier customers and significant costs savings for life insurance companies.
Partners
Zurich has established collaborations with the following organizations for the Zurich Innovation Championship:
Contact us
If you would like to know more about the Zurich Innovation Championship, or have any questions for our team, please contact us at:
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can enter?
Startups with an existing and differentiated product or service that can help us create a social impact. Our main category for this year’s instalment is resilience and sustainability. If your startup offers innovative solutions in other areas and you think your solution can help us create a difference otherwise, we also welcome you to enter using the ‘wildcard’ category.
When can I apply?
Now – literally! We recommend you sign up straightaway to have the opportunity to receive a free coaching session by Zurich to help you with your application. This is for earlybirds only and available for all applications we receive before 25 October, 00:01am CET. Please visit the applications tab on our dedicated webpage to sign up or click on this link.
How do I apply?
Applying couldn’t be easier. All we need is your team name, a brief introduction to your products or services and an upload of an existing business plan, proposal or any other content that can help us understand your business. Sign up here.
How many rounds are there?
There are three rounds: country, regional and global. The overall winners of the country-level competitions will be selected in January 2020 and will go on to our regional rounds in Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America and Europe and Middle East. The overall winners of the regional round, to be selected in June 2020, will then take part in a final, global round, taking place in August 2020.
What will I need to do in each round?
You will to present your product or service that we could pilot in one of our participating countries. In the country round we want you to demonstrate how relevant your product or service is to the local market, and how you differentiate from competitors. In the regional round we would like you to further demonstrate business impact to the region and the value to customers. In the group round, we will be looking for evidence that the idea could scale globally and sustainably.
Please download the complete FAQs attachment below...
