Spotr AI announced as one of the 13 global winners of Zurich Innovation Championship

Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) has picked 13 startups to transform the world of insurance and find new ways to serve customers, in the latest edition of the Zurich Innovation Championship.

The selected startups are the 2023 winners of Zurich’s global startup programme that was first launched in 2018 and has since grown to become the largest open innovation contest for startups in the insurance industry. This year saw the launch of its fourth edition, with winning initiatives selected in five categories: commercial insurance, customer experience, digital enablement, distribution partnerships and sustainability.

The winner of the Ireland round Spotr Ai, was announced as one of the winners. Spotr.ai uses AI to offer insurers a property insights platform that allows for digital building inspections, improving automation and data capture and additional insurance requirements.

The winners will now enter a four-month 'accelerator' during which they will test the practical viability of their initiative and prepare a business plan together with the Zurich business units that selected them.

“Through collaborating with startups, we continue to source the bold and forward-thinking ideas that are needed to create a real impact for our customers,” said Ericson Chan, Group Chief Information & Digital Officer. “With this year’s winning initiatives, we continue to push the boundaries of today’s insurance.”

This year’s winners present solutions to a range of challenges where insurance can take a proactive role, from using biosensors to improve health outcomes to interactive content marketing for drivers, and digital tools to improve commercial performance and customer care.

The winners in each category are:

• Commercial Insurance: Citalid, Hence Technologies, KorrAI, Spotr.ai
• Customer Experience: EpiQMax, Fisify, Miss Moneypenny Technologies
• Digital Enablement: Omni:us, TruEra
• Distribution Partnerships: 4.screen, Minalea
• Sustainability: Agave Biosensors, Wysa

In addition to this year’s winners, Zurich has ongoing collaborations with 30 of the previous Zurich Innovation Championship winners and participants, with some of the initiatives already scaled across multiple countries.

“In recent years, the insurtech market has bloomed and we see many opportunities to leverage those new ideas and technologies and embed them in the way we work,” said Paolo Mantero, Group Chief Strategy Officer. “These initiatives tackle important areas where we believe embracing transformation is crucial for the future of insurance.”

The 13 startups will benefit from both financial and non-financial support, including coaching by Zurich executives as well as internal and external topic experts. Those who can successfully validate their initiatives will then work locally and globally with Zurich towards joint adoption.

In addition to working with the winning initiatives, Zurich will also explore ways to collaborate with other participants of this year’s Zurich Innovation Championship. From last year’s tournament, Zurich is currently working with six additional participants alongside nine of the global winners.