Start-up fair: Virtual instead of live

Due to the current situation, all events are generally cancelled. But that doesn’t include the "Selection Day InsurTech Europe" of Plug and Play, which took place this week. Instead of in Munich, it was for the first time ever held virtually.

In the last two years, the event has been held in Munich in order to bring together start-ups (especially InsurTechs) and companies. Despite a governmental restraining order, the online meetings enabled over 50 participants from insurance companies and more than 30 start-ups to come together. In addition to Munich Re's innovation managers, colleagues from ERGO Digital Ventures were also present. And thanks to the virtual format, international ERGO colleagues from China, Spain and Greece attended for the first time.

How does a virtual "Selection Day" work?

"In advance, as always, we received an overview of the selected start-ups", says Simon Meier, Innovation Scout at ERGO. "In the morning, in a so-called reverse pitch, the insurers - including Munich Re and ERGO - showed the start-ups how they work together with start-ups. Afterwards, each of the start-ups had the opportunity to present their company and the solution in a 4-minute presentation. These sessions took place in virtual meeting room. Afterwards, participants could ask questions in chat rooms. The start-ups were widely spread: from providers focusing on property/casualty, life and health insurance, to founders dealing with general insurance solutions and services.

Why is ERGO participating in this event?

"In innovation scouting we are always looking for new potential partners for ERGO. At the Selection Day we have the opportunity to efficiently get to know many different start-ups worldwide in one day, and this time even directly from home", says Hanbing Ma, Head of Innovation Scouting at ERGO. "Our aim is to present the best start-ups to ERGO's various business units and companies in line with their needs and to initiate meaningful cooperations. We are supporting them from the pre-selection to the implementation/go-live of the cooperations in the specialist areas. 

Comments of (international) colleagues on the virtual event:

Antonios Tsaknakis, ERGO Greece:

"It was a very inspiring day! It is an enrichment for our companies to use this knowledge to drive digitalisation and innovation! I particularly enjoyed the mixing of start-ups from all lines of business. The time frame for each pitch was well organized and the audience could get a very clear picture of each pitch. The large number of different ideas and business models that were presented in just one day really impressed me.“

Maria Puig, D.A.S. Spain:

"I am thrilled with the format! At first I was skeptical, as online events are not that popular. But it was a really good experience without having to leave home. The pitches were long enough to arouse curiosity and short enough to focus on the important things. I personally found the block of general insurance pitches the most interesting, because there were a couple of solutions that could be really exciting and relevant for us insurers.

Ping Xiao, Jing Pan and Roy Zhang, ERGO Life China:

"We really liked the event, we felt fully involved. Perhaps the current situation will give us the opportunity to participate more often in global events in order to exchange information more easily. The start-ups have given us a lot of inspiration: It was not always directly related to what we were working on, but we were shown some possible solutions that could be applied to our projects.

Simon Engels, ERGO Direct:

"It was very interesting to get a widespread overview of the current focus of start-ups dealing with insurance. From new AI applications, wearables and IoT gadgets to insurance for digital assets and cyber security underwriting, the whole range of topics was covered. The event was not only a great substitute for a personal event, but also expanded the group of participants, as they could take part without having to travel. The only thing I missed was the personal exchange between meetings, but it was great to meet ERGO colleagues from all over the world, even from China, Spain and Greece.