Innovation is the new normal: Munich Re, Canada joins Cookhouse Lab

Toronto, February 2, 2017
“Cookhouse Lab gives insurers the creative place to think out of the box, invent and shape the future of insurance,” says Sven Roehl, EVP, Head of Innovation, msg global solutions and a Chef at Cookhouse.

Based on the concept of a test kitchen, the lab provides all the necessary facilities to drive innovation. Insurance and reinsurance experts, financial services professionals, entrepreneurs and academics are all welcome to collaborate and generate ideas for how to improve the industry.

“This is good news for the insurance industry and the Toronto Waterloo corridor”, says Philipp Wassenberg, CEO of Munich Re, Canada (Non-Life), “and we certainly want to be part of it.”

Munich Re Canada is one of the first six participants, who have a permanent space within Cookhouse Lab facilities. We own two work spaces -- a joint initiative of the Life and Non-Life Branch -- which includes access to all the facilities Cookhouse provides.

“We want to collaborate as much as possible, when it comes to Innovation,” Wassenberg added.

Founded by msg global solutions and Logiq3, Cookhouse Lab is designed to bring together a diverse team in a creative space with an iterative approach to idea generation. Open collaboration is encouraged but participants are also able to choose between a single partner or multiple partners at the ideation phase, and can develop prototypes internally or externally with the members of the lab.

Richard Letarte, SVP, Innovation of Munich Re, Canada (Life) is convinced that, “being part of this initiative strengthens our positioning as one of the most innovative reinsurance partners, and, as a result, is an important differentiator particularly, with regard to our client relationship.”

Cookhouse will also offers various events like design thinking workshops and hackathons which will be open to clients throughout the year, plus they will launch a crowdsourcing tool for insurance experts in the spring. Experts in life and non-life insurance from around the world will be able to comment, suggest, and vote on ideas in this virtual tool.

“We are very much looking forward to take advantage of this special site,” says Letarte.