Munich Re partners with Plug and Play China’s InsurTech program to promote innovation in startups

Munich Re has entered into a strategic partnership as a Founding Anchor Partner of Plug and Play China’s Insurtech program, created to source, partner, pilot, and collaborate with emerging Insurtech startups. Plug and Play is a global startup accelerator and corporate innovation platform headquartered in Silicon Valley designed to promote innovation within leading industries like insurance.

Through tailored deal flows, themed workshops and face-to-face interaction, Plug and Play Insurtech enables corporations to engage with startups that may complement their respective suite of offerings or create new potential revenue streams. Startups accepted into the program receive funding from Plug and Play Ventures, weekly mentor sessions with industry thought leaders and opportunities for potential pilot projects, all culminating at the Plug and Play quarterly demo day, EXPO. Dedicated startups will also have access to the resources of the Founding Anchor Partner, Munich Re.

Tobias Farny, Chief Executive, Asia Pacific, Greater China, Australia, New Zealand, Munich Re, commented, “We have successfully collaborated with Plug and Play through our innovation lab in Silicon Valley and this new agreement extends our efforts to cultivate innovation in the insurance industry in China. It comes at an exciting time when China has truly established itself as a technology leader in a number of areas such as e-payments, artificial intelligence, robotics and machine learning, all of which are having a significant impact on the future of the insurance industry.”

“This is the latest milestone in efforts to lead innovation and development across our business in China. In 2015, we set up Munich Re’s first Innovation Lab in Beijing, followed by the establishment of Si Tao Limited, our dedicated insurance solutions development hub,” explains Christoph Hoch, Chief Executive, Greater China, Munich Re. “Through this new collaboration with Plug and Play, I am confident that we will be able to combine the best of our collective capabilities, expertise and local talent to play an important role in accelerating the development of tech-driven insurance solutions for clients here in China.”

“We are honored to have Munich Re partner with us in China,” says Peter Xu, Managing Director of Plug and Play China. “We believe this expansion of our partnership will amplify the innovation development of Munich Re in China and the rest of the global market. I have full confidence and affirmation of the innovative solutions that Chinese startups bring to the global insurance industry.”

“We’d like to help our corporate partners plug into the thriving China insurtech ecosystem as we’ve seen impressive growth in high impact technologies like AI or E-commerce coming out from China. We have already uncovered some fascinating entrepreneurs whose technology seems to surpass some of the leading edge solutions we are exploring in other well-known tech markets,” says Ali Safavi, Founder and Global Head of Plug and Play Insurtech. “I urge all of our partners to explore the China market with us and see the technology fueling the world’s second largest economy. Together with Munich Re, we envision bringing the insurance industry in China to a new height.”

Plug and Play recently announced its first batch of 16 insurtech startups in China. After expanding to China in 2015, Plug and Play has been running eight other industry focused innovation platforms, with the latest addition of Insurtech coming up in October 2018. Innovation centric activities run year round for the corporate partners and each industry focused platform runs a 12-week program designed for early and growth-stage startups. After screening over 500 startups, 16 of them have been specifically chosen for the program.

About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services, and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 20 locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 6,000 startups and 280 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries. We provide active investments with 200 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and host more than 700 networking events per year. Companies in our community have raised over $7 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, and PayPal. For more information, visit www.plugandplaytechcenter.com

About Munich Re
Munich Re is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, primary insurance and insurance-related risk solutions. The group consists of the reinsurance and ERGO business segments, as well as the capital investment company MEAG. Munich Re is globally active and operates in all lines of the insurance business. Since it was founded in 1880, Munich Re has been known for its unrivalled risk-related expertise and its sound financial position. It offers customers financial protection when faced with exceptional levels of damage – from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. Munich Re possesses outstanding innovative strength, which enables it to also provide coverage for extraordinary risks such as rocket launches, renewable energies, cyberattacks, or pandemics. The company is playing a key role in driving forward the digital transformation of the insurance industry, and in doing so has further expanded its ability to assess risks and the range of services that it offers. Its tailor-made solutions and close proximity to its customers make Munich Re one of the world’s most sought-after risk partners for businesses, institutions, and private individuals.

Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on current assumptions and forecasts of the management of Munich Re. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the forward-looking statements given here and the actual development, in particular the results, financial situation and performance of our Company. The Company assumes no liability to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.