The world’s largest conference for InsurTech start-ups in Munich opens; establishment of an InsurTech accelerator by Plug and Play in Munich

MUNICH   The InsurTech digital hub opened this year is developing into a strong driving force behind the digital start-up scene in the insurance sector in Bavaria. As a result of the hub’s financial commitment, the world’s largest conference for digital start-ups in the InsurTech sector, Digital Insurance Agenda (DIA), is taking place in Munich for the first time with more than 1,000 participants.
 
Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Ilse Aigner, who is attending the two-day event today, also sees Bavaria, the centre for innovation, and Munich as being strengthened on the whole as a result: “We have sustainably enriched the start-up scene in the insurance sector with the InsurTech digital hub in Munich. The efforts are already bearing fruit now: the hosting of this year’s “Digital Insurance Agenda” start-up conference and establishment of an InsurTech vertical by Plug and Play show that the hub is being perceived as a driving force way beyond Bavaria’s borders. This is reviving the insurance industry in Bavaria and strengthening the state’s global reputation as an excellent, innovative and creative digital location.”
 
Another success for the start-up location of Munich could be announced during the DIA yesterday with the establishment of the “InsurTech” vertical by the world’s largest accelerator, Plug and Play from Silicon Valley. Young companies and founders in the insurance sector are to grow in a creative environment and permanently establish their business model on the market in the accelerator. The vertical’s partners are several Bavarian insurance companies and the InsurTech digital hub. Invest in Bavaria, the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs’ business development agency, provided intensive support during the establishment process. Invest in Bavaria was also involved in the opening of the first “Retail” vertical from Plug and Play together with Media Saturn in September this year. Talks are currently also being held with various health sector companies for a third “Healthcare” vertical in Munich too.
 
The start-up scene in the InsurTech sector is being actively supported from Bavaria. Bavarian insurance companies, for example, finance their own InsurTech accelerator at WERK1. Five start-ups were selected for a second round of interviews from an international field of applicants. This ends tomorrow on the second day of the DIA with the final start-up pitches in front of a high-ranking international field of investors.