InsurTech Hub Munich champions the role of community
By: Felix Kugelmann
Tags: Insurtech, Insurance, Innovation, Digital Transformation

Insurtech Hub Munich Community Network Meeting

InsurTech Hub Munich champions the role of community

InsurTech Hub Munich (ITHM) is a non-profit organization set up in 2016 by a number of international players and regional champions to increase innovation in the insurance industry. It was appointed as one of twelve de:hubs by the Federal Government of Germany and is funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy. ITHM’s home base is in the Werksviertel district of Munich, the center of the European insurance industry. Felix Kugelmann Dec 16, 2020·3 min read

ITHM’s mission is to foster innovation and create value for its partners

Since its early days, ITHM has created an ‘ecosystem’ of organizations in the insurance industry and beyond, including startups, scaleups, investors, research organizations and universities as well as government bodies. It is building meaningful connections between startups and existing businesses in the insurance sector, making the sector more ‘future-proof’’ through innovation. An important part of the hub’s work is to foster knowledge exchange, both between its cross-industry partners and field experts and startups.

ITHM’s focus is partnership and collaboration

Instead of only running typical accelerators programmes and pitch competitions, the focal point of ITHM’s work is on the ‘partner discovery journey’. Corporate partners are encouraged to identify problems and issues that they need to solve. The ITHM team then applies its proven ‘concierge service approach’: It selects startups to tackle the chosen topics, facilitates the networking between corporates, Investors and mentors and founders and convoys business development and product/market fit.

Start-ups must be prepared to help create a community

This focus on partnership and collaboration means that ITHM is actively looking for founders that are coachable and patient enough to invest in a prospective long-term business relationship. “’Alumnus status for life” means that participants of ITHM’s Innovation Programmes can profit from connections and services in the network for an unlimited time, but they are also encouraged to give back to the community by sharing their experiences.

ITHM’s Innovation Programme is much broader in scope than previous incubator programmes

ITHM already has six Innovation Programmes under its belt: In 2020 it hosted one generalist InsurTech programme, the digital health programme H+ and two editions of the Collab Initiative, targeted at mature scaleups. Applications keep increasing, reaching four digit numbers. In the past two programmes around 40 startups were admitted to join the three- to six months long journey. As the first focus programme H+, a joint venture with Nuremberg/Erlangen’s Digital Health Hub, was a big success, ITHM will likely set up further specialized offerings.

ITHM has some impressive results and figures to show for its work

The hub now has 10 full-time team members, a doubling of numbers in just one year. It has 23 partners in and beyond insurance, more than 200 alumni, over 10 investors and more than 150 experienced mentors in its network. With a grant by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy and praise from Minister Hubert Aiwanger for its performance during the Corona crisis, ITHM will sure deliver new and exciting formats in 2021.