Case Study: ANSR’s startup accelerator programs turn Swiss Re’s Bangalore GCC into an innovation hub
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Swiss Re is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, insurance, and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer. Founded in 1863, it is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, and has offices in over 25 countries including France, Germany, the UK, Singapore, and India.
The Challenge
While SwissRe had over 150 years of expertise in reinsurance and risk management, it was new to embedding innovation technology. Faced with the unique challenge of reconciling a deeply entrenched risk management culture with the agility and risk appetite of the startup ecosystem, SwissRe turned to its global capability center (GCC) in Bengaluru, India.
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Our Solution
The partnership between ANSR and Swiss Re wasn’t new; ANSR had been instrumental in helping Swiss Re refine, validate, and operationalize its strategy for building and scaling its GCC in India in 2001. With 1000+ employees, it is Swiss Re’s third largest office and one of the three global Business Solutions Centres that partner with leadership to execute Swiss Re strategy.
Swiss Re and ANSR joined forces once again in 2016 to drive Swiss Re’s accelerator program from its India GCC, specifically to explore the application of emerging technologies like Internet of Things, Systems of Engagement (innovative distribution channels and models, digital assistants/ Robo advisors, etc.), and Smart Analytics across the insurance value chain.
The ANSR team played a pivotal role driving the program toward its objectives with efficiency and expertise.
The strategy included:
- Selecting startups that most closely aligned with the program’s criteria
- Crafting a detailed curriculum for the 24-week program
- Offering assistance with navigating compliance and intellectual property-related issues, and
- Providing mentorship to the participating startups
The results spoke volumes. Between 2016 to 2018, Swiss Re engaged with 24 startups to run multiple cohorts of accelerators as part of the ‘InsurTech Accelerator’.The selected startups presented their value propositions at the ‘Demo Day’ to the global leadership, industry stalwarts, ecosystem partners and potential investors in November 2016.
