🎉 LoyJoy Triumphs at the Zurich Innovation Championship 2024: Driving the Future of Insurance With Conversational AI 🚀

We are delighted to announce that LoyJoy has been crowned as one of the 9 global winners of the prestigious Zurich Innovation Championship 2024! Out of an impressive pool of 3,300 applicants from around the world, LoyJoy is one of two winners from Germany.

What Is the ZIC?

The Zurich Innovation Championship is an annual initiative that brings together Zurich Insurance and innovative start-ups from around the world. The program goes beyond simply integrating start-up products into Zurich’s offering. Instead, it focuses on fostering a collaborative partnership between Zurich’s business units and participating start-ups to develop and validate a shared value proposition. The aim is to deliver greater value to Zurich’s customers through the development of new offerings and services resulting from this close collaboration between the global insurer and the innovative start-ups.

The ZIC showcases the most groundbreaking startups that are revolutionizing the insurance industry. LoyJoy’s Conversational Platform, based on generative AI and a BPMN-based process engine, was recognized for its immense potential to transform the customer experience in the insurance industry. 💬

Dr. Carsten Schildknecht, CEO of Zurich Gruppe Germany, said: “The collaboration between start-ups and insurers is a real model for success. I am delighted that Parloa and LoyJoy, two German start-ups with exciting technologies for optimizing the customer interface, are among the winners”.

What Does It Mean for LoyJoy?

As the global winner, LoyJoy will participate in a four-month accelerator where we will test the practical feasibility of our initiative and develop a business plan together with the Zurich Gruppe Germany, which selected us. We will receive both financial and non-financial support, including coaching from Zurich executives as well as internal and external subject matter experts.

During the acceleration phase, we will have the opportunity to enter Zurich’s worldwide markets, increase LoyJoy’s global reach and expand our international network in over 150 markets. 🌐

The acceleration phase will culminate in “Demo Days”, where we will present our results to a broad audience within Zurich’s business worldwide. This presentation through various communication channels and the recognition of selected startups will provide invaluable validation and visibility for LoyJoy. 📣

Following the successful validation of our initiative, LoyJoy will work with Zurich on a local and global level for joint implementation. The successful initiatives will be announced in September 2024. 📣

But what does this mean for our future collaboration with Zurich? 🚀 With our Conversational Platform, LoyJoy will work hand in hand with Zurich Gruppe Germany to optimize processes in customer service, sales and marketing via chat and social media. The LoyJoy Platform’s ability to deliver personalized communication will help address individual customer needs, while gamification features will appeal to younger target groups and educate them about insurance products. Together with Zurich, we want to set new standards in the insurance industry. 💬

Stay tuned for more updates on our exciting journey with Zurich Insurance! 📣

Watch the Video of the Zurich Innovation Championship 2024 🎬

About Zurich

Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer with more than 55 million customers in over 210 countries. Founded 150 years ago, Zurich is driving change in the insurance industry by offering protection and innovative preventive services that promote well-being and strengthen climate resilience. Zurich offers straightforward service and expert advice in the areas of life, property and casualty insurance for private, commercial and industrial customers, as well as investments and asset management. Zurich employs approximately 60,000 people worldwide, including about 4,900 in Germany.

— by Steffen Wichtrup