In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, also referred to as the DACH region, the insurtech space is growing at a promising pace. Over the past year, the sector has increased by 45%, rising from 141 players in March 2021 to now 202, data from the Insurtech Map show.
All major segments including marketing and distribution, infrastructure and claims and customer service, grew in size. Marketing and distribution, the region’s most crowded insurtech category, increased 54.9% to 79 companies, up from 51 in 2021; infrastructure, the second largest, grew to 64 companies, up 36% from 47 in 2021; and claims and customer service, the third biggest, rose 44% to 39 companies, up from 27 in 2021.
Though more modestly, product development and pricing and underwriting expanded as well, rising 18.8% to 19 companies.
Interestingly, the past year saw the emergence of a new category: asset management. The segment currently comprises three companies: SynoFin, a risk management provider based in Luxembourg; Ryskex, a German company providing a blockchain-based ecosystem for alternative risk transfers and insurance solutions; and Balance Re, a provider of reinsurance solutions to life insurance companies based in Germany.
Germany leads DACH region in insurtech innovation
With 132 insurtech companies, Germany has the largest insurtech startup ecosystem of the group. Players include Yas.life, a company developing digital health services for traditional insurers and corporate health management companies; Mailo, which provides individual, tailor-made insurance for occupational groups; and Yoursurance, an online comparison platform for insurance companies.
After Germany, Switzerland is home to second biggest insurtech startup community with 55 ventures. Names and brands include Versicherix, a company providing tools and services for anyone to create custom insurance policies; Deon Digital, a company leveraging cutting-edge technology to turn paper contracts into automatically managed digital contracts; and Stonestep, a “microinsurance-as-a-service” provider serving global partners.
With 13 insurtech companies, Austria has the third largest pool of Dach insurtech startups, among which Sophia, a personal insurance broker; Medicus, an AI-based data analytics platform that interprets and converts medical and health data into interactive, personalized experiences; and Bsurance, a white-label business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) insurtech helping partners provide their customers with fair and relevant protection at the point of need.
Finally, Liechtenstein has the smallest sector of the bunch with just four startups. Alongside SynoFin, these are Prosperity Brokershome, a digital services platform for insurance brokers; Cashyou, a factoring solution that finances remuneration agreements between brokers and end customers; and Digital Finance Life, a company specializing in product development for life insurance products.
Automation and process digitalization as the most prevalent technology
An analysis of the technologies these startups leverage shows that process digitalization/automation/robotics is the most prevalent technology used by DACH insurtech startups, with 145 companies relying on it. Process digitalization/automation/robotics is followed by analytics and AI with 44 companies, distributed ledger technology (DLT) with eight, and the Internet-of-Things (IoT) with seven.
Launched in March 2021, the Insurtech Map is an initiative of industry trade group House of Insurtech Switzerland, Swiss startup incubator and accelerator F10, and startup program and innovation platform Kickstart Innovation.
The interactive map aims to provide a comprehensive view of DACH’s insurtech ecosystem, highlighting the startups that are leveraging cutting-edge technology to bring greater efficiency and enhanced experiences across the insurance value chain.
Players that have recently been added to the database include Enzo, a German company providing homeowners with modern and holistic protection; Ledgertech, a Swiss company providing a low code/no code insurtech platform; Tigerlab, an embedded insurance specialist from Switzerland; Valu-X, a German insurtech company providing a white-label platform for tailored marketing; and Balance Re from German.
