City of Cologne to Open Insurance Tech Innovation Center

InsurLab Germany e.V., a Cologne-based accelerator and networking hub that connects insurance tech startups with the German insurance industry, is launching today.

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Cologne is a global center for the insurance industry. The hub was initiated by the mayor of Cologne, the Cologne Chamber of Commerce, the University of Cologne and TH Köln–University of Applied Science. 35 companies have already joined the initiative, including insurers like General Reinsurance Corporation and Scor SE, startups, consulting firms and IT companies.

The hub will be run as a non-profit, supported by member insurance companies. The services offered include hackathons, pitch and reverse pitch days, workshops and joint projects, among others. Companies can also rent desks on campus.

The accelerator will offer participating startups support from the initiative's mentor network, access to business angels and investors, and six-months of free office space on InsurLab's campus. The first cohort of the program will begin in April 2018.

SOSA, a Tel Aviv-headquartered startup network, and FinTLV, an insurance tech and fintech-focused venture capital firm, have been chosen as InsurLab's international partners. The two Israel-based entities will assist in the development and management of the innovation hub.