Accelerating Innovation by Collaborating with InsurTech Startups

Innovation Project Summary Cookhouse LabS

Accelerating Innovation by Collaborating with InsurTech Startups

While an increasing number of organizations are investing in these collaborations, the success of these initiatives is fairly low. We aimed to create a long-term win-win solution for both groups.

4

Days

ONLINE

2020

3

Organizations

1

MVP

Challenge

How might we accelerate and increase competitiveness through collaboration with startups, while learning from their agility and expertise?

WHY?

Understanding Betty’s experiences during the collaboration process

PAINS

GAINS

Flexible membership options

DISCOVERY

Founders often spoke of time wastage when communicating or scheduling meetings with insurance organizations.

How can we reduce the amount of time lost during the communications process?

How can we create an environment that supports and encourages collaboration between insurers and startups?

How can we ensure the right decision makers are present at meetings with startups?

SOLUTION

Within 5 minutes, the project team produced 26 potential solutions to this challenge and settled on the winning solution – a dedicated committee of decision makers.

How might we identify the right decision makers to speed up the process of collaboration, improving Betty’s experience?

DEDICATED COMMITTEE OF DECISION MAKERS

The insurance organization will establish a dedicated committee of the right decision makers with business objectives and incentives. The committee will work within a well-defined project cycle to collaborate with InsurTech startups, and will meet regularly to hear startup pitches. The culture will be agile and fail-fast, and the committee will receive training from an Innovation Coachs.

Ready to innovate?

RESULTS

At the end of the project, the team presented their solution to the community and invited the audience to share their insights through a poll after the presentation.

16

Hours

1

Empathy Map

1

Startup Founder Persona

1

Focus Group

25+

Ideas in 5 minutes

4

Masterminds interviewed

1

Lo-Fi Prototype

1

Final Presentation

PARTICIPANTS

More Co-creation Sprints

Our test kitchen has cooked-up new customer-centric solutions to industry problems and challenges through rounds of innovation sprints with our global community. Check out the results!

We also offer intro sessions that provide insurance professionals with the opportunity to experience our Cookhouse Labs methodology and a sneak peek at what it’s like to co-create and collaborate with our global community. If you are not a Cookhouse Labs member and are interested in finding out more, check out our membership benefits!

September 14, 2021September 14, 2021

Empowering Small Businesses with IoT for Improved Financial Management Experience

Innovation Project Summary Cookhouse LabS

Empowering Small Businesses with IoT for Improved Financial Management Experience

How might we make small businesses more financially resilient for future extreme events like COVID-19?

24

Hours

ONLINE

2020

3

Organizations

1

MVP

Challenge

Use the Internet of Things (IoT) to assist small business owners in the food industry with financial management to improve profitability and reduce bankruptcy.

WHY?

Understanding Fiona, a small business owner in Toronto

The global pandemic has been challenging for small businesses, especially those in the restaurant industry, often driving them to the point of bankruptcy and permanent closure. The data derived from an IoT solution will support insurers in creating better tailored business interruption products for small business owners.

PAINS

GAINS

Flexible membership options

DISCOVERY

Business owners resort to cost-cutting as a result of the current economic impact, leading to many employee layoffs.

How can we empower small business owners to better forecast inventory demands to reduce wastage?

How can we create a supportive environment for small business owners during these challenging times?

How can we leverage existing resources (e.g. employees) to identify alternative revenue streams?

SOLUTION

The team ideated many IoT-powered solutions to tackle this challenge and quickly selected the winning idea: a financial planning tool with elements of community and skill development.

How might the Internet of Things (IoT) assist small business owners with their financial management to improve profitability and reduce bankruptcy?

1

CFOAI APP

A survival-driven bankruptcy solution for sustainable small businesses. The mobile app balances financial planning with community support and learning resources through the following features:

NEWSFEED

A community forum where small business owners can connect to share their experiences and learnings.

COMMUNITY FUND

A community pool where owners can seek financial support and loans during severe economic hardship.

LEARNING CENTER

This feature links to e-learning resources focused on employee skill development to keep up with market demands.

CFO AI

A machine learning assistant that monitors your inventory and wastage. The feature also reports on industry trends and provides sales forecasts.

Ready to innovate?

RESULTS

The team worked closely with small business owners in China and Canada to further develop this much-needed solution.

24

Hours

1

Empathy Map

7

Participant interviews

2

Masterminds Interviews

20+

HMW Statements

1

MVP

1

Startup Founded

1

Project Presentation

PARTICIPANTS

More Co-creation Sprints

Our test kitchen has cooked-up new customer-centric solutions to industry problems and challenges through rounds of innovation sprints with our global community. Check out the results!

September 13, 2021September 13, 2021

SummerHack 2020: “IoT Disruption in Insurance” Winning Solution

Innovation Project Summary Cookhouse LabS

SummerHack 2020: “IoT Disruption in Insurance” Winning Solution

IoT devices offer real-time data that can be impactful in managing risk, potentially saving millions in claims disbursements.

24

HOURS

ONLINE

2020

19

TEAMS

19

MVPs

Challenges

Under the theme “IoT Disruption in Insurance”, we asked our teams to choose from these challenges and ideate a real business solution using our Design Thinking methodology:

Mobility Services

How might we develop an IoT-based customer-focused holistic mobility insurance product/service?

Small Businesses

How might we develop IoT-based risk-prevention services/products for small businesses?

Fight Obesity

How might we develop IoT-based solutions/services to prevent and reduce obesity and overweight?

WHY?

Understanding Donna, a 40-year-old high school teacher

With less than 24 hours to come up with a solution, Team ABC quickly chose the challenge of overcoming obesity. People with a BMI of 30 or over can expect to pay 25-50% more on health insurance premiums, and the team raced against the clock to find a better solution.

PAINS

GAINS

Flexible membership options

DISCOVERY

Calorie Counters are inaccurate, with a total error of up to 25%.

How can we make it easier for individuals to access information related to their personal health?

What IoT tools/resources can we provide individuals to support them in accurately tracking their caloric intake?

How can insurers use personalized IoT data to help individuals manage their health and lower premiums?

SOLUTION

The team chose to use IoT sensors to collect and analyze real-time data from individuals’ food consumption.

How might we empower individuals to manage their own health while reducing the effort required to sustain this lifestyle change?

BYTE - SMART TOOTH

BYTE is a wearable oral sensor system attached to any tooth and is used to detect and measure the calories in what you eat. A small Bluetooth radio will wirelessly transmit data to a mobile device. Insurers can partner with BYTE to provide their customers with support in managing their health. The IoT data collected from the customers’ weight loss journey will be monitored by the insurer and as the customer becomes healthier and files fewer health-related claims, the insurer will reward the customer in the form of a discounted premium.

Ready to innovate?

RESULTS

At the end of the 24-hour ideathon, the 19 student teams pitched their ideas to our panel of experts.

10

Countries

24

Hours

100+

Participants

19

Participating Teams

22

Expert Mentors

8

Judges

19

MVPs

1

Final Pitch Event

PARTICIPANTS

More Co-creation Sprints

Our test kitchen has cooked-up new customer-centric solutions to industry problems and challenges through rounds of innovation sprints with our global community. Check out the results!

September 13, 2021September 13, 2021

WinterHack 2020: “Digital Ecosystems” Winning Solution from Team Hannover Re

Innovation Project Summary Cookhouse LabS

WinterHack 2020: “Digital Ecosystems” Winning Solution from Team Hannover Re

Insurers must keep up with changing customer demands — or risk losing out on growth opportunities worth USD $177 billion over the next 5 years.

2

DAYS

ONLINE

2020

12

TEAMS

12

MVPs

Challenges

Under the theme “Digital Ecosystems”, we asked our teams to choose from these challenges and ideate a real business solution using our Design Thinking methodology:

Reduce Loneliness

How might we develop a solution/service offering to reduce social isolation or loneliness of elderly people?

Subscription Model

How might we develop a new subscription-based business model of insurance built on Digital Ecosystems?

Building Inspection

How might we develop a highly automated service/solution for building inspection of commercial properties?

Understanding Insurance

How might we develop a solution/service allowing customers to fully understand the personal risk and coverage situation?

WHY?

Understanding Edith, a retired seamstress with a pension

Team Hannover Re partnered with startup EMIL Group Gmbh and combined two challenges: they chose to build a subscription-based business model to serve elderly populations.

PAINS

GAINS

Flexible membership options

DISCOVERY

In an ever-changing digital world, seniors face unique risks and are a digitally underserved cohort with risks to manage and money to spare.

How can we create a simple user experience for seniors to easily navigate?

How can we build trust between different players in the ecosystem?

SOLUTION

The app uses technology to create a tailored interface in a connected ecosystem.

How might we empower senior citizens to live independently and manage their risks in a complex world?

BEGLEITER

The digital concierge for the Baby Boomer Generation.

Begleiter is a one-stop shop for topics around: Health, Organization, Finance, and Community.

The app uses technological innovation such as an intelligent chatbot, a dual view for a senior/junior duo to create simplicity in user experience. Begleiter connects relevant Ecosystem players. The subscription model creates trust, so modules are chosen due to fit and quality.

Ready to innovate?

RESULTS

At the end of the 2-day ideathon, the 12 insurance teams pitched their ideas to our panel of experts.

10

Countries

18

Hours

85+

Participants

12

Empathy Maps

12

Participating Teams

9

Judges

12

MVPs

1

Final Pitch Event

PARTICIPANTS

More Co-creation Sprints

Our test kitchen has cooked-up new customer-centric solutions to industry problems and challenges through rounds of innovation sprints with our global community. Check out the results!

Young Talent 20/21: Innovation with Exclusive Members – Block 3 [Dec 10-11]

Since 2017, Cookhouse Labs has a collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences in Wurzburg-Schweinfurt, Germany, where our Co-Founder Sven Roehl is a guest lecturer on the topic ‘International Innovation Management’. Every year, Cookhouse Labs invites its members to work with a team of E-commerce and IT students to specifically tackle one of their business challenges. Over the course of 1 semester, each student team will work exclusively with our member organizations in guided Design Thinking sprints, facilitated by Cookhouse Labs innovation experts. This years’ Young Talent 20/21 project kicked off on October 8^th, 2020 and on February 19^th, 2021, our teams will reveal their solutions to an audience of insurers from our member organizations — we can’t wait to see what they come up with!

Are you interested in your own guided global student project dedicated to tackling a challenge in your organization?

Click here to learn more about our Memberships and to get in touch with our Innovation Team!

October 28, 2020September 10, 2021

The urgent need to attract and retain young talent

Innovation Project Summary Cookhouse LabS

The urgent need to attract and retain young talent

Millennials are not interested in a career in insurance… so how do we #BridgeTheGap and make insurance more attractive to this generation?

5

AFTERNOONS

ONLINE

2020

4

ORGANIZATIONS

1

MVP

Challenge

Understand why Millennials have such a negative perception of the insurance industry and what we as an industry have to start doing to become appealing to young talent.

WHY?

Understanding millennials’ concerns about work in the insurance industry

SEE

SAY & DO

HEAR

THINK & FEEL

Flexible membership options

DISCOVERY

Exploring the thoughts and emotions of young people when it came to job search methods, desired benefits, and office culture expectations.

We are not doing enough to invest in attracting and retaining young talent.

The focus of our sprint became: How might we create a culture of collaboration and inclusiveness that fosters security and growth that will help attract, retain and make young talent feel valued.

SOLUTION

Our team ideated 59 different ways to #BridgeTheGap in 5 minutes and voted on a single idea to develop and test.

During the 5 sessions the team discovered these items as main key points and what, young talent named as the priorities when looking for a job.

NEXTGEN DISCOVERY PROGRAM

The solution is based on a 5-month program designed to attract and retain young talent by engaging the young hires from day one and inviting them to work with other departments in the organization. Students will be recruited from non-traditional programs of study as well, including Arts and Geography, and will be paired with Mentors through a matching process. Young talent will select 5 areas of interest to rotate through during the program. At the end, the employees will provide feedback on the department that they are most interested in working at.

The employees’ experience will be overseen by a dedicated Advisor (guidance counselor) who will meet regularly with the young talent. The program will work to retain young hires beyond the average 2-year job stay.

Ready to innovate?

RESULTS

The project team consulted HR Masterminds, interviewed young professionals and students, and analyzed surveys to understand the different perspectives.

1

Empathy Map

55

Survey Responses

2

Mastermind Interviews

1

Focus Group

28

Interview Questions

59

Ideas in 5 Minutes

1

MVP

1

Project Presentation

PARTICIPANTS

More Co-creation Sprints

Our test kitchen has cooked-up new customer-centric solutions to industry problems and challenges through rounds of innovation sprints with our global community. Check out the results!

October 28, 2020September 10, 2021

Navigating the Impact of Challenges in Insurance

Innovation Project Summary Cookhouse LabS

Navigating the Impact of Challenges in Insurance

The objective of this project was to identify, qualify, and classify opportunities and quantify their impact for insurers.

3

DAYS

MAR

2020

4

ORGANIZATIONS

1

MVP

Challenge

Understand the difficulties we are currently facing in the industry and their impact to help insurance organizations prioritize their focus, time and effort.

WHY?

Teams are often prevented from receiving funding for innovation projects.

SEES

DOES

FEELS

THINKS

Flexible membership options

DISCOVERY

Current journey of initiating an innovation project in an insurance organization, based on project research.

What are the biggest challenges in insurance today?

How much time & budget would each company put toward innovation?

How much impact will innovation play in the future of the industry?

SOLUTION

Together with insurance policyholders, the team identified several potential solutions to improve strategy and budget planning.

The world has shifted to a customer-centric business model and Insurance has not kept up.

How might we leverage data and prioritize customer centricity in our strategy planning to achieve long-term success?

CUSTOMER INSIGHTS OUTREACH PROGRAM

The SMS based program offers customers helpful advice to reduce risk of accidents and damage.

For example, a text message would advise policyholders of expected freezing rain in their area and inform them that increasing stopping time by 2 seconds when driving could reduce risk of accidents by 30%. These text messages were sent on behalf of their insurer to show customers that their provider cared for their wellbeing from the top-down. This interaction would also allow insurers to create and build a database with data that could be useful when creating new products and services for the future.

Ready to innovate?

RESULTS

In just 3 days, the team took a deep dive into the challenge and tested a solution to drive long-term benefit to the industry, which received positive reviews.

2

Personas

2

Customer Journey Maps

3

Mastermind Interviews

96

Risks Identified

9

Customer Interviews

20

Initial Solutions

1

MVP

1

Project Presentation

PARTICIPANTS

More Co-creation Sprints

Our test kitchen has cooked-up new customer-centric solutions to industry problems and challenges through rounds of innovation sprints with our global community. Check out the results!

Back To Business Virtual Summit

All around us, small businesses are closing down due to the COVID-19 business interruptions. In roughly 6 weeks, more than 100,000 small businesses have closed their doors forever. They are more than just our customers. They are real people, with real families. 100,000 dreams have now been shattered. They are our friends, neighbors, and family members, dealing with fear, stress, and confusion. And right now, the ones that are still open are watching their life’s work close down, with no certainty of whether they will ever fully reopen, because they are missing information. Information that they may not have access to, or information they do not know exists.

It is the insurance industry’s responsibility, because we were founded as a community, to support our customers during these challenging times. As a result of this disruption, we’re launching a Virtual Summit for Small Business Outreach.

Click here to visit the official event website!

WinterHack 2020: Final Pitch Event

Our gift to you in these challenging times: Open and Free for Insurers, Reinsurers, Brokers, Insurance-Related Startups and Vendors, and Students.
Click here to register to attend the Final Pitch Event!

Cookhouse Labs is proud to present WinterHack 2020: Global Design Thinking Ideathon, in collaboration with InsurLab Germany and msg. Witness results from some of the world’s best insurance organizations, startups, and student innovators as they race against the clock in 2 days of exciting insurance innovation, ideation, and competition around the theme “Digital Ecosystems”!

WinterHack 2020: Global Design Thinking Ideathon [Nov 3-5]

Our gift to you in these challenging times: Open and Free for Insurers, Reinsurers, Brokers, Insurance-Related Startups and Vendors, and Students.
Click here to register!

Cookhouse Labs is proud to present WinterHack 2020: Global Design Thinking Ideathon, in collaboration with InsurLab Germany and msg. Join some of the world’s best insurance organizations, startups, and student innovators for 48 hours of exciting insurance innovation, ideation, and competition around the theme “Digital Ecosystems”!

Why should I join?

Re/insurers and Brokers: This is your chance to connect with your internal teams and global talent to put your agility and creativity to work while creating real business solutions to digitize insurance
Startups and Vendors: Take this opportunity to network and work alongside insurance organizations looking for fresh ideas and new business connections
Students: Show current and future business leaders why you should be their #1 pick for a career in InsurTech!

Event Format

2 day virtual global event + 3 hour final pitch
Facilitated hackathon following Design Thinking methodology in breakout sessions
Hackathon period: Tuesday, November 3^rd and Wednesday, November 4^th, 2020
The 2-day hackathon period will be held in 3 different time zones — Eastern Daylight Time, Central European Time, and Singapore Time — from 9 AM to 6 PM
Final Pitch Event: Thursday, November 5^th, 2020 at 9 AM EDT

How does it work?

During the matching process, Re/insurance organizations can invite startups, vendors, and student innovators to join their corporate teams to provide ideas, expertise, and skills, such as UX/UI Design
Guided hackathon — our innovation experts will provide the right guidance on methodologies and tools to achieve best results following the Design Thinking Methodology
We will provide prep material, including Design Thinking Masterclasses and a guide on how to structure your time according to the stages defined in the methodology

Challenges

4 different challenges related to the theme “Digital Ecosystems”, covering commercial and personal lines, health/life, and P&C insurance
Challenge statements will be released during the kickoff event

Language

Event language is English, including facilitation, support, and final pitch (including submission documentation)
Teams can work in their preferred language

How do I join?

Click here to access the official event platform!

This Hackathon is the perfect platform to connect with experienced innovators, both local and international. As you show your skills and impress our judges with your team’s extraordinary results, don’t forget to network and have fun!