Innovations

In 2017, Baloise enters into an investment partnership with the investment and consulting firm Anthemis Group. As part of this partnership, Baloise makes CHF 50 million available for investments in early-stage start-ups in Europe, the US and Israel. Anthemis Baloise Strategic Ventures aims to use investment to advance Baloise’s digital development.

Baloise enters into a close collaboration with KASKO. The London-based insurtech start-up specialises in digital insurance solutions. In cooperation with KASKO, Baloise is bringing new, innovative products onto the market using straightforward digital processes.

To meet the needs of our digital society, Baloise is the first insurance company in Switzerland to offer private customers comprehensive coverage against the risks associated with the cyber world. Baloise ensures, for example, that any photos posted online that the customer is not happy with are deleted, or assumes the costs incurred if credit card details are misused in connection with online shopping.

Baloise is a member of the Swiss fintech incubator and accelerator F10. This gives it exclusive access to promising international fintech start-ups, new technologies and business models with disruptive potential. F10 is based on Förrlibuckstrasse 10 in Zurich, in the same building as Baloise.

Baloise buys MOVU, the largest digital relocation platform in Switzerland, allowing it to acquire valuable know-how for the platform business. Together with the team at MOVU, Baloise wants to expand its offering in their core business and develop new services. MOVU was established in Zurich back in 2014. The core of the business model is to organise a comfortable and secure move for the customer.

The insurtech company Insurdata uses augmented reality and 3D modelling to enable a more accurate, simpler and more efficient assessment of insurance risks for real estate. The US-based start-up intelligently combines possible risks for a property to be insured by collecting construction data of the property as well as data about the surroundings.

Baloise Bank SoBa becomes the first bank in Switzerland to launch a mortgage app on the market. Homeowners can use the Baloise Hypo app to complete the refinancing process with ultimate ease using their smartphone. The app gives users an attractive interest rate quote, which is fixed for one week, after only six questions. The credit decision is made automatically, with customers using their own reference images for property valuation purposes and being able to submit any necessary documents by simply taking photos of them.

Baloise in Luxembourg launches Goodrive, the first motor vehicle insurance policy that is linked to the vehicle itself. Goodrive evaluates driving styles and encourages young drivers to drive safely. Drivers who adopt considerate and safe driving styles receive a corresponding premium discount.

As part of its efforts to look into new fields of business arising from digital transformation, Baloise is aiming to familiarise itself with the gaming scene. It offers gaming gear insurance to insure gaming equipment against damage, theft and loss. This allows Baloise to offer a straightforward insurance solution that is tailored to meet the needs of a particular target group.

Baloise is expanding its range of digital services in the European insurance market and investing in Mobly. The mobility platform offers all services having to do with the second-hand car market. From a useful app, which records all journeys and establishes contact with the assistance provider in the event of a breakdown, to the independent expert who checks the car before it is purchased – Mobly offers our customers a meaningful additional service in the field of mobility.

The Berlin-based omni:us specialises in services that use artificial intelligence to extract relevant data points from heterogeneous document streams. The products developed by omni:us specifically for the insurance industry classify and extract from various documents those contents that are necessary for the automated processing of the respective business processes and today often still have to be processed manually.

As part of an experimental pilot project, Baloise is working with the start-up Veezoo to develop a conversation solution based on artificial intelligence. Veezoo’s smart software allows large volumes of data to be analysed and visualised in a matter of seconds. Veezoo is a spin-off launched by ETH Zurich.

Baloise is addressing the issue of the housing requirements of tomorrow and launches a cooperation with the research centre Smart Living Lab. Smart Living Lab is a Fribourg-based research and development centre established by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, the School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg, and the University of Fribourg.

Baloise develops Sarah’s Vision, making it one of the first major companies in the world to develop a board game that will help it to achieve its strategic objectives and ensure that Baloise is positioned in such a way that it remains fit for the future. Sarah’s Vision is a cooperative board game set in the year 2163.

The campaign around Sarah′s Vision is awarded the "Golden Feather" of the Swiss Association for Internal and Integrated Communication (SVIK).

Furniture and rarity lovers can now insure their favourite pieces with Fiasko Kasko insurance in cooperation with Möbel-Pfister Ltd. The insurance goes much further than conventional home contents insurance, offering supplementary insurance cover. It also insures against mechanical damage, improper use, short circuits or voltage fluctuations and damage through foreign matter.

Baloise Asset Management successfully launches Baloise’s first real estate fund with a placement volume of CHF 275 million. This is a key step in implementing the growth strategy for its third-party business. The move strengthens Baloise’s positioning in the Swiss market as an important partner for institutional investors.

Be it a model ship, a scooter, an armchair, headphones, a BBQ, a designer handbag, your mobile phone, camera or favourite instrument – insurance for these items and many more can be taken out with Baloise in two minutes and with just a few clicks. This tailored insurance solution developed in collaboration with KASKO and Picsure is Baloise’s way of keeping up with the latest trends.

Baloise is the first company in Switzerland to offer the population protection against hail damage. This involves using a specially equipped small aircraft that flies below the hail cloud and releases an acetone and silver iodide solution – which causes no damage to the environment and is safe for humans.

Baloise enters into a cooperation with the start-up insurninja. insurninja specialises in designing and distributing insurance covering all aspects of e-sports, gaming and digital entertainment. This will give Baloise access to valuable expertise, while allowing it to serve a broad customer segment by offering tailored insurance solutions.

Baloise launches a pilot project with the start-up ryd. ryd fits the car with an OBD2 connector and associated smartphone app, thereby turning the vehicle into a connected car. The pilot project will allow Baloise to better understand its customers’ mobility needs and tailor additional future mobility offers to existing requirements.

Baloise Asset Management, the asset manager of the Baloise Group, invests in the start-up Brainalyzed. Brainalyzed specialises in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Baloise decided to invest in the company after a partnership that has been ongoing for a period of two years now and based on its initial experience of swarm-based artificial intelligence.

Baloise launches its new employer campaign – #worklifebaloise – with thought-provoking questions and the courage to be transparent. The goal of the campaign is to generate more publicity for Baloise, move away from the conservative image the company has in the industry and grow its reputation as an innovative employer.

Baloise Bank SoBa becomes one of the first banks in Switzerland to offer Google Pay as a mode of payment. This is consistent with the bank’s existing mobile payment offering and means that customers of Baloise Bank SoBa can now choose between Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay, TWINT, Garmin Pay and now also Google Pay.

Baloise is continuing to implement comprehensive measures designed to simplify the processing of claims. Baloise customers now receive queries regarding a claim in the form of a link sent by SMS or email, allowing them to answer them in a swift and straightforward manner online whenever it suits them best. This is part of a collaboration between Baloise and Denkpark (now Flixcheck, available in German only).

Baloise wins the Swiss Insurance Special Award 2019 for this project, once again recognized as one of the most innovative Swiss insurers.

After winning the special prize of the Swiss insurance industry, Easy Ask also won the Golden Headset Award. The Golden Headset Award recognizes the most innovative and outstanding customer care teams in Switzerland.

As the FRIDAY concept has proven successful, the leading digital insurer is now also offering home contents insurance. This will allow FRIDAY to continue on the growth path towards establishing itself as Germany’s most popular digital insurer. As with the car insurance, the home contents insurance is fully digital and impresses customers with its excellent value for money.

Baloise is extending its ‘Home’ ecosystem with an investment in Batmaid, a digital platform for domestic cleaning services. Batmaid is a solution that enables its customers to find hand-picked and insured cleaners online within the space of a minute. The customer enters their postal code and selects the service required, and Batmaid will suggest a list of available domestic helpers. The company’s integrated trust service registers workers and takes care of payroll taxes on behalf of its customers. The cleaning staff have the benefit of declared work and social insurance cover.

Baloise is investing in the start-up Houzy, a digital platform that enables owners of houses and apartments to combine and manage every aspect of their property online. Houzy connects its customers directly with the right partners, whether they are buying, renovating, maintaining or selling their property. 

Through its partnership with TWIICE, Baloise is addressing the mobility needs of people with musculo-skeletal conditions. TWIICE is a Swiss start-up that specialises in the development of exoskeletons, a kind of external skeleton that acts as a walking aid. TWIICE’s modular exoskeleton enables people with spinal cord injuries and similar conditions to regain some autonomy in respect of everyday activities such as sitting, standing and walking on even and uneven ground.

On 1 December, Baloise will unveil the largest Advent calendar in Basel, with 24 festively decorated Christmas trees displayed in the windows of the western facade of the new Baloise Group headquarters. Baloise will also be running a competition to give away 24 Christmas vouchers worth CHF 150 each for the plant nursery of the Lehrbetriebe beider Basel (LBB) foundation.

The partnership established with Pensionskasse Basel-Stadt is helping Baloise to realise its aim of significantly increasing the volume of external customer assets managed by Baloise Asset Management. Acting as a transaction manager, Baloise advised the pension fund regarding the purchase of seven properties in prime locations in Geneva. Going forward, Baloise’s remit will no longer be limited to asset management but will also include property management responsibility on behalf of Pensionskasse Basel-Stadt for these seven properties.

FRIDAY continues to expand its digital insurance platform and market presence and has recruited two new additions to its management team. Nate Glissmeyer is to become Chief Platform Officer while Robin Latz will manage FRIDAY’s operations in Germany. 

Baloise invested in the Berlin-based start-up KUNO GmbH in May 2021. KUNO offers financial and HR administration services for companies – from finance and accounting, through controlling and reporting to HR and payroll management. Through this investment, Baloise is taking its ecosystems to the next level. It is providing increased support for companies within its ecosystems, adding a further component to the service offering for portfolio companies.

Baloise is launching its own Mobility Accelerator under the Mobility@Baloise profile with a view to promoting innovative ideas as early as possible. The initiative goes hand in hand with the launch of the www.baloise.com/mobility information platform, which is the new gateway into the Mobility@Baloise ecosystem for interested start-ups and young entrepreneurs.

Baloise is expanding its Mobility ecosystem with the creation of the corporate start-up Parcandi, which came about as the result of an innovation campaign. Parcandi connects drivers looking for somewhere to park with owners of unused parking spaces. An app allows users to reserve parking spaces with just a few clicks.

In December 2021, Baloise Germany invested in venture capital funds PropTech1 and BitStone Capital – and has since been collaborating with them as partners. In addition to risk capital, the funds offer PropTech start-ups expertise and market access from leading specialists in the traditional real estate business, the PropTech scene and venture capital, as well as a network of different investors in relevant areas. Participation in these funds offers interesting return options and provides a valuable foundation for the further expansion of the Home ecosystem for Baloise in Germany.

With its investment in the start-up independesk, Baloise Germany underlines its ambition to help create sustainable solutions in the current trend topics of hybrid working and desk sharing. After the pandemic, the trend towards workplace flexibility and working from home is set to continue. independesk provides a digital platform where anyone can book a desk in a professional environment near their home.