Munich Re on partnership challenges

Hi there,

This is our second-to-last newsletter before the end of the year. Since January, more than 10,000 of you have subscribed. Thanks for reading.

Systems and methods related to…

This week, Allstate announced a new three-year partnership with Stanford University’s Intelligent Systems Lab to research the implications of connected cars and autonomous vehicles. The partnership follows a patent Allstate was granted earlier this summer related to autonomous droning, “where a vehicle engages in at least partial autonomous driving based on the driving of a lead or pilot vehicle.”

We dug into our patent data to highlight some filings by P&C insurers including State Farm and The Hartford related to autonomous vehicles. Check out the patents here.

Q&A: Andrew Rear, Chief Executive, Munich Re Digital Partners

Today, online small commercial insurance startup Next Insurance announced a partnership with Munich Re to launch a product targeting commercial photographers.

Three months ago, Next, which is backed by Ribbit Capital, TLV Partners, and Zeev Ventures, launched a product aimed at personal trainers in partnership with Markel with eventual plans to expand into selling targeted small commercial products online to electricians, plumbers and more, according to CEO Guy Goldstein.

The partnership is also the seventh for Munich Re Digital Partners, which formally launched only in May 2016. We caught up with Andrew Rear, chief executive of the Digital Partners program, to hear his thoughts on common startup challenges in partnering with Munich Re, how he judges the success of the program and more.

Read the full Q&A on CB Insights

Have a great rest of the week,

Matt
@mlcwong