Innovation
We want to democratise and unleash innovation across our Group
In an era where technology, connectivity, and, above all, new forms of consumer behaviour are poised to substantially transform the insurance sector, Generali leads the way by aspiring to ignite a movement that democratises innovation. We've set forth a clear mandate that empowers every member to actively contribute to innovation throughout our Group.
Innovation lies at the very heart of our strategic plan, "Lifetime Partner 24: Driving Growth," as one of its three pillars. Marked by an ambitious €1.1 billion investment dedicated to our digital and technological transformation within the Group, we further prioritise innovation in order to:
- build future-ready business models;
- lead the way in the industry by increasing customer value through our Lifetime Partner advisory model;
- accelerate innovation as a data-driven company;
- achieve additional operating efficiency by scaling automation and technology.
To accomplish this goal, Generali plans to consolidate resources and efforts from various parts of the Group while also allocating a 30-million-euro investment to support new projects and partnerships with startups.
We view innovation not only as a critical driver for our long-term success but also as a chance for Generali to lead the transformation within the insurance industry.
Our aim is to promote and nurture innovation on a global scale by democratising and unleashing innovation across our global businesses, delivering
“innovation, everywhere, for everyone”
Generali is actively enhancing and promoting innovation through:
The Generali Innovation Fund
In January 2020, the Generali Innovation Fund was launched as part of the Innovation & Digital Transformation pillar to support innovative initiatives across the Group.
The Innovation Fund serves as Generali's cornerstone for spurring innovation and executing forward-thinking initiatives. It is an open invitation to all within the organization, fostering collaborative and sustainable innovation.
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Innovation Training
Innovation Training plays a crucial role in cultivating a culture of innovation across all levels and business units within the Generali Group. The framework consists of five distinct levels, equipping Generali employees with the necessary skills to innovate within their roles. Together with the help of partners, we have already trained over 17,000 colleagues in essential innovation skills, while a network of over 200 Innovation Champions further supports this effort. Additionally, a specialized leadership training program for Senior Managers is currently in development to strengthen innovation leadership within the organization.
Tools that drive Innovation
In order to facilitate innovation across the Group, we have adopted an innovation management platform named Bloomflow, successfully employed by all business units in less than two years. This innovation management platform facilitates the mapping of innovative ideas and solutions, enhances collaboration and identifies synergies across all the countries in which we operate, empowering our Group to elevate innovation endeavours in alignment with our 'Lifetime Partner' Ambition. At the core of the 'Lifetime Partner 24: Driving Growth' strategic plan lies our Group's goal to transform into a customer-centric, data-driven innovator. This entails the development of collaborative platforms, the cultivation of expertise in data utilization, and the accelerated adoption of cutting-edge technologies such as smart automation and artificial intelligence. Bloomflow has led to significant improvements, including tracking over 1,000 startups, increasing project scalability by 40%, advancing project pace fourfold, and enhancing user engagement tenfold. Additionally, the collaboration with Sønr, our research partner and scouting platform, has further strengthened our innovation efforts across the organization. Deploying such tools fosters innovative thinking and collaboration within the entire Group, streamlining and enhancing all processes.
Corporate StartUps: CorpUp Studios
CorpUp, a merger of the word “Corporate” and “Start Up”, embodies our commitment to fostering collaboration between experienced corporate professionals and agile startups. CorpUp Studios are dedicated teams of innovation experts that work together with StartUps to co-create prototypes of cutting-edge products and innovative business models. These prototypes can be seamlessly integrated into our existing business units or nurtured as independent ventures. CorpUps are strategically designed to ensure that Generali's collaboration with StartUps produces tangible and quantifiable business outcomes, all while streamlining the process with an industrialized approach. By generating and rigorously validating these business solution prototypes, CorpUps play a vital role in propelling our ongoing innovation efforts and enhancing our competitive edge in the market.
Venturing into the future: Generali Ventures
Generali Ventures is a €250 million strategic innovation initiative by Generali that aims to invest in high-growth opportunities, especially within the insurtech and fintech sectors. Pursuing objectives such as accelerating innovation, entering new markets and generating additional operating efficiencies are among the key priorities of the Group. The initiative further reflects our commitment to innovation and staying at the forefront of emerging technologies in the insurance industry. Launched in 2022, after an extensive analysis of over 100 venture capital funds, Generali Ventures has already committed investments to five strategic Venture Capital Funds with high growth potential: Mundi Ventures, Speedinvest, Dawn Capital, Headline, and Stepstone, that all cover a wide range of transformative technologies that are revolutionising the insurance industry, such as AI, cybersecurity, and healthcare.
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