On 21 and 22 April 2020, the insurance and tech industry will meet in the Cologne exhibition halls: For the first time, Koelnmesse and the conceptual sponsor InsurLab Germany are jointly organizing the insurance congress trade fair insureNXT|CGN. The aim is to take a holistic view of the digitalization of the insurance industry and to shape the InsurTech future of the industry.
"The new trade show format offers complete solutions for the insurance industry and represents the entire value chain, including upstream and downstream industries. As a trade show with an integrated congress, the insureNXT|CGN the central platform for the insurance industry," explains Gerald Böse, Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH.
The two-day event will focus on "Insurance Technology" (InsurTech for short) and "Digital Transformation" from an insurer and startup perspective. Cross-industry approaches as well as the integration of an academic and career-specific conference strand round off the event. Additional partners are currently being brought into the process to ensure that the event is tailored to the target group. insureNXT|CGN involved. "With the insureNXT|CGN a novel platform is created that brings together a variety of formats from independent partners. In this completeness, the congress fair is unique and offers participants countless opportunities to make contacts and approach new projects," says Dr. Mathias Bühring-Uhle, Member of the Executive Board of Gothaer and InsurLab Germany CEO.
InsurLab Germany e.V. has been operating in Cologne since 2017 and is one of a total of 12 Digital Hubs of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). In this context, InsurLab Germany forms one of the leading InsurTech competence centers and is dedicated to the digitalization of the insurance industry in Germany. As the conceptual sponsor and co-organizer of the insureNXT|CGN InsurLab Germany brings its broad network of startups, leading technology providers and service providers, science representatives and experts from the German insurance industry to the congress trade fair: "Germany has so far lacked an event that covers all facets of our industry as well as incorporates the increasing influence of technologies, startups and cross-industry contexts. We are pleased, together with Koelnmesse, to close this gap and develop Cologne into the hotspot of the international InsurTech scene," says Sebastian Pitzler, Managing Director of InsurLab Germany. The initiative now brings together 77 companies from the insurance industry, including more than 30 established insurers and more than 20 InsurTech startups.
North Rhine-Westphalia and Cologne are regarded as important insurance locations. Hardly any other location has such a broad insurance infrastructure: 25 percent of the people working in the insurance industry - around 77,000 - work in NRW. Of around 670 insurance companies throughout Germany, approximately 20 percent have their headquarters in Cologne, which corresponds to more than 70 companies. And not only that: Historically, the first global insurance company was also based in Cologne.
"The insureNXT|CGN is ideally located here in Cologne," says Gerald Böse. "The infrastructure of Koelnmesse was also decisive for our cooperation. The location advantages as a city fair, the flexibility of our grounds and the efficiency of travel convinced our partners." Due to the international orientation of the insurance congress fair, the proximity to five international airports (Cologne-Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Brussels), the direct connection to ICE lines and the junction for ten highways are decisive factors.
The insureNXT|CGN is mainly aimed at trade visitors and will be held on an annual basis from 2020.
For more information, please visit https://insurenxt.com/