Swiss insurance group Helvetia is making fintech moves, partnering with fintech players and investing in fintech startups.

This year, Helvetia has accelerated its push into fintech, teaming up with leading app-based Swiss banking solution neon to launch the first bancassurance solution in Switzerland.

Michael Wieser, Partner Helvetia Venture Fund

Through its digital insurance outfit Smile, Helvetia joined hands with neon to launch a strategic joint venture in July to create a mobile bancassurance product focusing on providing users with the right financial products at the right time. Initially, the solution will focus on car, bicycle and household insurance, as well as basic account services, Helvetia said in a press release.

Helvetia, which runs a 50 million EUR venture fund, acquired earlier this year a stake in neon, its first fintech investment, the group announced in August.

Besides startup investments, Helvetia Group also expands its activities by majority stake investments. In 2019, for instance, Helvetia expanded its mortgage offering with the help of its subsidiary, MoneyPark, unveiling in January that the two companies would be pooling their sales capabilities.

Helvetia acquired a 70% stake in MoneyPark, Switzerland’s largest independent mortgage broker, in 2016.

Helvetia Venture Fund

Launched in 2017, the Helvetia Venture Fund invests in early-stage startups with the potential to shape the future of insurance. These can be insurtech startups, but also startups using technologies and business models that can be applied to the insurance business.

Run by former entrepreneurs, the Helvetia Venture Fund focusses on startups from throughout Europe and places an emphasis on those countries in which Helvetia operates, namely Switzerland as well as Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Spain. Ticket sizes typically range between 500,000 CHF and 1.5 million CHF.

So far, the fund has invested in an array of segments ranging from fintech, insurtech and proptech, to the Internet-of-Things (IoT) and mobility.

According to its website, Helvetia’s portfolio companies include:

neon

Based in Zurich, neon offers a free bank account optimized for the smartphone. The neon bank account comes with a MasterCard, and is integrated with TransferWise, enabling fast and convenient international transfers. Launched in March 2019, neon claims more than 35,000 users.

Volocopter

Formerly known as E-Volo, Volocopter is a German aircraft manufacturer that specializes in electric, autonomously flying passenger drones. Founded in 2011, Volocopter is developing autonomous electrical Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircrafts to offer air taxi services in large cities. The company recently conducted several public flights at the Helsinki International Airport, in Germany’s Stuttgart, and over Singapore’s Marina Bay.

BlueID

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Munich, BlueID develops mobile security applications that enable identification, access control, authentication, and command execution. BlueID ACCESS is a cloud-based access control solution with digital keys, which proptech and asset owners can easily integrate into their products and buildings.

PriceHubble

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Zurich, PriceHubble is a leading international proptech startup and the developer of a real estate analytics platform intended to make better informed real estate decisions. PriceHubble aggregates and analyzes a wide variety of data, runs big data analytics and uses state-of-the art machine learning to generate reliable valuations and predictive analytics for the real estate market.

Flatfox

Founded in 2012 and based in Zurich, Flatfox is a proptech startup providing a real estate marketplace oriented towards landlords and potential tenants. Flatfox also offers self-developed services and digital products for real estate agencies and real estate managers.

Inzmo

Inzmo is an advanced fully-digital insurance platform covering all the key stages of insurance. The aim of the multi-award-winning startup is to create efficiency on costs, administration, claims processing and underwriting for insurers as well as a pleasant experience for the consumers. Inzmo is based in Berlin and was founded in 2015.

Theftex

Founded in 2017, Theftex is a German startup and the developer of digital tracking and security systems intended to manage the supply chain operations and protect goods. Theftex’s solutions include cut-resistant tarpaulins and low-energy GPS trackers.

Immoledo

Immoledo, by Swiss proptech startup readyData, digitizes and simplifies the analysis of the status of buildings. Immoledo also offers other services such as investment planning and portfolio analysis. Immoledo determines the best time for renovating the building and calculates the corresponding investment costs, broken down by structural elements.

Chargery

Berlin-headquartered Chargery is a full service provider for the future of mobility in urban areas. Chargery offers a holistic solution to operate a shared electric fleet, enabling customers to operate their fleets efficiently and cost-effectively through a combination of innovative technologies and professional services.

Campai

Campai is a startup from Berlin that offers software for the administration of associations. Campai digitizes all kind of processes for clubs, federations, and groups, thanks to a self-developed full-fledged service platform.

Mobile Garantie

Mobile Garantie is a German startup offering modular and customized warranty and service solutions, mainly in the automotive sector.

MyPass

MyPass is an Italian consumer Internet company focused on transforming current transaction systems. MyPass builds mobile apps aimed at enabling greater ease-of-use paperless tickets with enhanced security and privacy, as well as the convenience of free, instant, global digital payments.

Skribble

Founded in 2018, Skribble is a Swiss provider of electronic signatures. Skribble offers an one-stop shop for electronic signing, enabling companies to conclude all types of contracts digitally with just a few clicks that are legally valid worldwide.