4 years, 4 countries, and over 400,000 registrations. To mark the anniversary of the Hungarian insurtech CHERRISK, we take a look at the background and milestones of the four-year success story.
The Hungarian insurtech, based in Budapest, was founded by UNIQA. As one of the first cross-border insurtech platforms, CHERRISK aims to help people in Hungary and Germany lead safer and healthier lives.
Since 2018, the Hungarian startup has been conquering the European market and can be proud of its achievements. "Over 400,000 registrations, 203,117 travel insurance policies taken out, an app called CHERRISK GO collecting almost 700,000,000 virtual cherries and around 50,000 users decided to support charity with their cherries," Krisztian Kurtisz, CEO of CHERRISK and Chief Retail & Digital Officer International Markets of UNIQA Insurance Group AG, gives an overview of the success highlights.
Since September 2022, CHERRISK is – as a pilot – also present in the Czech Republic and Slovakia with its white label solution.
How did an initial idea become such a successful insurance model? The key success factor were five basic goals set out in the very beginning: centralising the operation, simple legal structure, an ecosystem that supports the community, innovative cross-border distribution and data driven structure. These five elements describe the Insurance 2.0 model that is the core of CHERRISK.
When asked what highlights CHERRISK, Krisztian proudly tells us: "It is the team that makes CHERRISK unique. We have a superpower, which is 'creato ex nihilo', which means that we create something out of nothing. We are incredibly proud that we managed to create an insurtech from a simple sketch in a notepad that is now present in four countries."
The first very emotional moment happened exactly on the 17th September 2018, when we launched CHERRISK in Hungary. Since then every 17th September is quite emotional for us.
To bring the Hungarian insurtech to life, UNIQA Liechtenstein supports as a special risk carrier within the UNIQA Group. This digital innovation hub offers a lot of potential. "With CHERRISK we have validated a new digital operation model in the retail insurance business, which is an integrative part of our transformation journey from “best practice to next practice”. Together with UNIQA Lichtenstein and CHERRISK we have opened a window for the the European digital insurance market," said Wolfgang Kindl, Member of the Management Board of UNIQA Insurance Group AG, at the press conference to mark the anniversary.
Andrew Binns, founder of Change Logic LLC and co-author of the book "Corporate Explorer", also came especially from Boston, USA. The success story of CHERRISK is a main part of his book: "CHERRISK is a story getting attention around the world. It proves how large companies can develop innovative new businesses. UNIQA’s customers get the benefit, traditional insurance and the most innovative new products", Binns explains.
Through its concept of collecting and redeeming Cherrie, numerous projects have already been supported: "With almost 50,000 members of our CHERRISK community, we have supported 48 charitable causes in Germany and Hungary. Including elderly people in need during the COVID pandemic, child healthcare, animal welfare, and the education of children with special needs”, tells Evelin Balogh-Papp, CHERRISK Brand and Communication Lead.
The Hungarian insurtech, which is based in Budapest, was founded by UNIQA. It is a digital insurance platform that launched as a Hungarian innovation pilot in 2018. CHERRISK is sustainably revolutionizing the insurance industry. The new concept relies more on the interaction of the CHERRISK community and adapts individually to their lifestyle. The three main insurance products (household, accident and travel insurance) offer instant availability and ad-hoc insurance coverage, as well as paperless and sustainable online management. Users:inside are no longer forced to enter into long-term contracts, but can plan their insurance duration on a daily basis.
The CHERRISK GO app is a fun way to promote your own health by rewarding health-conscious behavior and thereby supporting charitable initiatives. The app's declared goal is to reward health-conscious behavior without pointing the finger: Users collect so-called "cherries" that act as a virtual currency. These "cherries" can be used to reduce their own insurance premiums or to buy items, services or other sustainable "goodies" for themselves. In addition to rewarding oneself, the "Cherries" can also be used to support charitable initiatives.
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