What will be the connected objects of tomorrow’s insurance world?
To answer this question, Foyer Group invited the customers of tomorrow, students from Luxembourg Tech School, a program supported by the Ministry of Education, to the first LTS hackathon devoted to insurance, on the very popular theme of “wearable insurance”.
This challenge, co-organized by Foyer and Luxembourg Tech School, brought together from 29 to 31 March 2019 in the premises of Foyer 24 high school students aged 15 to 19, with the support of Digital Luxembourg and the LHoFT Foundation, historical partners of the LTS.
During these two days, the future digital leaders have used creativity, anticipation, and agility to develop prototypes on connected watches and mobile applications designed to meet new health, home or auto insurance needs.
To meet these challenges, the seven teams, each composed of three to four LTS students and an employee from Foyer, received support from Sergio Coronado, Lead Coach and a team of LTS coaches.
Between two hacking sessions, they were also able to benefit from the experience and wise advice of a series of mentors from the world of innovation.
Picture The mentors : Thomas Friederich (EarthLab), Sylvain Chery (Agile Partner), Andrei Costica (Allen & Overy), Rachel Galerme (sophrologue), Sergio Coronado (LTS), Diego Debiasio (Technoport), Alex Panican (LHoFT) et Cyril Cassagnes (Université de Luxembourg)
On Sunday afternoon, after an intense and exciting weekend, the teams presented their ideas to an expert jury, composed of Claude Marx (CSSF), Pierre Zimmer (Post), Max Gutenkauf (Digital Luxembourg), Philippe Worré (Administrateur Foyer Assurances) and Gilbert Wolter (Foyer Assurances).
After an extremely difficult deliberation, given the quality of the ideas presented, the jury awarded the first three prizes to :
1st prize: PRO-HEALTH, or how insurance should adapt to our lifestyle and offer us to adopt healthier behaviours, via a connected watch and a mobile application.
2nd prize: FEATHER, a mobile weather alert application, to prevent and offer insurance products according to possible weather events.
3rd prize: WE GOT YOUR BACK, a healthy application that, thanks to the use of connected soles, helps to detect poor posture and prevent possible back problems. Reduction of costs for the insurer and of premium for the client.
The Finance Minister, Pierre Gramegna, accompanied by Marc Lauer, CEO of Foyer, then presented the teams with their awards in the form of a trophy and three generous cheques.
In addition to these three prizes, Marc Lauer, particularly enthusiastic about the originality of these concepts, wanted to award, on behalf of the Executive Committee of Foyer, two “Coup de cœur” prizes to the Feather (see above) and Hestia teams, the latter for its playful application, which makes it possible to subscribe insurance on demand and reward the user for his good behaviour. With this prize, the students in these teams will be granted an internship contract at Foyer, which will allow them to put their know-how directly into practice in order to concretize their ideas for the insurer.
For this new edition, the LTS hackathon was once again a success, between the overwhelming energy of the students and the brilliant ideas proposed. All this has created a magnificent dynamic between the world of the industry and its future recruits!
Marc LAUER, CEO, Foyer: “As an innovative company, it is important for us to follow trends and anticipate the needs of our current and future customers. So when our Innovation Hub introduced us to Sergio to organize a hackathon with the talented young people from the LTS, we didn’t hesitate for a second. I do not regret it: the ideas they have presented to us today are simply amazing! In addition to this weekend, Foyer has also decided to provide financial support to the LTS, so that such initiatives can continue.”
Picture: Sergio Coronado (LTS), Marc Lauer (Foyer)
Sergio CORONADO, Lead Coach, LTS: “A very important element in education is the context, we must teach around real business and societal issues. That’s why this hackathon on wearable insurance with Foyer was unique: we created and coded in their offices and with their experts in the teams. The results are incredible, and many of these projects will be further developed!”
Picture: Sergio Coronado and the LTS’s coaches
Alex Panican, Head of Ecosystem & Partneships, LHoFT Foundation: “Tomorrow’s insurance products will be wearable, personal and fun, very different from what they are today. This hackathon with LTS students is the perfect opportunity for Foyer to understand what future customers are looking for, but also what future products should look like. As innovation enablers, we, at the LHoFT, are thrilled to see our partners in the industry work with the LTS, an education program that we have supported since the begining, because there’s no innovation without education.”
Picture: Sergio Coronado (LTS), Marc Hotton (Foyer) & Alex Panican (LHoFT)
About Foyer S.A.
Created in 1922, Foyer S.A is a leading financial player in Luxembourg. Its solidity lies in the strength of its shareholding, but also in the work of its 775 employees in three countries and its 660 agents in Luxembourg. Leader of the local life and non-life insurance market, Foyer is active in several European countries through three business lines: insurance, benefit protection insurance and wealth management. Its extended range of products is aimed at individuals, professionals and companies to whom it offers high-end and innovative services. Concerned about its corporate social responsibility, Foyer Group has also been involved in general interest and social partnership projects for many years. www.foyer.lu
About Luxembourg Tech School
The Luxembourg Tech School (LTS) is an innovative school option concept that promotes the training of future digital leaders. It is aimed at young people aged 15 to 19 who are passionate about the digital world and want to learn and apply technology in a real professional context. The LTS is supported by the Ministry of National Education, Children and Youth (SCRIPT), Digital Luxembourg, CGIE, Space Resources and the FNR. http://www.techschool.lu/
About the LHoFT Foundation
The LHoFT Foundation is a public and private sector initiative that stimulates technological innovation in the Luxembourg financial services sector, linking the national and international Fintech community to develop solutions that will shape the world of tomorrow. Senior executives from 13 major private sector institutions sit on our Board of Directors as partners in the Leadership Circle, alongside representatives of the Luxembourg government, such as our President, Pierre Gramegna, Luxembourg Minister of Finance, as well as executives from the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Luxembourg for Finance and PROFIL, the federation of the Luxembourg financial industry. https://www.lhoft.com/
About Digital Luxembourg
The development of new digital technologies and the accelerating pace of digitalization offer new growth opportunities for nations. To use digitalization as a lever for transformation, to prepare Luxembourg for the future and to harness the huge potential that new technologies can offer, the Luxembourg Government launched the Digital Luxembourg initiative in 2014. Under the umbrella of Digital Luxembourg, joint private-public ventures and projects find their place, each tackling a different aspect of digital development, each helping to shape Luxembourg into an ultra-connected, innovative and dynamic country – a world-leading smart nation. https://digital-luxembourg.public.lu/
