(Coya founders Sebastián Villarroel, Andrew Shaw and Peter Hagen. Image source: Coya.)
Coya AG, a Berlin-based digital insurance start-up insurance carrier, has announced the appointment of Thomas Münkel as Chairman of the Management Board, as well as the selection of SCOR as its exclusive reinsurance partner.
Thomas Münkel, Chairman of the Management Board, Coya.
Münkel joins the founder team at Coya and takes the Chair of the Management Board with immediate effect. Alongside Coya founder and Management Board member Andrew Shaw. A company statement reports that Münkel will lead a team of insurance, technology and data science experts to meet Coya’s declared goal of becoming Europe’s leading digital insurer. The statement says that Münkel’s “profound industry knowledge” supports Coya’s millennial-orientated offering that builds on the team’s unique combination of deep insurance and technology expertise.
“The team warmly welcomes Thomas to the Coya family. His profound insurance knowledge and experience in building up complete new insurers combined with his entrepreneurial mindset are truly a rare find,” comments Shaw. “Thomas is a powerful addition to the team. We share a common vision of the future of insurance, radically built around the individual needs and life situations of the customer, utilizing the latest technological capabilities of the digital age.”
Most recently, Münkel was chief operating officer at UNIQA Insurance Group AG (Vienna). Earlier he held the position of chief governance officer and chief administrative officer at Allianz SE (Munich). Münkel has held various management positions across UNIQA as well as the Allianz and Aachener und Münchener Groups.
“Mr. Münkel perfectly complements the founder team at Coya, not only due to his years of experience with regards to insurance executive management, governance and operations, but in particular also due to the fact that he has previously set up highly successful green field insurance companies in the Czech and Slovak Republic,” comments Peter Hagen, co-founder of Coya.
“During the last year I have seen and examined many promising Insurtech projects [and] Coya was the one that really stood out for me, due to its extraordinary team and the superior technology,” comments Münkel. “Coya’s ambition is to redefine the full insurance value chain. This ambition as well as the unique, agile working environment at Coya convinced me. I am very happy to become part of Coya and contribute in realizing Coya’s vision.”
Coya Chooses SCOR as Exclusive Reinsurance Partner
Coya announcement of Münkel’s appointment was accompanied by an announcement that the company has selected top-tier reinsurer SCOR as its exclusive reinsurance partner.
“We selected SCOR due to their client proximity, flexibility and openness for innovative product concepts,” notes Hagen. “As a leading global reinsurer, SCOR is known for their exceptional expertise and they have an outstanding reputation.”
“SCOR is proud to become the reinsurer of an innovative Insurtech startup like Coya and support them in realizing their vision of digital insurance company,” says Helmut Söhler, General Representative SCOR Global P&C Deutschland. “We see great potential in Coya’s team, who stood out as combining the best of the corporate and start-up worlds.”
German Startup Insurance Carrier Coya Raises $10M Seed Investment