Ex-Axa board member goes to Element

Insurance expert Astrid Stange wants to come up with new technology approaches, business models and business areas for the insurance start-up.

An insurance veteran is to give a Berlin insurtech a leg up: Astrid Stange is to become co-CEO of Element Insurance AG. All that remains now is for the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) to approve the move. Stange comes from Axa Group, the world's largest insurer, according to the company. There, her responsibilities included innovation, data and technology.

At Element, Stange is expected to take care of similar areas. For example, she is expected to further develop the company's technology and its business model. She is to expand the company's innovation team. In addition, Element hopes to use her to launch the company's growth phase. "I deeply believe that technology and data are the most important business areas for insurance today," Stange says. "So I'm very excited to be able to develop new business models and business areas with new technology approaches at Element."

Element's goal is to better bring together the insurance and technology sectors. The company says it is Germany's only fully cloud-based insurtech to date. Element has a BaFin license as a primary insurer for property and casualty insurance. This allows the company to operate as a risk carrier in all EU countries. Stange had started at Axa Germany in 2014. There, she had worked her way up to become a member of the Management Committee and Chief Operating Officer of AXA Group, as well as CEO of tech provider AXA Group Operations.