Insurtech Portabl has won the Australian round of the 2022 Zurich Innovation Championship, beating 89 other entries.

Portabl has built a fully-digital insurance platform for self-employed workers using its Freelancer Risk Scoring method. Its protection is portable, ensuring independent workers can take benefits with them from gig to gig.

"In the midst of industry disruption and global challenges, it’s important that we remain at the forefront of innovation,” Zurich CIO Australia & New Zealand Michael McKeown said.

"This competition allows us to connect with leading start-ups from across the globe, offering them a great opportunity, whilst enhancing our contribution to the industry and our customers.”

In its third year, the championship offers start-ups the opportunity to work with Zurich on solutions for specific challenges: prevention and mitigation, sustainability and simplicity, as well as an open challenge for reimagining insurance.

Zurich says the championship attracted record submissions this year, with the number of applicants almost doubling to 2672 globally.

Portabl will now pitch at the global competition round. Twelve winners will then be chosen to participate in the ‘accelerator phase’, a 13-week program to mature their initiative in collaboration with a local Zurich business unit.

Startups are then provided with finance and other resources to implement pilots in a country of their choice.