Allianz and BSD launch partnership to improve safety in bobsleighing

Allianz SE | Munich | Dec 23, 2024

A new partnership between the German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation (BSD) and Allianz SE to create more safety in bobsleighing

The “Allianz Safety Sled”, equipped with the latest technology, is being introduced to collect track data and develop new safety solutions

Allianz Center for Technology will advise the BSD in the coming year and will use its expertise in car occupant safety to support the design of safe bobsleds.

The German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation (BSD) is pleased to announce a partnership with Allianz SE. The aim of the collaboration is to increase the safety of athletes in bobsleigh and to develop innovative solutions to minimize risk.

At the center of this partnership lies the “Allianz Safety Sled,” which will be inaugurated on January 4, 2025 in Winterberg. The bobsled, equipped with the latest sensors and an on-board camera by the Federation, will comprehensively analyze the track conditions on race days. The data collected will be shared among the pilots of all federations; it will provide valuable insights into the track conditions and highlight critical areas, for example. This will enable athletes to prepare optimally even before their first run.

“We are proud to work with Allianz on this pioneering project to improve athlete safety,” says Thomas Schwab, Chairman of the BSD. “The Allianz Safety Sled represents our shared commitment to using data from the Safety Sled to gain more information and thereby take safety in bobsleighing to a new level.”

“This initiative not only serves to directly improve safety for pilots, but also contributes to long-term safety research. The data collected will be carefully evaluated to develop future safety protocols and innovations in bobsleigh,” says Eike Bürgel, Global Head of Olympic & Paralympic Program at Allianz SE.

Next year, the focus will lie on protecting the bobsleigh pilots. The Allianz Center for Technology (AZT) will provide guidance on this.

“The Allianz Center for Technology has been brought into the project to transfer the experience we have gained in improving passenger safety in the automotive industry to bobsleigh construction – a similar approach to that previously taken in a collaboration between the AZT and Formula 1,” says Carsten Reinkemeyer, head of safety research at the AZT.

Through its new partnership with the German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation, Allianz is expanding its broad commitment to both professional and amateur sports. Allianz is a strategic partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements and has contributed to the successful organization of Paris 2024. Allianz will also be closely involved in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina. For many years, it has also been a partner of FC Bayern and a sponsor of the men's and women's teams. In addition to these global partnerships, Allianz supports numerous local clubs in Germany, ranging from Alba Berlin Women's Basketball to the Mannheim Hockey Club. The focus here is particularly on work with children and young people. Allianz also promotes sports and exercise among young people through the MoveNow initiative.

Downloads

Media release

For further information please contact:

Allianz

Christian Weishuber
Allianz Deutschland AG

+49 89 3800 181 69

Send email

Ulrike Strauss
Allianz SE

+49 89 3800 12944

Send email

Heidi Polke
Allianz SE

+49 89 3800 99777

Send email

Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation for Germany

Thomas Schwab

+49 151 17399708

Send email

Alexander Resch

+49 151 17399712

Send email

Lena Sauren

+49 151 14102515

Send email

About Allianz

The Allianz Group is one of the world’s leading insurers and asset managers, active in almost 70 countries and serving around 97 million private and corporate customers*. Our customers benefit from a broad range of personal and corporate insurance services, including property, life and health insurance, as well as assistance services, credit and global business insurance. Recognized for the seventh consecutive year as the number one global insurance brand in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2025 ranking, Allianz’s success is built on technology-enabled customer centricity – providing peace of mind, protection, and prevention for our customers and strengthening the resilience of individuals, communities, and societies. We are one of the world’s largest investors, managing around 770 billion euros** on behalf of our insurance customers. Furthermore, our asset managers PIMCO and Allianz Global Investors manage about 2.0 trillion euros** of third-party assets. Thanks to our systematic integration of environmental and social criteria in our business processes and investment decisions, Allianz received an MSCI ESG Rating of AAA (as of March 2026). In 2025, our 156,000 dedicated employees achieved a total business volume of 186.9 billion euros and an operating profit of 17.4 billion euros for our shareholders.

* As of December 31, 2025. Customer count reflects Allianz customers in consolidated entities that are part of the customer reporting scope only

.** As of March 31, 2026.

About the BSD

The Bobsleigh and Sled Association for Germany e. V. – BSD for short – was founded in 1911 and is now one of the most successful winter sports associations in Germany. At the last Olympic Winter Games in February 2022 in Beijing (CHN), the BSD won nine out of ten possible gold medals in its three disciplines of bobsleigh, luge and skeleton, as well as six silver and one bronze medal.

The office is based in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria. The BSD also acts as the parent association of the four artificial ice rinks in Germany: the LOTTO Bayern Eisarena Königssee, the Veltins EisArena Winterberg, the Sachsen-Energie Eiskanal Altenberg and the LOTTO Thüringen Eisarena Oberhof.