TRANSFORMING REINSURANCE THROUGH D I G I TA L H E A LT H PA R T N ER S H I P S Project Partners
TRANSFORMING REINSURANCE THROUGH D I G I TA L H E A LT H PA R T N ER S H I P S
Chief Executive Officer Craig Ford discusses how SCOR Global Life is working to transform its reinsurance by merging and investing in new solutions in Asia Pacific
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eaching €14.8bn of gross written premium in 2017, SCOR is a global tier 1 reinsurer, offering life reinsurance, property and casualty reinsurance, with an exceptional asset management business. SCOR Global Life covers life biometric risks such as mortality, longevity and morbidity, both long and short-term. Having joined SCOR Global Life in Asia Pacific in 2010, Chief Executive Officer Craig Ford has been behind the company’s growing innovative solutions, where the business remains committed to providing transformative ideas, insights and knowledge in order to further support and propel its insurance clients’ businesses forward. Noting that consumers are
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no longer content with standard insurance products, services and procedures, SCOR continues to innovate its proposition (including products, underwriting, claims, risk and distribution solutions) in order to support its clients in giving its consumers increased ease of access, execution, visibility and control, through the adoption of sophisticated engagement processes, from start to finish. “Customers want more than simply pay and be financially compensated when issues strike. We want to enable our clients to provide consumer wellness and health support, along with engagement throughout the process. We want to help our clients access more
Craig Ford Chief Executive Officer Asia Pacific, SCOR Global Life Craig Ford, a dual UK and Australian citizen, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Bristol in the UK. He is a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales Prior to working at SCOR Global Life, Craig spent 14 years in various roles (Strategy, Finance & Planning, Distribution, Risk and Governance) within the Zurich Group. Around 10 years ago he relocated to Australia where he joined one of the major insurers in Strategy, IT & Wealth Management roles before joining RGA as Head of Business Development & Technical Pricing prior to joining SCOR. Craig joined SCOR Global Life as the Australia Chief Executive Officer in 2010 and held the position of Deputy CEO Asia-Pacific from 2013 until his promotion to CEO in Asia Pacific in December 2016 asia.businesschief.com
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WELLNESS PROGRAMS DECREASE EMPLOYEE STRESS Wellness programs are now a quantifiable business tool as well as an employee benefit
garmin.com/health b2b-health@garmin.com
WEARABLES CHANGE THE INSURANCE AND CORPORATE WELLNESS BUSINESS Employers across APAC and EMEA are receiving data-demonstrated risk reduction and cost
information like movement, activity, sleep, stress, heartrate and heartrate variability which
savings from their wellness program, reinforcing with hard data, the decade long assumptions that
now through WellteQ can identify risk early, so preventative measures can be put in place before
wellness provides a business ROI. We can now prove it.
the risk becomes costly. Self-reported data has historically been a mainstay of designing and
Achieving these results is simple, employees receive a free or subsidized Garmin wearable and
measuring the impact of wellness programs, now it merely supports real world behavioral data provided by wearables
are coached through a personalized wellness journey via WellteQ’s smartphone app. The results are available on demand for clients on a real-time dashboard, showcasing risk and cost hotspots. The chart below demonstrates how participating users rated their stress before and after the WellteQ program. There is a clear meaningful reduction in perceived stress at work (43% reduction), and at home (41% reduction) demonstrated by heart rate variability data and self-reported situational data leading to improved perceptions of energy, wellness and ultimately productivity. Garmin wearables provide incredibly detailed
More importantly, user anonymity remains at the core of this experience, at all times the user remains anonymous removing complication from employers and anxiety from employees. Forward thinking Insurance companies are now taking the lead from enterprise wellness by incorporating digital wellness data for smarter risk mitigation, product distribution and customer retention. Findings are demonstrating a higher ROI than from traditional methods. The underwriting process becomes easier and faster and much more precise. Early disease risk detection activates earlier prevention which saves time, money and heartache for everyone.
“THESE PARTNERS HELP US PROVIDE INFORMATION THAT SUPPORTS THIS ONGOING DIALOGUE BETWEEN OUR CLIENTS AND THEIR END CUSTOMERS” CRAIG FORD CEO Asia Pacific, SCOR Global Life
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consumers and help them to lead longer and healthier lives,” Ford says. This shift in demand has led the business to create new distribution solutions, service and product propositions to extend the clients’ reach through the implementation of digital tools across Asia Pacific, particularly in China. “In markets such as China, the new generation of consumers have leapfrogged the use of email and conducts their communication and transactions through interactive channels such as WeChat. They therefore want the ability to receive offers and execute transactions through mobile devices and similar platforms,” he says. “It required us to provide slicker propositions and engagement tools that consumers can understand and respond to readily.” Consumers’ demand to receive continual, real-time information and advice about their policies and health links with Ford’s belief that ‘health is the new wealth’ within the insurance business, which is integral to SCOR Global Life’s solutions. Growth of health and wellness
2,801
Number of employees at SCOR
Drawing from an ecosystem of expertise, a number of partnerships have helped drive SCOR Global Life’s solution development and ambition to help anticipate customer issues, even before they arise. Its decision to become the sole global distributor of French wellness company Umanlife’s health platform has seen its clients gain the ability to access personalised lifestyle information about their own health and wellness, and follow bespoke programmes designed for their specific circumstances. Merging external expertise with SCOR Global Life’s in-house
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FACT SCOR Global Life is the sole global distributor of French wellness company Umanlife’s health platform experiences and capabilities, the company has completely overhauled its traditional focus within insurance, where it now encompasses a complete personalised, userfocused, digital interactive platform which gives the user greater control over the management of their own health and wellbeing. “These partners help us provide information that supports this ongoing dialogue between our clients and their end customers,” notes Ford. “We help our clients give their customers what they want and help anticipate and address their future demands. “An example that demonstrates our focus is our development of a Biological Age Model (BAM), which is
combined with a wellness platform. We have three partners - Garmin, Vivametrica, and WellteQ - and we provide health evaluation data, the use of wearables, and bespoke wellness programmes for individual customers. This is personalised biological age pricing with continuous positive engagement between the insurers and their customers. The objective is to motivate consumers through customised, individual information to live a healthier lifestyle based on the data they provide. “It’s a great combination of the use of wearables to generate data to combine with other insights to provide individually customised and updated wellness programmes help change and add value to people’s lives.” Technological disruption With the need to create a superior customer experience, SCOR Global Life has also helped the insurance industry overhaul its traditional underwriting services. Historically this has been a timeconsuming, invasive process,
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involving questionnaires and blood/ fluid samples. SCOR has therefore listened to the feedback received from its clients to make the process increasingly resilient and seamless. Utilising publicly available information, such as records of pharmaceutical usage, driving records, criminal records and basic demographic information, SCOR’s underwriting platform, named Velogica, has now gained the ability to automate underwriting and risk assessment in up to 85% of policy applications. “Where we get a match, we can typically form a risk assessment in
about 90 seconds, removing the needs for customers to go through this historic, cumbersome process. In fact, the risk assessment using our underwriting algorithm is more accurate in many cases than through traditional methods,” notes Ford. “It was designed and built to satisfy the requirements of today’s users – be they consumer, adviser or underwriter, and is a much more effective way of profiling customers for our clients. It provides a much better customer experience through all of the pathways to purchase.” However, differences between the US and other markets mean
FACT SCOR Global Life’s subsidiary ReMark has established Digital Marketing Lab, ezTakaful in Malaysia, which looks at areas such as accelerated underwriting and alternative distribution models
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TECHNOLOGY
VIDEO: Denis Kessler - 2017 SCOR’s Activity & CSR Report
appropriate adaptation is required. “At the moment we use a simple rule set, where we ask reflective questions through an e-underwriting system, which asks clients minimum questions and only goes into more detail where further information is needed,” says Ford. “Having built the algorithms, we now have the capability to better profile the end customers limited only by an individual’s countries’
governance around what data can and cannot be used. We are mindful of the data requirements prevalent in each country. There are complex rules about what information can be accessed and used, which is why we are customising the use of our algorithms to reflect each market’s requirements.” Additionally, SCOR Global Life encrypts all client data, adhering to the highest levels of data protection.
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Forward thinking
Agility for success
Collaborative partnership
Text mining of claim processes is predominantly those which remain another area where SCOR Global unencumbered by legacy systems Life is partnering with clients to bring and short-term shareholder demands. solutions to meet the demands of Additionally, the company also today’s consumer. “For the end partners with other ambitious life customers, claiming can be perceived insurance companies, as well as long drawn-out process with InsurTech entrepreneurs who can uncertain outcomes. For bring a different perspective. insurers, the process can “We are partnering with be cumbersome and US-based Plug and resource intensive. Play Tech Centre, a By leveraging global technology machine accelerator learning and for startups BILLION Gross Written text mining and investors, Premiums (2017) techniques, SCOR which has given us Global Life is able to access to a number provide solutions that of potential start-ups and not only better serve end other operations,” observes customers, but also support Ford. “The partnership will enable insurers in delivering greater SCOR Global Life and our subsidiary efficiency and insights into their ReMark to look at the long-term claims experience which in turn drives potential of health-tech startups. better propositions,” explains Ford. “Through a review process, we look at whether there is likely Strength in numbers to be alignment of philosophy To further its health and wellness and mutual benefits and a clear focus, SCOR Global Life engaged focus on helping our clients better with startups at an early stage, serve their customers, in terms of
€14.8
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fulfilling their health and wellness aspirations,” adds Ford. Partnering with SMEs, health and wellness companies and startups has seen ReMark establish Digital Marketing Lab, ezTakaful in Malaysia, which looks at areas such as accelerated underwriting and alternative distribution models. “ReMark is an expert business in digital distribution that has a global presence. It conducts global customer surveys and uses feedback from these surveys to adapt various distribution methods and create omnichannel solutions. It is also used to export and import ideas to other markets where they’re present,” says Ford. “They’ve successfully trialled and launched a number of things, such as taking the experience in more traditional media like TV shopping channel and condensed it into a digital format of 20-second advertisements over social media. These have been much more effective at capturing people’s attention in a ‘Digital First’ era.”
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“WE ARE MINDFUL OF THE DATA REQUIREMENTS PREVALENT IN EACH COUNTRY. THERE ARE COMPLEX RULES ABOUT WHAT INFORMATION CAN BE ACCESSED AND USED, WHICH IS WHY WE ARE CUSTOMISING USE OF OUR ALGORITHMS TO REFLECT EACH MARKET’S REQUIREMENTS” CRAIG FORD CEO Asia Pacific, SCOR Global Life
Product development SCOR Global Life’s focus on the development of bespoke products has also seen the company partner with a number of technology providers to deliver exceptional solutions to its clients, in line with the preventive healthcare trends. “We have partnered with an artificial intelligence business and a hospital in Asia to take the hospital’s data and build a new database which will
improve the development of products and services for the management of back and spine issues,” explains Ford. “This database will greatly help the hospital in the treatment of patients. We can use this to work with insurers to provide product and service to their customers. The development of such a database and the ability to create products therefore becomes beneficial to the hospital patients and consumers.
“Another good example is in the preventive care area. We’re in active partnership with an advanced medical testing company to our clients with a specific test for pregnant women that is triggered first by an abnormal result,” adds Ford. “It’s a non-invasive way to look at the health of the baby, in a way that replaces some of the older techniques which were not as accurate, and carried increased risk to both the foetus and to the mother.
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SCOR
“We see this as a hugely beneficial proposition for pregnant mothers, and for the advanced medical testing company it also gives them continued access to data to continuously improve and refine their testing. We also use advanced medical testing to more accurately focus treatment when illness strikes as well as helping identify those with
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pre-disposition to disorders to make lifestyle changes and to minimise the likelihood of occurrence.� Emerging trends When asked about the trends to look out in the sector, Ford concludes: “The merger of healthcare and insurance is a trend which will continually develop and grow across
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the health and wellness sector. The alignment between insurance companies and wellness and health promotion companies will continue. “Our aim is to promote health and wellbeing. Life is precious, so if we can make protection and peace of mind available and affordable to new and existing customers, we can promote health and wellbeing so that
people can ultimately enjoy longer and happier lives – that’s our purpose and something around which we, as a life reinsurer, are both aligned and committed to achieving.”
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HEAD OFFICE
ASIA PACIFIC OFFICE
SCOR SE 5, avenue Kléber 75795 Paris Cedex 16, France
SCOR Global Life Asia Pacific 60 Robinson Road, #31-01 068914 Singapore
+33 (0)1 58 44 70 00
+65 6517 7500