InsurTech Magazine - January 2021 by insurtechdigital

JANUARY 2021

insurtechdigital.com

HITS: DRIVING INNOVATION IN GLOBAL INSURTECH

INSURERS OF 2020 WESLEYAN: BRIGHTER FINANCIAL FUTURES THROUGH DIGITAL

CHAIN REACTION: IS BLOCKCHAIN THE NEXT SHIFT?

PRUDENTIAL BSN TAKAFUL:

CREATING A DIGITAL ROADMAP

FOR INSURANCE

4.0

AHMIR UD DEEN ON MODERNISING ISLAMIC INSURANCE

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FOREWORD

gainst all odds, 2020 was a year

marked by substantial insurance

Also covered in this edition is Canada BrokerLink, a company which Alena

industry success in the form of IPOs,

Kharkavets, VP Digital Strategy and CX,

strong M&A activity and product develop-

describes as outlining a new vision for

ment. More and more, it is becoming

community-based insurance.

apparent that a new, digitally infused form of insurance is taking hold and the positives for policyholders are abundant. In our cover story this month, we learn

Meanwhile, we find out how modern risk management is changing from Willis Re and Fusion Risk Management, ask Accenture five key questions on insurtech

about the development of one particular

ecosystems, conduct a roundtable

market: Islamic insurance in Malaysia

on automated claims settlement, and

(called ‘takaful’). Ahmir ud Deen, COO of

explore whether blockchain truly repre-

Prudential BSN Takaful, walks us through

sents the next big shift in insurance.

the company’s digital roadmap that’s leading it towards ‘Insurance 4.0’. “Most traditional insurance coverage and Takaful certificates used to have an exclusion for pandemic situations and ill-

Happy New Year to you all! Will Girling william.girling@bizclikmedia.com

nesses. We immediately stated that we would be removing or not applying that exclusion,” he says. “I think the pandemic has changed the whole paradigm for all of us: it’s a new awakening and it’s going to have a permanent impact on the industry.”

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PUBLISHED BY

PRODUCTION DIRECTORS

Georgia Allen Daniela Kianickovรก

Michael Banyard MANAGING DIRECTOR

Lewis Vaughan

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Will Girling

Owen Martin Philline Vicente

James White

DEPUTY EDITOR

VIDEO PRODUCTION MANAGER

DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

MEDIA SALES DIRECTOR

Rhys Thomas

Kieran Waite

Jason Westgate

EDITORAL DIRECTOR

DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCERS

CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

Scott Birch CREATIVE TEAM

Oscar Hathaway Sophia Forte Sophie-Ann Pinnell Hector Penrose Sam Hubbard Mimi Gunn

Sam Kemp Evelyn Huang DIGITAL MARKETING EXECUTIVE

Stacy Norman PRESIDENT & CEO

Glen White

Evelyn Howat PROJECT DIRECTORS

Jake Megeary Jordan Hubbard www.insurtechdigital.com

CONTENTS

Creating a Digital Roadmap for Insurance 4.0

COVID-19 and technology are changing risk management

ยง

CHAIN REACTION: IS BLOCKCHAIN THE NEXT SHIFT IN INSURANCE?

48 HOW TO PREVENT INSURANCE FROM BEING DISRUPTED BY ECOSYSTEMS

58 Digital leaders

AUTOMATING CLAIMS SETTLEMENT: MEETING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS

Building an ecosystem? Connect the dots. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Your journey to cloud must navigate pitfalls and opportunities that are unique to your business. We support you in imagining and delivering your cloud journey and making it runâ&#x20AC;?. Eric Meistermann, Deloitte Partner in charge of AXA Group

110 Wesleyan

86 House of InsurTech Switzerland

134 Vitality

92 Canada Brokerlink

Creating a Digital Roadmap for Insurance 4.0 WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

JAKE MEGEARY

JANUARY 2021

i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

PRUDENTIAL BSN TAKAFUL BERHAD

Ahmir ud Deen, COO, describes how PruBSN is taking a leadership role in modernising takaful insurance for the Malaysian industry

he sharp trajectory of change currently being experienced in insurance (and Takaful) makes it one of the most exciting

industries of the digital era. Already grappling with the paradigm-shifting advances of digital transformation at the start of 2020, COVID-19 shifted 12

the sector’s perspective to a dual emphasis; companies realised that technology was not merely a tool for streamlining the status quo, but rather the method by which the business could actively improve its customers’ lives and provide stability to global economies. Few companies were better poised to take a regionally leading role in this ‘new normal’ than Prudential BSN Takaful Berhad (PruBSN), the largest takaful insurance provider in Malaysia. Founded in 2006, the company has swiftly risen to prominence. “When I first joined PruBSN in 2014, having moved from Prudential Indonesia, we had already been the Number 1 Family Takaful company within the very large Islamic Financial Market of Malaysia, since 2010.” explains Ahmir ud Deen, Chief Operations Officer (COO) of Prudential BSN JANUARY 2021

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CYBER VILLAGE: COLLABORATORS IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION CEO Yee Bing Shieh delves into how Cyber Village’s philosophy of collaboration has affirmed its successes in enabling digital transformations Since its pioneering days as an e-commerce start up in the late 1990s, Cyber Village has grown to be a leader in digital engagement technologies enabling various customer transformation journeys for insurers and financial institutions across the ASEAN region. Despite its incumbent leadership position today, the pioneer spirit of Cyber Village’s startup days is clearly ingrained deep into its DNA: “We are very conscious of the need to change all the time,” says CEO Yee Bing Shieh. For Shieh, algorithms and apps are blunt instruments without a guiding human touch, and a collaborative vision. She sees these as catalysts for agility in the firm’s digital innovation processes. Most recently, this philosophy has underpinned Cyber Village’s seven-year partnership with leading Islamic insurance provider PruBSN. “PruBSN is a very positive, customer-focused organization with clear business goals,” she says. “Having said that, they are also open to experimentation in terms of new technology, as well as how we can actually come together with them to co-create new ideas.”

The latest upshot of this collaborative approach is the launch of an industry-first peer-to-peer Takaful Islamic Insurance application. Here, Cyber Village’s technology team worked closely with PruBSN’s product team, leveraging one of Cyber Village’s recent tech innovations – a cloud based P2P platform designed on a ledger architecture, complete with digital wallet capabilities. “It’s a major social innovation in terms of how it allows the participants to join the Islamic insurance programme, pool their premiums and actually understand what it means to have a shared insurance, or mutual protection, in a peer group or community, all via an end-to-end digital experience,” Shieh explains. “There are no physical, manual processes here; the customer journey is seamlessly delivered through a mobile app”. Shieh talks about the initiative as part of Cyber Village’s collaborative technology-as-service platform model to work with its clients and go into technology-as-abusiness. “We look forward to such co-creations… it then lifts us beyond just doing tech or delivering tech capabilities by actually becoming a Digital Business Partner for our clients, such as PruBSN.”

PRUDENTIAL BSN TAKAFUL BERHAD

Takaful. “However, despite that, there

years as CEO of Allianz-EFU Health

is still plenty of room for us to grow.”

Insurance, before moving back to

A highly experienced executive in the

the Indonesian Market in early 2005.

APAC insurance market, Deen earned

After 13 years with Allianz, he joined

a degree in Actuarial Science from the

Prudential Indonesia as Chief Financial

London School of Economics (1988

Officer and finally took on his current

to 1991) prior to starting his insurance

role at PruBSN in 2014, Deen says that

career in Dubai. From there, he moved

he came to recognise both the chal-

to the Asia Pacific Region, with Allianz

lenges and significant potential of the

in 1997, joining their Indonesian Life

Malaysian market, especially in the

Company just a few weeks before the

area of Islamic Insurance or Takaful.

Asian Financial crisis hit the region.

“Malaysia is a fairly heavily regulated

He completed a stint with Allianz

market, but I don’t mean that in a

in his native Pakistan spending four

negative way. While we always have

JANUARY 2021

to stay within the Islamic guidelines;

also accommodate Malaysia’s younger

the regulations are also there to look

generations with more tech-savvy,

out for the interests of customers

digitally-focused alternatives and

and manage the sustainability and

services. “We embarked on our digital

the long term viability of Insurers and

transformation journey more than

Takaful operators.”

five or six years ago,” he says. “and

Deen characterises the market

coincidentally just over a year ago,

within which PruBSN operates as

we moved into a new office and decided

“well-established”, but with relatively

that we would make the office entirely

lower penetration and plenty of oppor-

wifi enabled and fully digitalised, with

tunity. Recognising that, on the whole,

flexible workstations and work areas

customers of all demographics are still

for everyone.” This development,

served predominantly through agents

it turned out, was highly perspica-

and branches, PruBSN is striving to

cious and enabled PruBSN to quickly

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Ahmir ud Deen Title: Chief Operations Officer

Industry: Insurance

A highly experienced executive in the APAC insurance market, Ud Deen earned a degree in Actuarial Science from the London School of Economics (1988 to 1991) prior to starting his insurance career in Dubai. Joining Allianz in 1997, he eventually secured a MD/CEO role at the company’s Pakistani branch in 2000. After spending four years in the role, he became a C-suite executive at PT Asuransi Allianz Life Indonesia for over five years. Joining Prudential Indonesia as Chief Financial Officer, he came to recognise the value of the Islamic insurance market, and eventually took on his current role as the Chief Operating Officer of PruBSN in 2014. i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

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“ Malaysia is a fairly heavily regulated market, but I don’t mean that in a negative way” — Ahmir ud Deen, COO, Prudential BSN Takaful

mobilise for remote working when the COVID-19 pandemic began to escalate. “I would say that we hit the ground running: we were set up within a week, including a new sales process that allowed our Agents to enroll new customers digitally. This gave them the ability to continue serving prospective customers while still following the safeguards required in the market.” However, more than that, the pandemic awakened the industry to the gaps in insurance protection and how it could improve even further.

i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

PRUDENTIAL BSN TAKAFUL BERHAD

“Most traditional insurance and Takaful certificates used to have an exclusion for pandemic conditions. We immediately stated that we would be removing or not applying that exclusion” — Ahmir ud Deen, COO, Prudential BSN Takaful

Following the original lockdown (or “Movement Control Order” as it was called in Malaysia), insurance and Takaful has been increasingly seen as a tool to enrich and improve the lives of customers rather than simply providing policies (‘certificates’ in Takaful terms). As such, PruBSN understood that the conditions of the coronavirus crisis provided the opportunity to demonstrate its strong ethical standards. “Most traditional insurance coverage and Takaful certificates used to have

an exclusion for pandemic situations and illnesses. We immediately stated that we would be removing or not applying that exclusion,” says Deen. Furthermore, with its increased flexibility, the company was able to offer a further range of benefits to clients, including new benefit payouts for ‘confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19’ and ‘death from COVID-19’ as a free addon to their existing coverage. “The whole industry also came together and set up some funds to even cover those people that may not have been protected at all,” he continues. “I think the pandemic has changed the paradigm for all of us: it’s a new awakening JANUARY 2021

How do you do health when we’re all different? #PulsebyPrudential CLICK TO WATCH

1:10

21 and it’s going to have a permanent

foster a closer relationship with users

impact on the industry.”

and customers. “One very popular app

PruBSN’s digital transformation

for us, being an Islamic company is

continues to guide the direction of its

“PruBSN Insan”, which gives users daily

approach. Initial innovations included

prayer reminders, amongst other, spir-

an online, tablet-based point of sales

itual advice.” Another more recent one

system that allowed agents to meet

is ‘Pulse by Prudential’: Pulse marks

customer needs faster and more

a step change in health management

effectively, and after that, building

in Asia by making healthcare more

an omnichannel customer portal to

inclusive and accessible. By support-

facilitate the younger generations’

ing users in every step of their health

interest in being able to self-service.

and wellness journey, Prudential is

The company has also been investing

going beyond its core business of

in the development of several apps

providing protection and playing a

designed to drive engagement and

greater role in helping people prevent i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

PRUDENTIAL BSN TAKAFUL BERHAD

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23 and postpone the onset of diseases. With a holistic approach in supporting the three stages in a person’s health journey – Prevent, Postpone, Protect – Pulse takes healthcare to a new level of engagement with consumers. The goal is to seamlessly integrate personal health checks and management into everyday life by providing users with mobile tools and real-time information that they can access wherever they are, round the clock.

“ I think the pandemic has changed the paradigm for all of us: it’s a new awakening and it’s going to have a permanent impact on the industry” — Ahmir ud Deen, COO, Prudential BSN Takaful

Pulse was first launched in Malaysia in August 2019 and is now available in 11 markets across Asia. Apart from i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

PRUDENTIAL BSN TAKAFUL BERHAD

CO MP AN Y FACT S

In Deen’s opinion, these significant changes to the customer experience are preparing PruBSN for “insurance 4.0” - an equivalent term to ‘industry 4.0’ or the ‘fourth industrial revolution’. The company’s journey along this tech-infused path has been assisted by its strategically chosen partners, such as AccelTree, DXC and Cyber Village, among others. Deen provided us with further details on these relationships and the projects they’ve worked on together: AccelTree: Based in India, this software solutions provider has played a key part in PruBSN’s digital transformation. “We worked with AccelTree to build our point of sales system since 2013; this relationship has helped us to modify, speed-up and expand the whole on-boarding system for our customers. AccelTree has and continues to be a key partner for us in building these digital journeys and facilities.”

JANUARY 2021

Cyber Village: A leader in digital engagement technology solutions for the Malaysian market, the company is a pioneer in ecommerce and transformational infrastructure. “Cyber Village helped us build our customer portal, back in 2016” he explains. “We’ve subsequently enhanced that further and recently also developed an innovative, Islamic ‘crowd sourcing’ app with them, that allows you to chip in money as you

see fit for simple benefits such as for death and funeral services. It’s not just about putting money in for oneself; it’s something the wider community will be able to take advantage of, as and when they need it. And we see this as just the start of what can be offered in this very exciting way for our society.” DXC: “DXC specialises in building main business systems applications for the insurance and Takaful

Industry. PruBSN and our sister company have been in the Malaysian market for over 15 years and 95 years respectively, and we have a huge database of more than three and a half million customers. We are currently migrating this data to a new system supplied by DXC and foresee more stable and efficient systems as we move forward, together.”

i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

PRUDENTIAL BSN TAKAFUL BERHAD

being available in 10 local languages, the app also incorporates epidemiology. Free for download, the app has many features such as; after the completion of a medical questionnaire, a report is generated which includes a realistic 3D representation of the body, called the ‘digital twin’, as well as health advice to help one reduce disease risks and improve overall wellbeing. “We see this whole ‘ecosystem’ as becoming a central tool, not only for our customers, but also for our agents 26

to promote and share with potential customers,” says Deen. “PruBSN doesn’t want it to be a formal, boring app that you only look at if you’re sick; it has to be a fun and useful tool as well, one that helps you to manage the healthcare as well as financial needs for yourself and your family.”

“ Insurance is often considered to be a very traditional and conservative industry, but you’ll be surprised how fast-moving and modern we can be” — Ahmir ud Deen, COO, Prudential BSN Takaful JANUARY 2021

The strength of PruBSN’s vision and its preparation for insurance and Takaful’s digital era means that it is well-prepared to meet the challenges of 2021. “We’ve got a very clear and detailed roadmap of what we want to do, whether that’s integrating our businesses, our industry, and our companies onto shared platforms, or giving our customers the

best and broadest experience available.

“It’s a brand new world. It’s an open

Giving people the ability to make the

world, and it’s an opportunity for eve-

most out of life is our purpose.”

ryone to take part,” Deen concludes.

Having proven itself throughout the

“Insurance is often considered to be

pandemic as a company dedicated to

a very traditional and conservative

providing peace of mind at a time when

industry, but you’ll be surprised how

customers need it the most, PruBSN

fast-moving and modern we can be.”

is eager to embrace and adapt to the industry as it changes. i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

COVID-19 and technology are changing risk management WRITTEN BY

JANUARY 2021

WILL GIRLING

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

Using first-hand insights from leading figures at Willis Re and Fusion, we chart the evolution of approaches to risk management in insurance

lthough the fundamental tenets of risk management in insurance have arguably remained the same, the world in which the

industry operates has tangibly changed. The nature of assessing and quantifying the likelihood and

financial implications of events that may require a 30

settlement has undergone a two-fold acceleration in recent times, namely digital transformation and the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, these two factors in combination could be perceived as ultimately being beneficial, even redemptive, for insuranceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s evolution into a truly 21st century sector. This is hardly surprising: as observed in our recent roundtable feature on the adoption of automation technology, the general consensus among thought leaders is that insurance has been conservative, resistant to change, and slow to appreciate technological advances. However, all that could be about to change. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I actually think [the pandemic] has not been a bad thing at all for our industry from an operational perspective,â&#x20AC;? explains Dr. Andrew Johnston, Global

JANUARY 2021

“While there’s no lack of talent in the industry, there is a shortage of visionaries” — Sal Petriello, Principal Consultant, Fusion Risk Management

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“ I don’t think that any single initiative or business could have accelerated the digitisation process to the degree that COVID has been able to”

the digitisation process to the degree that COVID has been able to.” Forced to adapt to a more dynamic and digital style of operations following lockdown restrictions, which brought renewed legitimacy to remote working, the capability of tech infrastructure to maintain mission-critical processes has been vindicated. As such, insur-

— Dr. Andrew Johnston, Global Head of InsurTech, Willis Re

ance’s paradigm for risk management

Head of InsurTech at Willis Re (the rein-

democratised elements of market

surance arm of Willis Towers Watson).

competitive advantage; if an insurer

“I don’t think that any single initiative

cannot manage risks digitally, they’re

or business could have accelerated

probably in trouble,” Johnston adds.

could already be midway through a significant shift, “I think that it has

SAL PETRIELLO OUTLINES CONTEMPORARY RISK MANAGEMENT

“ The fundamental tenets for insurance risk management align with core enterprise risk management practices. Insurance risk can be evaluated using traditional governance, risk and compliance (GRC) categories that include operational, financial, strategy, compliance, and reputational threats.

“ W ithin these risk categories, most insurance providers only cover pure risks, or those risks that embody the main elements of insurable risk and fall within the categories above. Pure risks are often referred to as event risks and include any uncertain situation where the opportunity for loss is present.”

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

4 ways covid-19 has impacted risk management in 2020 CLICK TO WATCH

1:30

“ If an insurer cannot manage risks digitally, they’re probably in trouble” — Dr. Andrew Johnston, Global Head of InsurTech, Willis Re

being driven by these new technolo-

gies benefits both the insurer and the insured. The insured can evaluate the effectiveness of controls and

TECHNOLOGY AND CORPORATE CULTURE

preventative measures, situational

When it comes to narrowing down

awareness and event management,

which specific technologies are

and response and recovery to create

enabling this change, Sal Petriello,

a resilience score for their organisa-

Principal Consultant at software

tion. Meanwhile insurers can use the

company Fusion Risk Management,

resilience score to understand how

identifies big data and artificial intel-

well the insured can avoid or limit

ligence (AI) as being particularly

losses, to predict the likelihood of

important. “The digital transformation

event risk, and to assess insurability.”

JANUARY 2021

However, although these technolo-

risk management is its very existence: it

gies might be revelatory for incumbents,

forced the issue of digital transforma-

insurtechs, by dint of a tech-driven and

tion onto practically every insurer and

insurance-focused mindset, have argua-

reinsurer’s mind, but technology was

bly held the developmental advantage.

itself just the catalyst for the underlying

“You could argue that the first ‘insurtech’

business proposition.

dates back to the late 80s with Direct

The corporate culture of an insurer

Line in the UK,” points out Johnston.

can inflect its approach to risk man-

“Affordable technology from third parties

agement to a near-equivalent degree.

came into the industry circa 2012, with

Petriello clarifies that although many

a lot of hype surrounding the disrup-

companies have an established

tive capability of technology building in

“culture statement” on the subject

2016.” For him, insurtech’s primary con-

it is, however, “only the first step in

tribution to the discussion of enhanced

enabling employees to make the

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Dr. Andrew Johnston Title: Global Head of InsurTech Company: Willis Re Holding a PhD in Politics from the School of African and Oriental Studies (2007 to 2014), an institution at which he was also a researcher, Johnston joined Willis Towers Watson in 2016. “My role is a combination of a few things, but my dayto-day duties include managing a team of 30 people across the globe who are looking for best-in-class insurtech businesses. We’re looking for businesses that we think can truly revolutionise the industry.”

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

D I G I TA L S T R AT E G Y

right risk management decisions.” It’s not hard to see why: an increasingly digitised industry means that insurers must operate in opaque regulatory territory, making lean and agile operating methods essential to minimising the risk of infraction or compromising cybersecurity. “Employees are expected to fully understand how regulatory changes impact their organisations, while meeting customer expectations for delivery of critical services and products. Also, although 36

not new, cyber threats are taking on a new urgency in today’s climate of fast-paced change and, as a result, a risk aware culture is imperative to limit

THE ‘WAR ON TALENT’

impact and loss,” Petriello says.

Another consideration is that a

Deloitte’s article ‘Using RegTech to

tech-enabled approach to risk

transform compliance and risk from

management will require specific

support functions into business dif-

expertise to execute, and there-

ferentiators’ gives an indication of the

fore will likely cause a shift in hiring

extent to which regtech-integrated

practices for many insurance firms.

partner ecosystems should be a

However, there is a discernible ‘war

priority for insurers. Their scope

on talent’ currently underway, a

also broadens the foundational tech

consequence of digital transfor-

infrastructure suggested by Petriello,

mation’s prevalence in practically

adding cloud computing, blockchain

every industry. In this competitive

and APIs (application programme

arena, insurance must make itself

interfaces), among others to the mix.

attractive to next-gen innovators

JANUARY 2021

and graduates. It was for this reason that insurtech FRISS launched its ‘Insurance is a beautiful thing’ campaign, citing research from the US Insurance Information Institute that only 54% of Americans held a positive view of the industry, with the youngest and therefore most ‘digitally native’ responders regarding it generally unfavourably. “Insurance risk managers have steadfastly followed legacy risk management methodologies. The pandemic has exposed how those

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Sal Petriello Title: Principal Consultant Company: Fusion Risk Management Formerly the VP of TD Bank Group (TD) and a consultant at Capco, Petriello has now been part of Fusion for a year. Describing his company in greater detail, he said, “Fusion Risk Management is a leading industry provider of cloud-based software solutions for business continuity, risk management, IT disaster recovery, and crisis and incident management.”

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

JANUARY 2021

“ C yber threats are taking on a new urgency in today’s climate of fast-paced change [...] a risk aware culture is imperative” — Sal Petriello, Principal Consultant, Fusion Risk Management

impossible to do by technology alone. However it’ll be difficult to procure the right personality, because you’re looking for somebody that both understands the industry and is placed at the cutting edge of technology.” Although it may be premature to speculate on the outcome of a significant industry shift that only began in March 2020, it seems readily apparent that digitally enhanced risk management will have a transformative impact. From changing the way

methodologies may no longer be ade-

organisations insure, mitigate, accept,

quate to assess the likelihood of event

or avoid identifiable risks, insurers

risk,” states Petriello. “While there’s no

will need to “adjust their services to

lack of talent in the industry, there is a

proactively work with clients, provide

shortage of visionaries.” Johnston is

value and assist in the better handling

less pessimistic: the talent pool and

of risk,” says Petriello. Finally, the reali-

employee roles are changing, perhaps

sation that corporate culture has just

for the better, although he cautions

as large a role to play as technology

that an ‘insurtech’ mindset will become

must never be forgotten, as Johnston

increasingly essential.

concludes: “When it comes to risk

“I think industry expertise is actually

management the underlying technol-

going to experience a mini-revival as

ogy is not even necessarily the most

the role of the human in an increasingly

interesting part. It’s the facilitator,

automated industry becomes more

it’s the enabler, but having an under-

important. Things like complex risk

standing of the business perspective

assessment, portfolio management or

and what you’re trying to achieve is

relationship development are almost

just as important.” i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

TECHNOLOGY

CHAIN REACTION: IS BLOCKCHAIN THE NEXT SHIFT IN INSURANCE? WRITTEN BY

RHYS THOMAS

Blockchain technology will revolutionise insurance in the coming decade, but how will it open new markets and spawn new models in the sector? 40

This month marks 12 years since the first Bitcoin was mined by its architect, the enigmatic person or group known only under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, and whose identity remains shrouded in shadows to this day. In January 2009, Nakamotoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation unleashed a new form of currency into the world, and with it the underlying blockchain network. Managing the global flow of cryptocoins was the original vision for blockchain. But, as with the internet, its unique capabilities drew interest from all corners of the world. Its distributed ledger technology (DLT) has been put to use on everything from overhauling rental property management to anonymised illicit trade in arms and narcotics on the dark web. In the insurance industry, insurtechs quickly identified how the technologyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s innate security and transparency could be beneficial. JANUARY 2021

in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

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BLOCKCHAIN 101 As with our surface-level understanding on how algorithms influence buying habits or what we stream on Netflix, a technical background isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessary to see where blockchain ties neatly into the underlying mechanics of the modern insurance industry. Fundamentally it comprises three elements: The block: This is where a document or piece of data is stored.

entirely. On the blockchain, even infinitesimal tampering is spotlit. In short, this form of public ledger

The chain: Which bonds the blocks together to form the network.

sidesteps many of the shortcomings insurance firms spend millions of dollars and thousands of man hours addressing.

The hash: A code that acts both as

It is air-tight, immutable and transpar-

an encryption instrument

ent. Could a concertina of traditional

and a unique identifier for

technology, legacy systems and the odd

each block.

filing cabinet stuffed with paper contracts offer the same result? Perhaps,

The hash is the cornerstone, pro-

says Mark Wales, CEO and cofounder

tecting the contents of each block

of Galileo, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but blockchain technology

through cryptography and acting as

provides a single technology support-

an infallible unique marker that

ing a private network of participants,

ensures a single point of truth. If this

real-time transactions, the distributed

issue of InsurTech Digital were to be

segregated data aligned across the

stored in a block, for instance, even

network and security and compliance

removing the full-stop at the end of

while capturing all the transactions

this sentence would alter the hash

on an immutable ledger. You would in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

TECHNOLOGY

permissionless blockchains, potentially increasing the pace of innovation. However, transactions or changes to the database are transparent to all participants; this may not be acceptable in business use cases which require confidentiality.

Decentralisation

Security

Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Understanding blockchain for insurance use cases, Feb 2020

Scalability

Development flexibility

Figure 1: Examples of design trade-offs

require a more expensive and compli-

In February this year, a study on

Other important (but non-exhaustive) design trade-offs, as shown in Figure 1, include:

cated set of alternate technologies

the nascent implementation of block-

Decentralisation vs. scalability/speed – To maximise the benefits of decentralisation (i.e. to do this.” chain into the existing insurance where the ownership and maintenance of the network,from including verification, system thedata UK’s Institutedoes andnot depend on a trusted centralised authority), scalability/speed of the network needs to be SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM GAIN Faculty of Actuaries concluded that sacrificed in favour of a robust decentralised consensus mechanism;

As a tool for providing greater assur-

collaboration remains both the pri-

short-term it offers cost savings and

rounding blockchain has not yet led

Scalability/speed vs. security – To maximise throughput (i.e. the number and speed of ance in an ever muddier tide of Big mary strength and weakness of this transactions), certain design sacrifices need to be made to the rules that determine how Data, blockchain is revolutionary. the database, technology: excitement surdata is verified and added to theInshared potentially“The introducing vulnerabilities; 

Development flexibility vs. security – To maximise the flexibility in developing applications, efficiencies to legacy systems and a to a tangible impact on the insurance restrictions on smart contracts may need to be minimised, potentially allowing malicious key-turn solution for software firms thrust industry… Blockchain adoption is a actors to exploit bugs ininto smart contracts. 

the digital arena for the first time due to team sport relying on the collabora2.3.2 Components of blockchain COVID-19, taking organic first tion of multiple stakeholders… Componentsor of those blockchain are not new; the main innovation is in the mixing and aggregationThe of steps into a modernised transforinsurance in turn, needs existing technologies such asdigital cryptographic hash functions, digitalindustry, signature, Merkle tree (or its to

variants)project. data structure, and consensus mechanism in a distributed system. These components are mation The scope of long-term collaborate to formulate blockchain described further below.

value in the blockchain, however, far

standards and to ensure interoper-

2.3.2.1 Cryptographic hash function outweighs these upfront boons.

ability between different solutions.”

Cryptographic hash functions are used extensively throughout a blockchain system to secure and authenticate data. A cryptographic hash function is a “mathematical algorithm that maps data of

JANUARY 2021

“ The insurance industry, in turn, needs to collaborate to formulate blockchain standards and to ensure interoperability between different solutions” — UK Institute and Faculty of Actuaries,

NEW MODELS, NEW MARKETS In more imaginative implementa-

In cases where blockchain adop-

tions, blockchain already underpins

tion accelerates, its ability to offer a

novel forms of risk protection – not

single point of truth opens the doors

insurance as we know it, by definition,

to full transparency and strengthened

but community-driven cover. Nexus

partnerships between insurtechs

Mutual is one such startup, promis-

and incumbents, insurers and their

ing a “people powered alternative” to

customers. Everyone knows they are looking at the same information about policyholders, their terms and even their claims, eliminating data duplication and pulling the rug out beneath traditional fraud activity. Organisations on the periphery of the process also benefit greatly; after all, the fundamentals of blockchain ensure no direct, one-on-one relationship is necessary. “Reinsurers can have real-time access so they can understand their exposures,” Wales says. “Medical service providers can input details of services and get real-time feedback on claims and payments.” in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

TECHNOLOGY

traditional insurance. Its tokenised economy leverages the Ethereum blockchain, allowing members to share risk together in the style of mutual insurance, forgoing the intermediary of an insurance firm. Members decide which claims are valid, and all decisions are recorded and handled in real-time on the public ledger by smart contracts.

“ Blockchain technology provides a single technology supporting a private network of participants” — Mark Wales, CEO, Galileo

In emerging markets, the technology is rapidly revolutionising insurance in some of the most under-insured populations on earth. In countries across APAC, adult 46

insurance literacy is among the lowest in the world, creating an ideal environment for a new shift in financial inclusion through digital solutions and technologies such as blockchain. Galileo Platforms last month rolled out its blockchain infrastructure in the Philippines, one of the many markets of Southeast Asia where millions of people

insurers are struggling to reach these

are invisible to traditional insurance mod-

customers using their traditional distri-

els. Galileo is partnering with mobile-first

bution channels and operating models,”

life insurer Singlife Philippines, and the

Wales, says, going on to explain how

country’s biggest digital wallet, GCash.

complexity and cost are the biggest

It makes Singlife the first insurer in the

hurdles to overcome in order to offer

world to leverage blockchain as the core

flexible, digital “low-premium high-

policy administrator.

volume products” – the most valuable

“The Philippines is under-insured, yet JANUARY 2021

products for the market.

“The platform is universal and not

and choose their coverages and levels.”

limited to Asia,” Wales adds. “We have

The question of whether blockchain

started in Asia because there are mil-

will impact the insurance industry is an

lions of people entering the insurance

emphatic ‘yes’. But, as we have seen

market and insurers struggling to reach

in the 12 years since the technology’s

them. We’re also developing solutions

inception, how incisive or transformative

for mature markets. This includes flexible

that impact will be lies in the hands

individual and group health insurance

of the insurtech sector and its ability

solutions where the individuals can pick

to innovate. in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

CLOUD & CYBER

JANUARY 2021

HOW TO PREVENT INSURANCE FROM BEING DISRUPTED BY ECOSYSTEMS WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING 49

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

CLOUD & CYBER

We ask Shay Alon, MD and Global Lead for Life and Annuity Software at Accenture, five core questions on the development of insurtech ecosystems

artner ecosystems present some of the most exciting opportunities for business in the digital era. However, keeping up with the developments is

essential and those who fail to do so risk fall-

ing into obsolescence. 50

To help us find out not only how insurance can avoid this fate but also what effect this change could have on customers, InsurTech Digital consulted Shay Alon, Managing Director and Global Lead for Life and Annuity Software at Accenture to find out more. Combined with degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from AMIT Bar Ilan (1983 to 1986) and Business and Ecosystems from Bar-Ilan University (1993 to 1995), Alonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career expertise in software development, insurance strategy and product innovation make him ideally placed to offer advice to an industry on the cusp of a transformative digital transition.

JANUARY 2021

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

The way banks are built has changed. Meet Mambu - the cloud platform for composable banking that is leading the change. Composable banking helps banks and lending businesses evolve and compete in the fintech era.

INSURTECH’S FIVE QUESTIONS

their businesses and that disruption will intensify. In addition, the COVID-19

Why are insurers in danger of being

crisis is likely to permanently realign

disrupted as ecosystems grow?

protocols in the market as consumers come to expect constant access to

Insurance is one of the most vulner-

their personalised digital services.

able industries to digital disruption, with new technologies, disruptive

How might insurance need to change

startups and Big Tech companies all

its own role?

putting pressure on traditional business models. While insurers entered

Insurers have no choice but to adapt,

2020 in relatively good financial health,

except ecosystems don’t just ‘happen’.

COVID-19 has sparked a recession

For insurers, one of the best ways

and is impacting market profitability.

to become an ecosystem business

Investors are backing insurtech

is to adopt ‘open insurance’. Unlike

startups – having raised US$12bn

in banking, insurers are not being

globally since 2010 – in a display of

compelled by regulators to share data.

confidence for technology driven busi-

Accenture’s recent research shows

nesses. Most carriers recognise that

about 67% of insurers expect to over-

ecosystems are already disrupting

haul their business models in the next

“ Insurance is one of the most vulnerable industries to digital disruption” — Shay Alon, Managing Director and Global Lead for Life and Annuity Software, Accenture

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

CLOUD & CYBER

“ As technology accelerates at a rapid pace, insurers are far better equipped to assess risks than they ever were before” — Shay Alon, Managing Director and Global Lead for Life and Annuity Software, Accenture

five years. Additionally, the pandemic

partnerships they’ll attract. To be

has highlighted that customers, includ-

successful, insurers must shift from

ing brokers and agents, require digital

selling products to becoming part of

solutions in addition to face-to-face

their customers’ changing lives. With

advice.

an increased quantity of data, such as

Open insurance allows carriers to

from connected devices, insurers can

extend their distribution channels

assess and price risk using accurate,

through strategic partnerships. The

automated, real-time individualised

more customers and service provid-

data, instead of working from esti-

ers they connect with, the more new

mates and averages.

JANUARY 2021

What attitude should

model, firms will need to rapidly estab-

companies adopt?

lish API-powered IT architectures and develop new partnerships. Our

Leaders will be those insurers that

insurer poll found that 82% agreed

embrace open insurance and work to

ecosystems will allow them to grow

prevent risks, as well as provide cover

in ways that are not otherwise pos-

for them. The good news for life insur-

sible. Furthermore, approximately

ers is the technologies required to cre-

75% of insurers say they will generate

ate an open insurance model already

half of their revenue or more through

exist. To pivot to an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;open insuranceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

ecosystems. i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

CLOUD & CYBER

What effect will changes to technol-

risks related to climate change and

ogy and the nature of risk ultimately

cybersecurity. As technology acceler-

have on consumers?

ates at a rapid pace, insurers are far better equipped to assess risks than

The risk landscape has changed

they ever were before. They have data

exponentially. Even before the pan-

from devices, monitors, or perhaps

demic, insurers were re-assessing

they are predicting risks using data

JANUARY 2021

“ Customers have moved online and insurers must meet them there” — Shay Alon, Managing Director and Global Lead for Life and Annuity Software, Accenture Is there a ‘ticking clock’ for insurers to take action? The industry has been on a steady path toward fundamental change, but the pandemic has been a real inflection point for why there is no time to waste in their journey to a more digital future. Customers have moved online and insurers must meet them there. Leading insurers also understand that, by converging with industries and digital ecosystems, they have a chance to improve their customers’ wellbeing. Most insurers now recognise science and AI (artificial intelligence).

that cloud is essential to thriving in an

But technology can also bring about

uncertain digital economy, and several

new risks. For example, cyber insur-

have already made the move for their

ance is now a must-have as we live

core insurance administration systems.

more of our lives online, particularly

Insurers not yet in the cloud will need to

for businesses now working remotely

follow suit quickly in order to scale up

during the COVID-19 pandemic.

and remain relevant and competitive. i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

A I & D ATA

AUTOMATING CLAIMS SETTLEMENT: MEETING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING

In our second roundtable, we ask executives from Munich Re, LexisNexis and Solera about the potential for automation to revolutionise claims settlement 58

he implications of fully realised automation in modern insurance could represent the sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most significant customer experi-

ence development so far. Effectively dispensing with, or at least mitigating, the protracted, inefficient and manually driven claims processes that insurance has maintained for decades, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics has the capacity to be truly transformative. From enhanced risk management via more accurate weather prediction software to rich databases for contextualising claims, image-recognition programmes for analysing damage, and automatic claims payouts, the applications are broad and accessible across many strands of insurance. To gain some expert insight into how claims settlements have, are and will keep changing, InsurTech JANUARY 2021

in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

A I & D ATA

companies uncompetitive or even economically unsustainable. However, there was some variance of opinion as to what magnitude the initial change should be: full automation versus a hybrid of human and technological capabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic is also viewed to have had a substantial and

Digital spoke with three insurance and

irreversible impact, if not on automation’s

software experts in our latest virtual

proliferation then at least its mount-

roundtable. Our speakers are: Alan

ing legitimacy as a tool for combatting

O’Loughlin, Director of Data Science at

contemporary operational issues. In

LexisNexis Risk Solutions; Paul Donnelly,

summary, as the utility of data available

Executive Vice President EMEA at

to insurers increases, both the underwrit-

Munich Re Automation Solutions; and

ing and claims processes will become

Marcos Malzone, Global VP of Product

more accurate. What follows could be

Marketing at Solera Holdings.

a totally frictionless experience between insurer and policyholder comparable to

IN BRIEF: KEY INSIGHTS

the very best examples in ecommerce.

Overall, our commentators were in agreement that shifting customer

ROUNDTABLE

expectations will ultimately drive insurers to explore automation more assiduously in the future. Not only are companies who neglect to do

Q: WHAT HAS BEEN THE NET EFFECT OF AI AND DATA ANALYTICS ON THE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT PROCESS?

this less likely to maintain consumer interest, but the inefficiencies

Paul Donnelly: With each acceleration

of non-automated claims settle-

to the settlement process, the carrier is

ment processes could soon become

able to improve the insured’s experience

so pronounced as to make those

of their service and their experience of

JANUARY 2021

Alan O’Loughlin,

Marcos Malzone,

Paul Donnelly,

Director of Data

Global VP of Product

Executive Vice

Science, LexisNexis

Marketing, Solera

President EMEA,

Risk Solutions

Holdings

Munich Re Automation Solutions

“I head up part of our

Malzone joined Solera

growing team of data

in 2018. “Over the last

“Munich Re Automation

scientists at LexisNexis

25 years, I have taken

Solutions is a unit of one

Risk Solutions, a leading

various roles in product

of the world’s leading

data, analytics and

management and

reinsurers, Munich Re,

technology provider to

marketing, working

which provides automated

the insurance market.

for enterprise software

underwriting solutions

companies within

and services to firms in

the insurance and

the life insurance space.

“My team is responsible for building and designing our data products, models and scores from an R&D perspective, and then helping to deliver those products into the insurance markets for the UK, EU and Brazil.”

telecommunication industries,” he says. “In the last 18 months, I have championed the introduction of AI and computer vision in Solera’s portfolio, actively engaging with clients and partners to bring to market this innovation

ABOUT TH E G U E S T S

across the world.”

“As Executive Vice President, I oversee our business operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa. I lead a team of business development managers, implementation specialists, project managers, technical experts and support professionals.”

in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

A I & D ATA

insurance as a whole. The success of

through computer vision algorithms and

these ‘pay and finalise’ systems to date

automatically generating an accurate

means that I expect to see a role for AI

repair cost estimate.

and data analytics in claims settlement of ever-increasing complexity. Alan O’Loughlin: I think the use of AI and

Q: DO YOU HAVE ANY APPLICATIONS OR USE-CASES YOU CAN SHARE EXPLORING THIS TOPIC?

data analytics in claims management

and settlement has advanced in some

Alan O’Loughlin: In commercial property

lines of business more than others. In the

and home, getting on the front foot in

commercial property insurance arena,

a severe weather event is vital. With

data analytics and data visualisation

LexisNexis® Map View, the geospatial

are enabling providers to understand

data offers insurance providers visibility

the precise impact of a severe weather

into environmental and perils risks in real

event on policyholders in a defined

time across the whole of their book, help-

location. Meanwhile, in motor insurance,

ing them to plan resources for extreme

telematics or usage-based insurance

weather events and manage claims.

and its driving behaviour data can be

Bringing an extra layer of granular-

used to get on the front foot at first

ity to claims assessment, we are also

notification of loss (FNOL), helping to

creating a series of claims contributory

deliver a better consumer experience post-accident. Marcos Malzone: AI has allowed the motor claims and wider insurance industry to modernise a process that has been traditionally paper-driven, slow and inefficient. For example, it is now possible to settle a claim within minutes just by processing images of damaged vehicles

databases for the market, starting with

for clients in Germany, South Africa and

Home. This will enable insurance provid-

Australia to date. It is also considering a

ers to understand a new claim in the

system for the automatic underwriting

context of any past claims.

of life insurance applications. Our preexisting product ALLFINANZ, which

Marcos Malzone: Solera has a suite of

delivers complete end-to-end capabili-

products powered by AI to support a

ties across automated underwriting and

variety of use cases, including: simple to

advanced analytics, is now used by over

use self-service apps to report damage

100 of the world’s leading life insurers

at FNOL; pre-accident damage assess-

across the globe.

ments, wherein insurers document vehicle damages at the inception of their policy using photos to avoid fraudulent claims; and computer vision software

Q: WHY IS IT NECESSARY FOR THOSE THAT HAVEN’T IMPLEMENTED AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY TO DO SO?

to detect what parts of vehicles’ wreckages are intact and can be recycled.

Marcos Malzone: Traditional insurers are under pressure to improve loss

Paul Donnelly: Munich Re Automation

ratios and increase customer satisfac-

Solutions has deployed a pilot system

tion as insurtechs utilise emerging

to assist in automatically settling claims

technologies to deliver better overall

in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

A I & D ATA

service. Furthermore, the pandemic

processes and allow human skills to

has increased the need for process

benefit the customer in more useful

digitalisation, task automation and

ways. We must also consider the rise

remote working because of social dis-

of IoT (internet of things) and how

tancing restrictions.

quickly the best user experience becomes standardised due to cus-

Alan Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Loughlin: First and foremost:

tomer expectation.

consumer expectation. Consumers want their insurance experience from

Paul Donnelly: While every life insurer

quote to claim to be straightforward

recognises the role of automation

and efficient. However, automation

for scaling business volumes, the value

must not replace human expertise in

of consistent decisioning, accelerated

claims; it should be used to streamline

processes for brokers and customers

JANUARY 2021

should not be underestimated.

friction originate, is it at FNOL or later

Insurers who rely on outdated modes

down the chain?

of doing business will be quickly left behind.

Paul Donnelly: Effectively, any insurer beginning this journey has a decision

Q: WHERE SHOULD A COMPANY START WHEN DRAWING UP A ROADMAP FOR CLAIMS SETTLEMENT DIGITISATION?

to make: do they deploy digitisation to enhance and speed up existing processes, or should they replace human decision-making with automated triaging

Alan Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Loughlin: It starts with under-

and decisioning? The first scenario can

standing the pain points and then

promise incremental improvements,

looking at how data and technology

but the second can radically alter their

can help solve them. Where does

fortunes long-term. Introducing AI and in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

A I & D ATA

automation to replace human deci-

self-service apps. As insurers grow

sioning for simpler claims cases is

confident in the accuracy of AI, they can

the first step on the roadmap.

automate the approval of estimates up to a certain amount, using appraisers

Marcos Malzone: Claims can be settled

to review the more complex cases.

faster if insurers are able to estimate the extent of losses right at FNOL. For that, they must compel claimants to

Q: HOW WILL CLAIMS AUTOMATION CONTINUE TO EVOLVE?

engage through digital channels and submit damage photos via easy-to-use JANUARY 2021

Alan Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Loughlin: Insurance providers,

certainly anticipate a hunger to bring more data analytics to the claims process to make more informed decisions about claims strategies, which in turn will help support the fairest treatment for customers. Paul Donnelly: I foresee increasing penetration of automation into both underwriting and the claims process. The pandemic, and the changes to society it has brought, mean that face-to-face interactions in the insurance onboarding process or even the claims process are becoming less and less frequent. Forward-looking insurers recognise that its legacy will permanently alter the way we do business and are tooling up for a future of techin LexisNexisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience, are keen

enabled customer interactions.

to understand how they can best

Underwriting or claims decisions,

support their customers during this

which previously took weeks, will

very challenging time.

be made within hours and, in some

It was only recently that the ABI

cases, immediately. This is only pos-

revealed 107,000 fraudulent insur-

sible through automation and by

ance claims worth ÂŁ1.2bn were

removing the dependence on skilled

uncovered by insurers in 2019.

claims assessors and underwriters

That is one new scam uncovered

to review routine cases.

every five minutes: 300 per day. We in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

T O P 10

Digital leaders In a retrospective of the companies that brought particular significance to 2020, InsurTech Digital counts down 10 leading insurers WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING

JANUARY 2021

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

T O P 10

Vitality [ C E O , NE V I L L E KOOPWI TZ ]

Vitality believes that what’s beneficial for business is ultimately good for customers too (“good for them, good for us, good for society”). Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer, told InsurTech Digital that insurance had remained in a state of stasis for too long; Vitality is striving to redress the balance by emphasising active customer well being instead of simply providing cover. The company’s member app incentivises healthy living by setting wellbeing targets (such as a pre-set amount of exercise) and 70

providing rewards for those met by users, including free coffee, movie downloads and more. It’s an exciting idea and one we hope catches on as the paradigm for insurance operations continues to evolve. “If you just concentrate on trying to deliver value for your customers and creating an exceptional experience, more often than not, you’re going to do the right thing” – Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer

Insurance type:

Life & health JANUARY 2021

Insurance type:

Takaful (Islamic)

PruBSN [ C E O , W AN S A I F UL RI ZA L WA N I S MA I L ]

Speaking with Ahmir ud Deen, COO at PruBSN, opened our eyes to the dynamic world of takaful insurance in Malaysia, and particularly how the company is striving to modernise it. Firmly established in the local market, PruBSN’s digital transformation has enabled it to deliver a range of well-received and free of charge apps, including ‘Pulse’ – a realistic 3D representation (digital twin) of the user that allows them to track their health, reduce their risk of disease and improve wellbeing. In addition, PruBSN demonstrated the humanitarian side of exceptional insurance firms with its reaction to the pandemic; while most traditional takaful certificates (policies) contain pandemic exclusion clauses, the company did not hesitate to waive or remove these exemptions. “Insurance is often considered to be a very traditional and conservative industry, but you’ll be surprised how fast moving and modern we can be” – Ahmir ud Deen, COO i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

Better Business Decisions FICO powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 100 countries do everything from protecting 2.6 billion payment cards from fraud, to helping people get credit, to ensuring that millions of airplanes and rental cars are in the right place at the right time.

LEARN MORE

Swiss Re [ C E O , C H RI S TI A N MUME NTHA L E R ]

The second-largest reinsurance company in the world has made several significant announcements this year, made all the more poignant by Swiss Re’s position as a leader during an uncertain time in the industry. Measuring the economic impact of COVID-19 around the world, the company provided a rallying cry for insurers to improve societal resilience in the wake of COVID-19-related disruption. Later the company predicted that, although it would be difficult, insurance will manage to recover throughout 2021 and 2022. As an authoritative voice in the industry, Swiss Re is a company worth following in the new year. “In addition to smarter spending, policymakers should make more use of public-private partnerships and establish the operational and regulatory frameworks to enable greater participation of private-sector finance, including insurers’ assets, in the real economy” – Jerome Jean Haegeli, Group Chief Economist

Insurance type:

Reinsurance i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

T O P 10

Oscar [ C E O , M A RI O S CHL OS S E R ]

Insurtech unicorn Oscar, which is currently valued in excess of $3bn and has revenues of $2bn, has brought a strong and technologically disruptive presence to health insurance in 2020. Founded from the personal experience of CEO Mario Schlosser and his struggles with contemporary health insurance providers, Oscar quickly added COVID-19 provisions to its products and services, as well as founding an information centre for customer updates on the pandemic. It also collaborated with MercyOne to 74

bring more affordable healthcare to 23 Iowa counties. “Oscar’s mission is to deliver a better experience with more savings, and we’re proud to be partnering with MercyOne to give more Iowa residents affordable access to their network of high-quality providers” – Mario Schlosser, CEO

Insurance type:

Health

Zero Studios – Simplicity & Savings with Oscar for Business CLICK TO WATCH

JANUARY 2021

0:15

Insurance type:

Car

Metromile [ C E O , D AN PRE S TON ]

Metromile’s industry-leading ‘pay per mile’ service, which allows drivers to pay low monthly premiums and only pay for the distance they actually travel, received a significant boost courtesy of a partnership with Ford 75

Motors in September 2020. Available on select dealership models, Ford’s cars will come pre-loaded with in-built sensors capable of relaying data to analytics software. This facilitates in-situ policy updates that could ultimately save consumers money and tailor their service accordingly. An exciting glimpse into what could soon become an industry standard, Metromile’s dedication to innovation and strategic partnerships present significant customer benefits. “This is an important milestone for Metromile, and it’s even more important for drivers [...] Ford will help us rapidly evolve how we price insurance, measure real-time risk, and put drivers in control” – Dan Preston, CEO

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

Cover Genius [ C E O , A NGU S MCD ONA L D ]

Cover Genius placed sixth on our ‘Top 10 startups’ list and has proven itself to be one of the APAC region’s most notable insurtechs. Based in Sydney, Australia, and with offices in North America and Europe, the company’s reach may be becoming larger but its commitment to helping small businesses is what we commend it for. Through a partnership with Intuit, Cover Genius has been developing a range of insurance products specifically aimed at helping SMBs – the first of which is called ‘Shake Shield’, designed to provide financial support following an earthquake. Developments like this will be crucial for world economies as companies struggle to recover from the effects of the pandemic. “Over the past few years, we have all experienced natural catastrophes like the coronavirus pandemic, earthquakes, wildfires and floods which highlight the need for businesses to receive timely financial support from their insurance companies” – Mitch Doust, COO for the Americas

Insurance type:

Business

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

T O P 10

Clover Health [ C E O , V I VE K GA RI PA L L I ]

On a mission to improve healthcare using software engineering, data and other cutting-edge technologies to deliver a transparent, frictionless and people-centric service, 2020 has seen Clover Health go from strength to strength. Beginning the year with a 30% higher uptake than the industry standard, Clover went on to deliver two significant announcements: 1) A new partnership with retail giant Walmart to bring more affordable healthcare to the US state of Georgia; and 2) Announcing plans for an IPO through a merger with Social Capital Hedosophia. With its services and approach 78

proving indispensable to customers, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company is sure to scale ever greater heights in 2021. “We have made it our business to make healthcare affordable. Our technology helps doctors, leading to better outcomes and lower outof-pocket expenses for members” – Andrew Toy, President and Co-Founder

Insurance type:

Health

JANUARY 2021

Insurance type:

Car

Root

[ C E O , A L E X TI MM ]

The company that claimed first place in our ‘Top 10 insurtech unicorn’ list generated excitement in late September 2020 when the prospect of its IPO, which was set to rival Lemonade’s earlier in the year, was rumoured. The news was finally confirmed in October, with Root initially filing for $100m, although this figure was soon overshadowed by the $1bn that its total shares were subsequently valued at. Revalued by Goldman Sachs at $6bn prior to going public, Root has proven itself one of the most dominant entities in insurance for the last 12 months. With a smartphone-based telematics system that measures user performance as they drive and ensures the best drivers receive the cheapest premiums, the company is likely to maintain its well-earned reputation through 2021 and beyond.” “Root doesn’t only have insurance company revenue. We also have software products. Some of the software products, we believe, could be a bigger portion of our revenue in the future depending on which way things evolve” – Alex Timm, CEO

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E M E A | A P A C | | APAC N O R T H | A EMEA MERICA AMERICAS FIND OUT MORE

FIND OUT MORE

T O P 10

Insurance type:

Home

JANUARY 2021

Hippo

[ C E O , A S S A F W AND ] Closing a significant $150m Series E funding round in July 2020, Hippo has gained significant ground in its bid to establish a new relationship between customers and their policies. Several months later, it announced a partnership with digital payments platform provider One Inc to optimise the claims settlement process. Aiming to increase customer satisfaction, create a better payment system and produce stronger security, the collaboration confirms Hippo’s long-standing commitment to leveraging tech in order to obtain better outcomes. At the time of writing, the company’s services are currently available in 31 US states and it holds over $200bn in assets. “We set out to change the relationship between homeowners and home insurance by offering more value and services in each interaction with our customers” – Assaf Wand, CEO and Co-Founder

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

T O P 10

Lemonade CEO Daniel Schreiber Chats With Jim Cramer on Mad Money, July 23, 2020 CLICK TO WATCH

JANUARY 2021

8:14

Lemonade [ CEO, DANIEL SCHREIBER ] Lemonade is becoming near-synonymous with the kind of innovation, customer focus and social consciousness that is becoming a hallmark of digital insurance. A clear winner in our assessment of 2020’s most significant insurance companies, Lemonade’s presence in the news has spanned everything from new product lines (pet insurance), philanthropy (its Giveback fund reached over $1m), its third expansion into the European market (France), and an IPO. The latter, valued at approximately $1.6bn, stands as one of 2020’s strongest public offerings. Utilising AI to help customers both purchase cover and receive payouts in seconds, Lemonade remains an enduring consumer favourite and one that deserves particular close attention in 2021. “The global pandemic has hurt so many in so many ways. More than ever, we’re grateful that our business allows us to take care of our customers while they take care of their communities” – Daniel Schreiber, CEO

Insurance type:

Contents & liability

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BRINGING INNOVATION, ECOSYSTEMS AND SCALE TO INSURTECH WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

JAKE MEGEARY

JANUARY 2021

i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

HOUSE OF INSURTECH SWITZERLAND (HITS)

JANUARY 2021

Pietro Carnevale and Stefano Bison detail the founding of House of Insurtech Switzerland and its mission to drive innovation in global insurtech

fficially founded in December 2019 as an independent subsidiary of Generali Switzerland, the origin story of House of

Insurtech Switzerland (HITS) actually reaches back further to 2017. “At that time Generali Switzerland created an innovation function,” explains Pietro Carnevale, CEO of HITS. “As Head of Strategy and Innovation, I had the opportunity to introduce new working methods. The insurance industry also realised that, in order to make innovation even more valuable and sustainable, it had to open up and start collaborating with new varieties of partners.” What followed was a partnership with the fintech incubator and accelerator F10, which not only gave Generali Switzerland access to startup ecosystems but also enabled it to create a space for collaboration, networking and valuable information sharing. “We called the result ‘Corp Up’, and its success led the company to research the potential for improving its ecosystem, capacity for innovation and scaling capabilities ten-fold. HITS was the answer,” states Carnevale. This was the birth of HITS as an independent entity.

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HOUSE OF INSURTECH SWITZERLAND (HITS)

“ FUNDAMENTALLY, WE FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN CORPORATES AND STARTUPS CREATES VALUE FOR BOTH PARTIES” — Pietro Carnevale, CEO, HITS

HITS operates on three pillars: ‘opening’, ‘connecting’ and ‘doing’. In effect, the hub creates a customercentric framework for the future of insurance by providing opportunities for startups to flourish and scale-up through innovation. Summarising HITS’ approach in this regard, Carnevale says, “Fundamentally, we firmly believe that

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Pietro Carnevale Title: CEO of HITS Industry: Insurance

Location: Switzerland

CEO of House of Insurtech Switzerland (HITS), a Swiss based insurtech hub which focuses on building partnerships with startups to co-create and scale-up innovative solutions. Joined Generali Group in 2014 and Generali Switzerland in 2016 as Director of Strategy and Innovation leading the set-up of the local innovation platform and The Innovation Garage in 2018. Board Member of F10, the leading swiss Fintech Accelerator in Zurich. Passionate of Digital, Innovation, Strategy and Transformation within Financial Services. Equipped with a master degree in Engineering from Milan Politecnico and post-graduation training in Digital at IMD. JANUARY 2021

partnerships between corporates and startups creates value for both parties.” Corporations gain a three-fold advantage in speed (time to market), flexibility (costs and investment) and new talent. Startups, on the other hand, are granted market access that would otherwise be near-impossible for new organisations to penetrate quickly, while also gaining industry expertise, capital resources and rich long-term scaling opportunities. It could be argued that the overall

necessitated the creation of HITS’ three pillar strategy, with a central focus on

benefit presented by HITS for start-

digital transformation and innovation,

ups is obvious. However, what is the

and significant investment of both

gain for Generali itself? “The Generali

money (over €1bn) and time, including

Group is one of the most significant

projects such as those supporting 360°

participants in the global insurance and

Advisory, its pan-European mobility

financial services market. In Europe

platform, and

we are the leading insurer and we are

the development of B2B2C ecosystems.

present in over 50 countries around

“The Group and its companies are

the globe,” states Stefano Bison, Group

pushing themselves beyond the bounda-

Head of Business Development and

ries of traditional insurance and offering

Partnerships at Generali Head Office.

services and products that, often, it is

“In 2018 we’ve launched our new strategy

not necessary to develop in-house for

aiming to become ‘lifetime partners’ to

a number of different reasons,” Bison

our customers, offering them innovative,

continues. “This is why we actively seek

personalised and integrated solu-

partnerships in adjacent industries like

tions. These aren’t ‘just’ products; we’re

those dominated by big techs or other

bundling various value-added services

incumbents, as well as with digital native

together.” Delivering this strategy

startups – often, the most intriguing i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

HOUSE OF INSURTECH SWITZERLAND (HITS)

92 ones.” Generali is a firm believer in ‘open

state-of-the-art ‘fast-track’ procure-

innovation’ and seeks out collabora-

ment processes and innovation funds

tors who champion it in a similar way. In

mitigate the historical difficulties of

practice this takes on both external

partnering with startups.

and internal dimensions: externally,

Although Generali is meticulous in its

the company leverages wide net-

planning, this is not to say that the pro-

works of partnerships with incubators,

cess is without risk on both sides of the

accelerators and open innovation

equation, as Bison explains: “We tend to

platforms to gain valuable insights

prefer evaluating startups operating in

into insurance trends, build a syner-

at least one of our major markets across

gistic cultural perspective with smaller

Europe, Asia and Latin America, and that

companies, and source solutions for

already have minimum market traction

specific projects. Internally, mean-

(few corporate clients and some access

while, bespoke support structures

to revenue). In this way we partially

are created to serve the dual needs

reduce the risks that are, in any case,

of Generali and its partners, while

inevitable when working with early stage

JANUARY 2021

companies.” Carnevale adds, “At HITS

to anticipate customer pain points and

we follow a rigorously messy innovation

address them in the overall design.

approach going from ideation, proof of

HITS tailors its value proposition to

concept (POC), minimum viable product

startups based on the candidate’s level

(MVP), and finally iteration with custom-

of development, with a primary focus on

ers until we get to an MVP that we can

pre-Seed to post-Series A companies.

try to scale.” With POC taking between

“For the ones in pre-Seed or Seed, we

30 and 60 days, and MVP between

help lower their burn rate by provid-

three and six months, local or interna-

ing free office space in our 600m2

tional scaling can commence once the

‘Innovation Garage’ in Zurich and get

value hypothesis of the project has been

their first paying customers. This is

validated. Then, analysing trends and

particularly relevant for B2B startups

gauging strategic priorities, HITS is able

where lack of credentials and track 93

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Stefano Bison Title: Group Head of Business Development & Partnerships Company: Generali

Location: Italy

Stefano Bison is in charge of the Unit responsible for sourcing, originating and launching, at Group / global level, new business initiatives and new (strategic) partnerships with startups or other leading companies, triggering business innovation / transformation in the Generali Group. As an ex-management consultant (Senior Manager at The Boston Consulting Group) and, previously, investment banker (at Lehman Brothers – FIG M&A, then Nomura after LB bail-out). In his spare time he also acts as an angel investor and entrepreneur mentor to various startups. i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

Where innovation meets industry F10 is where innovation meets industry, helping todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talent create tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technology. It is an ecosystem of startups, corporates, industry experts, and investors, with local hubs in Switzerland, Singapore, and Spain. Its mission is to stimulate worldwide collaboration to further innovation across industries. Visit our website and watch the movie to find out more about F10.

Visit our website

“ GENERALI IS PUSHING ITSELF BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF TRADITIONAL INSURANCE AND OFFERING SERVICES AND PRODUCTS THAT DON’T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE DEVELOPED IN-HOUSE” — Stefano Bison, Group Head of Business Development and Partnerships, Generali Switzerland

record can be a killer,” says Carnevale. “For pre-Series A or beyond, we instead provide references to investors, help their business development within Generali, and provide access to our network. Finally, because of Generali’s global presence, HITS provides the perfect launch base for scaling up and internationalisation, should the startup be ready for it.” He reports that initial indicators point to smoother financing, higher valuation and better longevity for startups who opt to partner with HITS, as opposed to not.

EFMA Innovation Award CLICK TO WATCH

4:12

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HOUSE OF INSURTECH SWITZERLAND (HITS)

2019

Year founded

Number of employees

JANUARY 2021

One prominent example put forward by Carnevale is LINGS, a communitybased on-demand insurance company, an enterprise not dissimilar from American insurtech Trōv. Founded in November 2017 as Generali Switzerland’s first corporate startup venture, LINGS has proven popular with its targeted community (“bikers and photographers”), has gone on to successfully scale internationally and has already built a presence in two European markets. In addition to Generali, numerous other partners contribute to the value of HITS’ ecosystem, either by filling skill gaps, providing valuable ‘cultural links’ or technology. “Partners like Google and Salesforce are fundamental not only for the tech expertise, know-how and solutions they bring to us, but also to give speed, future-proof sustainability, weight and credibility in the market,” says Carnevale. It should also be noted that companies who got their start as a direct result of HITS can also become valuable collaborators too, as was the case with insurtechs ‘vlot’, Billte and Imburse. “Thanks to vlot’s technology, Generali can quickly test innovative i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

HOUSE OF INSURTECH SWITZERLAND (HITS)

“ ...BECAUSE OF GENERALI’S GLOBAL PRESENCE, HITS PROVIDES THE PERFECT LAUNCH BASE FOR SCALING UP AND INTERNATIONALISATION, SHOULD THE STARTUP BE READY FOR IT” — Pietro Carnevale, CEO, HITS

of our work is our investment in under-

standing how using artificial intelligence will provide value-added services and smooth interactions to our customers in

solutions in the area of risk protection.

the future.”

While together with Billte and Imburse

When considering what success in

we are developing a product to make

the mid- to long-term would look like for

saving money easier and more acces-

HITS, Carnevale is emphatic that realis-

sible for young people. Another cool part

ing the initiative’s joint value for both

JANUARY 2021

corporates and startups is essential.

that this doesn’t indicate we’re not

“We’ve not yet figured out all the ‘right’

innovating enough.” HITS and Carnevale

ingredients,” he caveats, “but, despite

are palpably hungry for success and

being in the early days of our journey,

with such a thorough grasp on develop-

most KPIs that we measure compared

ing insurance companies to their full

to previous year are giving positive

potential, it’s difficult to imagine that they

signals: speed is increasing (six-times

won’t achieve it. As the project grows in

better from first talk to first day of work-

maturity, increases cost effectiveness,

ing, and two-times faster average time

improves accessibility and enhances

from prototype to MVP); our startup

scalability, the standing of HITS in the

ecosystem has expanded six-fold and

insurance market as an innovation

our delivery capacity four-fold. Lastly

leader is likely to grow simultaneously.

we’re experiencing a low failure rate (<30%). However, we need to be careful i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

100

BRIGHTER FINANCIAL FUTURES THROUGH DIGITAL TECH WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

MICHAEL BANYARD

JANUARY 2021

101

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WESLEYAN ASSURANCE SOCIETY

DAVID STEWART, GROUP CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, DESCRIBES HOW THE COMPANY’S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS UNLOCKING EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRUSTED PROFESSIONALS

n uncertain times, the benefit of a strong and enduring financial institution can be invaluable to maintaining the wellbeing

of communities. Wesleyan Assurance Society (Wesleyan) is a Birmingham-based company founded in 1841 that, across its long heritage, has 102

survived two world wars, several global depressions, the 2008 financial crisis, and is currently weathering the storm of COVID-19. In all that time, and despite the difficulty, its dedication to “creating brighter financial futures” for trusted professionals, including doctors, dentists, teachers and lawyers, has remained robust, unshaken and secure. Group Chief Operating Officer David Stewart’s journey with Wesleyan began in April 2019, when he joined as Technology & Transformation Director, rising to his present role five months later. Originally trained as a chemist, Stewart found that his true passion lay in business, “I had my first foray in financial services back in 2008 when I joined what was HBOS, which was taken over by Lloyd’s in a matter of weeks.” Rising steadily to a

JANUARY 2021

103

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Lenovo: Partners in productivity Rob Makin, WW Executive Director, Lenovo Device as a Service, explains how Modern IT can secure success and stability amid a market of uncertainty “We had to move very quickly when COVID-19 struck,” says Rob Makin. Makin, who has spent the past 25 years leading IT sales and business teams across Europe and APAC, is closing in on six years at Lenovo. There he heads up the worldwide Device as a Service (DaaS) business, helping companies adapt their IT infrastructure to empower employees and move away from the outmoded CapEx model. “This basically entails us managing the full life cycle of their devices,” Makin explains, likening it to a “mobile phone experience” requiring little input on the part of the end user. Lenovo handles distribution of devices - in the office or, more frequently these days, at home - remotely testing, loading software and preferences, and managing any issues or updates along the way. At the end of the chosen contract period, Lenovo collects the device, closing the loop. “From a productivity point, it’s a huge advantage; from an experience point, it’s a huge advantage, particularly when we are working from home and don’t have that IT specialist to go to,” Makin explains. Overhauling legacy IT systems “can take months or years,” he says, but a partnership approach “works best.” Lenovo has a close partnership with financial services leader Wesleyan. “We’re very proud of our relationship at Wesleyan. It’s very much a cohesive team, which makes the support of their workplace environment a simple thing. We also deliver predictability of cost, something that was important before the pandemic and is now even more vital for organisations.”

Rob Makin @ Lenovo

Lenovo DaaS ensures stability in user experience and cost-age at Wesleyan, but Makin says the two firms are collaborating on further transformations for the post-COVID market. “We are talking to Wesleyan about how we can implement Lenovo Device Intelligence, our predictive and proactive analytics, across their devices,” Makin says. “This means rather than a device having errors or faults, whether it be software or hardware, we want to be able to predict when it’s going to have an issue.” This flexibility will be key to the future success of businesses, says Makin. “And that’s certainly what we at Lenovo DaaS believe in; what we are developing and expanding to is to really look at Modern IT low-touch as a service. We want to really accelerate and support enterprises and the businesses moving forward as we come out of the pandemic.” lenovo.com/daas

WESLEYAN ASSURANCE SOCIETY

106

“ I WAS PARTICULARLY ATTRACTED TO THE COMPANY’S LONG HERITAGE: WE’RE NOT HERE TO MEET SHORTTERM SHAREHOLDER GOALS; WE’RE HERE TO DELIVER VALUE FOR OUR MEMBERS AND CUSTOMERS” — David Stewart, Group Chief Operating Officer, Wesleyan

our members and customers. That’s a goal I buy into wholeheartedly.”

number of executive positions within

Stewart states that he brings

the company, he relates that, when he

three aspects of his career outside

first heard about Wesleyan, he was

of finance (primarily retail and sales)

immediately drawn to its culture, his-

to bear on his role as COO: customer-

tory and the opportunities it presented.

centricity, colleague focus and

“I was particularly attracted to the

commerciality. Although Wesleyan’s

company’s mutual heritage: we’re not

consistent capital strength has been

here to meet short-term shareholder

key to its enduring success, its will-

goals; we’re here to deliver value for

ingness to adapt its services to the

JANUARY 2021

changing needs of its clients has

across executive leadership,” Stewart

been equally important: “Our financial

explains, including a new CEO, COO

consultants meet our customers day-

(Stewart himself), Chief Distribution

to-day and we also get a lot of insights

Officer and, most recently, a new Chief

from professional advisory boards.”

Financial Officer. “We are confident

This willingness to evolve even per-

that we are set up for the next phase

meates the structure of the C-suite:

of Wesleyan’s development.” This

“We’ve had a significant change

refers to the company’s accelerated

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

David Stewart 107

Title: Group Chief Operating Officer Industry: Financial Services

Location: Birmingham

David Stewart joined Wesleyan in April 2019 and became Group Chief Operating Officer in August. He has responsibility across Wesleyan for Change & Transformation, Technology, Cyber Security, Data & Analytics, Customer Operations, Procurement and Workplace Services. Prior to joining Wesleyan, David spent over 10 years at Lloyds Banking Group in a number transformation and operational roles, latterly as Chief Operating Officer for the Group Services division. Before joining Lloyds, David’s career spanned retail (Asda), FMCG (Mars) and telecommunications (Phones4U). This broad experience has been the foundation for David’s passion to deliver lasting change which benefits customers and colleagues. David is the recently appointed co-Chair of the fintech arm of SuperTech, the newly formed professional services cluster for the West Midlands. i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

Let’s advance your IT and make it work harder for your business Blue Chip provides businesses with mission-critical IT support and infrastructure behind many of the largest brands in the UK. Specialising in mission critical systems through our Tier III and Tier IV by design data centres, we provide the e-commerce backbone for high street retailers whilst managing 10% of the UK’s banking traffic, keeping business running all over the world. From hardware and hosting to software and support, we work to advance your IT – making it work harder for your business.

LEARN MORE

THE BANKING CLOUD PLATFORM FOR GROWTH The spring of 2020 certainly wouldn’t be the optimal time to pick for a complex migration of a banking system’s IT infrastructure into the cloud. In recognition of UK financial services being tightly regulated, Wesleyan was looking for a secure cloud platform to fuel business transformation and growth. Blue Chip Cloud has an enviable collection of accreditations, which has enabled banking, wealth management and pharmaceutical companies to innovate within tight and ever-changing regulations Traditionally, financial services organisations have looked upon cloud moves in a conservative manner due to regulatory pressures and perceived risks. When these combine with complex IT infrastructure it can be difficult to see a way forward. Blue Chip Cloud is a game changer for the finance industry, who will often have a mixture of infrastructure to include traditional Windows and Linux environments, and the rock-solid IBM platforms such as IBM i, AIX and z/OS mainframe. A cloud transition for Wesleyan Bank had long been scheduled for Easter Bank Holiday weekend, a month into the toughest phase of national lockdown in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to careful planning with Wesleyan the transition into the Blue Chip Cloud was smooth and seamless. The delivery was carried out completely remote during lockdown, removing risk to all involved. All of the Intel and AIX estate moved over, with Blue Chip managing the operating system, backups and the disaster recovery solution, while securely hosting some additional infrastructure that’s not cloud ready. • 10% of the 157 UK banks hosted • £150bn+ funds under management hosted • 800 clients receive business critical services

COMPLIANCE IN THE CLOUD The security accreditations held by Blue Chip are at the highest level, holding four ISO certifications which are audited annually by a UKAS-accredited body. The company also undergoes an annual independent review of Service Organisation Controls (SOC). Blue Chip holds the highest standard for compliancy with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard - PCI-DSS Level 1. In addition to banks; famous retailers and supermarkets are customers, as this compliance covers online payments and card data.

“ We have many highly regulated customers in the Blue Chip Cloud under FCA and EBA parameters. As their key service provider, we help these customers meet their regulatory requirements by demonstrating our business and compliance maturity.” Derek Waterman Chief Compliance Officer, Blue Chip Blue Chip gives financial services organisations assurance they can meet regulatory requirements. The continual improvement ethos and transparency enables the IT specialists to continually support their clients’ journey with their regulators. KEEPING SECURE IN THE CLOUD The Blue Chip Cloud is underpinned by industryleading security vendors to build enterprise-class hardware and software solutions, with the availability, reliability and security demanded by the financial services industry. We’re widely recognised as a highly secure home for global financial data, handling a substantial amount of the UK’s banking traffic and removing the risks associated with a move into the cloud.” Tim Stringer Chief Information Security Officer, Blue Chip CONTINUED ASSURANCE While reliability, agility and security are at the heart of the Blue Chip Cloud, another factor that makes Blue Chip a destination for companies that operate across 180 countries, is the consistency to deliver, even during a global pandemic. Delivering any new cloud project throughout a pandemic is an achievement, maintaining a level of support is another achievement all together. So, we close with a statement from their long-term banking software vendor who partner with Blue Chip to deliver services for multiple clients: “Blue Chip were equally as responsive and reliable as they were prior to the pandemic, when, for example, we put in a request to troubleshoot a particular hardware failure. The mobilisation of the virtual team at Blue Chip with our own virtual team was consistent, quick and everything we would have wanted it to have been.”

WESLEYAN ASSURANCE SOCIETY

“ O UR APPROACH IS TO FIRST IDENTIFY WHAT THE ‘END STATE’ OR TARGET CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS THAT WE WANT TO DELIVER” — David Stewart, Group Chief Operating Officer, Wesleyan

two-year transformation journey, which aims to “raise the bar” of service delivery for customers. 110

Diversifying the company’s channel offerings has been an integral part of its tech transformation. Part of this focuses on customer-centric opera-

we want to deliver. What do we need to

tions: Wesleyan has been pursuing

bring into the organisation, and where

omnichannel capabilities to bring

can we find efficiencies and smarter

freedom of choice to an increasingly

ways of doing things, either by develop-

diverse client base. Although it’s often

ing capabilities in-house, calling on third

easier to adapt services in theory

parties where needed, or introducing

than practice, due to the increasingly

automation to certain processes.”

nuanced value of customer-centricity,

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

Stewart states that the company is

is one of Wesleyan’s key partners

employing a relatively simple method

on developing a new tech strategy,

to ensure its roadmap for innovation

particularly with an increased empha-

is correctly drawn: “Our approach is

sis on data and analytics. Stewart

to first identify what the ‘end state’ or

explains: “PwC has been instrumental

target customer experience is that

to us building our ‘data warehouse’.

JANUARY 2021

From that, we’ve started to deliver use cases to the business, such as our customer intelligence dashboards that are now being used by all of our financial consultants to gain better insights into customers’ needs. Importantly, PwC is also supporting us as we develop our ‘cyber maturity’; we’re making good progress on our journey to enhance the protection that we can offer.” Additionally, Stewart references Bluechip, Lenovo and Softcat as “key partners who are helping to drive Wesleyan’s digital transformation journey.”

Wesleyan - We are all about you CLICK TO WATCH

2:28

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Change how you see digital transformation Digital transformation is about more than technology. We are working with Wesleyan to create a culture of innovation that embraces change, seeks imaginative ways to do business and uses data to unlock opportunity. Together, we are developing a more resilient business, able to move at speed and adapt to change while delivering great customer experience. Find out how we can help you achieve your transformation goals, contact: Justin Murphy Transformation Partner justin.murphy@pwc.com

Sultan Mahmood Financial Services Partner sultan.mahmood@pwc.com

32589_RITM3840574_Wesleyan advert_v3.indd 4

13/10/2020

0 07:33

“ YOU CAN HAVE THE MOST FANTASTIC DIGITAL INTERFACE YOU WANT, BUT IF THE INFRASTRUCTURE BEHIND THAT ISN’T ROBUST THEN IT’S BUILT ON QUICKSAND” — David Stewart, Group Chief Operating Officer, Wesleyan

robust then it’s built on quicksand.” Stewart points to Wesleyan’s successful migration of its data centre, which

This touches on an important aspect

occurred over the Easter weekend

of digital transformation, not just for

in the height of lockdown. For most

Wesleyan but generally: if the funda-

organisations, data centre migrations

mentals aren’t right, neither will the

are among the most complex tech-

rest. “We are putting a lot of invest-

nology projects to deliver, and this

ment behind our IT resilience and

was no exception for Wesleyan. “The

cybersecurity; those are absolutely

implementation touched every single

essential. You can have the most fan-

area of our technology estate, much

tastic digital interface you want, but

of which was highly complex and

if the infrastructure behind that isn’t

incredibly frail.” Another example of

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113

WESLEYAN ASSURANCE SOCIETY

114 Wesleyan’s approach includes starting

opened Wesleyan’s eyes to the fact

to incorporate robotic process auto-

that we can still be effective remotely.

mation (RPA) in customer operations.

Quite frankly, the idea of having flex-

Although the digital transformation of

ibility between home and the office

Wesleyan was already firmly underway

is hugely attractive, although some

prior to the lockdown imposed by the

employees find working entirely from

pandemic, it is safe to say that the cir-

home difficult.” This latter point is vital,

cumstances have shaped its progress.

he explains, as another crucial legacy

Shifting from an office-centric organi-

of COVID-19 has been the company’s

sation to a more flexible and remote

renewed emphasis on supporting the

operating model, Stewart is confident

mental health and wellbeing of its staff.

that the revised work paradigms will be

Support is something that Wesleyan

both enduring and ultimately beneficial,

truly believes in: its reach extends past

both to employees and customers.

customers, members and employ-

“Providing everyone with laptops has

ees and actually touches the fintech

JANUARY 2021

W E S L E YA N - A F O R C E F O R S O C I E TA L G O O D

In addition to the work it does for professionals in a financial capacity, Stewart highlighted that the company is a staunch advocate of equality, inclusion and diversity. Acting as ‘gender network sponsor’ for Wesleyan, he states the definite progress being made to balance representation of women in senior leadership roles: “I’m very proud to be the gender network sponsor. Since 2018 we’ve increased the number of women in our senior leader population from 18% to 30%. We’re still not where we want to be, but we have numerous initiatives that are driving that agenda forward.” Regarding the company’s efforts to assist communities and individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, Stewart also highlights its

free-to-access, 24/7 healthcare and wellbeing support hub, Wesleyan Wellbeing. “The online service offers a free psychological triage, and access to specialist mental health clinicians for our members. Through the Wesleyan Foundation, we have also gifted over £100k to various charities and organisations in support of key worker mental health needs.” In September, despite the economic downturn, Wesleyan paid out its highest-ever mutual bonus to members: a £30m dividend to customers invested in its profits fund, with each investor receiving a 1% uplift on the value of their investment. As a testament to its financial strength, the Society has paid out over £67m to members over the past three years in the form of mutual dividends.

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1841

the events of March slowed things down a bit.” Providing a valuable col-

Year founded

laboration space in the heart of the

1,530

workstations, numerous breakout

Number of employees

city, the initiative features over 30 areas and an auditorium. Significantly, it also provides the West Midlands of England with its own fintech cluster, something which had been lacking. “I think it’s great that Wesleyan is able

community. It achieves this through

to play its part in helping the local

its ‘The Engine Room’ initiative at

economy. One of the barriers to entry

Colmore Circus, Birmingham. “The

for fintech startups is simply having

Engine Room is a state-of-the-art

access to a physical environment that

fintech hub,” Stewart explains. “It was

is conducive to growth.”

launched in November 2019 and built up a fantastic head of steam until

Maintaining the same vision that has seen it prevail in the market for almost i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

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WESLEYAN ASSURANCE SOCIETY

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“ I SAID WHAT ATTRACTED ME TO WESLEYAN WAS THE OPPORTUNITY IT PRESENTED. I’M 18 MONTHS INTO THE ROLE NOW AND ABSOLUTELY STILL FIRMLY BELIEVE IN OUR MESSAGE” — David Stewart, Group Chief Operating Officer, Wesleyan JANUARY 2021

180 years, Wesleyan will continue to partner on projects with companies that demonstrate the same integrity, impact and committed work ethic it exemplifies. Part of its continued vision is an adherence to its individual mission and purpose: creating brighter financial futures for the professions we all trust. “We will remain a segment specialist because it’s the right thing for our customers and our business,” Stewart explains. “We are not a massmarket player. Rather, we cater to our customer groups in a very focused and appropriate way.” Wesleyan’s ongoing transformation, combined with a well-crafted product range and awardwinning investment funds, appears to form a strategic roadmap geared for success. That success will belong not only to the company and its staff but also to its customers, whose vital work is needed now more than ever. “I said what attracted me to Wesleyan was the opportunity it presented. I’m 18 months into the role now and absolutely still firmly believe in our message.”

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A New Vision for Community-based Insurance WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING

PRODUCED BY

JAKE MEGEARY i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

BROKERLINK

Alena Kharkavets, VP Digital Strategy and CX, outlines the transformation roadmap that’s enabling a new, digitally driven vision of insurance processes

t a time when it seems like there’s insurmountable uncertainty about so many aspects of life, BrokerLink is spearhead-

ing a new approach to the insurance process: one that emphasises clarity, community and customercentricity. Founded in 1991, this Canadian company 122

has managed to create an expansive presence across the country, with over 140 branches serviced by more than 2,000 employees. “I’ve been in insurance for over 13 years. Throughout my entire career, I’ve always had the mindset of wanting to understand how all the pieces fit together,” says Alena Kharkavets, VP Digital Strategy and Customer Experience. Joining BrokerLink in October 2013, Kharkavets relates that her current role, in combination with her extensive industry experience in actuarial, corporate development, operations and sales, provides her with the “big picture thinking” she needs to thrive. That holistic mindset is crucial for a company with a broad geographic footprint, which, nonetheless, must still deliver a consistent level of high quality

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BROKERLINK

“ Every single branch has a unique, grassroots presence and that resonates with me tremendously” — Alena Kharkavets, VP of Digital Strategy and CX, BrokerLink

service across all of its locations. Kharkavets adds that “every single branch has a unique, grassroots presence and that resonates with me tremendously.” With regards to her management style in this ‘many community branches with a unified approach’ model, Kharkavets credits one of her previous roles as a sales team manager as a perfect primer: “It was one of the most transformational experiences of my career; it really taught me how to break

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down complexities into something more simple.” BrokerLink’s national scale doesn’t detract from its local impact, and employees benefit just as much as customers. The company is a firm believer in fostering career development, which it facilitates by being a subsidiary of Intact Financial Corporation, allowing brokers to have a wide range of career opportunities from underwriting to claims adjustment. “We’ve worked very hard to be a great employer,” states Kharkavets. “In fact, we’ve obtained ‘Best Employer in Canada’ from Kincentric, again.” Empowered with JANUARY 2021

lean and agile capabilities through

at the beginning of the COVID-19

analytics technology, BrokerLink’s

pandemic. “In our case, nearly all our

team managers are given access to

employees ended up working from

a variety of live data and customer

home virtually overnight,” Kharkavets

surveys. “This year, we’ve received

relates. “I think the pandemic will

over 40,000 responses from our

change how we stay connected and

customers,” Kharkavets says. “The

how we make sure that culture is

notion of changing our tactics and

retained, particularly when onboarding

addressing pain points depending on

new staff.” This also goes hand-in-

what we read in those comments or

hand with BrokerLink’s renewed focus

observe in trends is hardwired into

on employee wellness and mental

BrokerLink’s culture.”

health. Indeed, for the company and

Like many companies around the world, BrokerLink rushed into action

insurance generally there is a sense that things are on course for significant i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

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change, including how customers

“The pandemic has accelerated a lot

experience modern products and

of trends that we’ve seen before.”

services. While digital transformation

Developing omnichannel customer

certainly generated the momentum for

service capabilities has been a direct

a technologically invigorated industry,

and necessary consequence of

Kharkavets believes that current con-

increased digitisation at BrokerLink.

ditions are enabling its fulfillment,

Customer needs and expectations

1991

Year founded

2,000+ Number of employees

JANUARY 2021

are changing in relation to technology, claims Kharkavets, and insurance’s evolution will be dependent on its realisation of this fact. However, while it’s tempting to assume that there is a clear divide between younger people (i.e. millennials) preferring digital self-service options and older people wanting agent-based service,

Kharkavets states that the truth is

is also careful to ensure that its road-

much more nuanced. “Everyone talks

map is configured to meet the specific

about digitisation in those terms, but

challenges of its clients, particularly in

what’s interesting is, when we dive

an industry often represented as being

into the data, 35% of BrokerLink’s

overly complex. “When we design

‘70+ years old’ demographic enjoys

things, we want them to be inclusive

using an app for their insurance needs.”

and accessible,” says Kharkavets.

Therefore, she considers the contin-

“We’re constantly exploring how

ued investment in digital channels as

digital interacts with local: how can

wholly validated. However, BrokerLink

it support and act as an extension of

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Alena Kharkavets

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Title: VP of Digital Strategy and Customer Experience Industry: Insurance

Location: Canada

Alena Kharkavets is the VP of Digital Strategy and Customer Experience at BrokerLink Insurance. She brings extensive experience in actuarial, corporate development, strategy and sales operations. She’s passionate about modernizing and simplifying the insurance experience. Alena graduated from the University of Toronto with a dual degree in Computer Science and Actuarial Science. She has also completed a Global Professional Master of Laws. She is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society. Outside of insurance, Alena loves spending time with her daughters, ages two and four. She loves travelling with them and showing them the world.

i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

BROKERLINK

our branches?” One of BrokerLink’s

behavioural science in our design: we

guiding principles is its ‘#realpeople’

serve information in bite-sized chunks

philosophy, a method by which digital

and manage price expectations with

projects are developed conscien-

an accuracy meter on our website. If

tiously with maximised accessibility

someone’s eyesight is impaired or their

as the ultimate goal. “Our accessibil-

attention span is reduced because

ity score is 92% while the industry

they’re browsing at night and require

benchmark is only 71%,” she explains.

more visual information, it all has to

“We implement the principles of

be factored in.”

128

JANUARY 2021

“ The notion of changing our tactics and addressing pain points depending on what we [...] observe in trends is hardwired into BrokerLink’s culture” — Alena Kharkavets, VP of Digital Strategy and CX, BrokerLink

Furthermore, on the topic of digital projects, Kharkavets emphasises the importance of instilling team confidence with ‘minimum viable product’, a concept predicated on fast-paced two-week development sprints and combined with a “progress over perfection” attitude and data-based decision making. “In digital, if you aim

129

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BROKERLINK

130

B R O KE R L I N K: I N SU RAN CE WI T H SO CI AL I MP ACT

Sponsoring YW Calgary’s ‘International Day of the Girl 2020’ on 11 October, a UN sanctioned annual event dedicated to empowering girls and protecting their rights, BrokerLink has distinguished itself as part of a rising movement in insurance: insurers with a strong social stance. “Every branch participates quite actively in the community; we have a firm belief that organisations of every size – small, medium and large – have a role to play in making society a better place,” states Kharkavets. “BrokerLink will continue to champion diversity JANUARY 2021

and inclusion. We believe that the input of business will be essential to achieving this goal, particularly as consumers expect companies to have an opinion and to stand up for what is right.” “The power of ‘diversity of thought’ is huge. I encourage everyone when they start their digital roadmap, or wherever they are on their journey, to question whether they have a team that contains different opinions and consider how they interact so that everyone is inclusive of each other.”

for perfection you’ll likely arrive too late. BrokerLink demonstrates the value of its propositions to customers and then iterates and improves from there based on their feedback and what data shows.” From these key building blocks, the company is able to forge a coherent understanding of where and how it wants to develop. Kharkavets adds that, although BrokerLink’s transformation journey has been underway for slightly less

“ When we design things, they are inclusive and accessible. We’re constantly exploring how digital interacts with local: how can it support and act as an extension of our branches?” — Alena Kharkavets, VP of Digital Strategy and CX, BrokerLink

than two years, it firmly believes 131

that maintaining focus on delivering

BrokerLink Recruitment Video 2019 CLICK TO WATCH

2:38

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BROKERLINK

132

“ In digital, if you aim for perfection you’ll likely arrive too late. BrokerLink demonstrates the value of its propositions to customers and then iterates from there” — Alena Kharkavets, VP of Digital Strategy and CX, BrokerLink JANUARY 2021

customer value at all times will ultimately reap greater success. When considering the direction of the company as it prepares to enter 2021, Kharkavets states that BrokerLink will remain as dedicated to transformation as ever, “We like to set ambitious goals. We then break them down into small steps and say, ‘Okay, here’s where we are going and here’s how we’re going to achieve it’.” This approach will be bolstered by collaborating with its partner companies to help improve customer experience by responding to their needs. Central to BrokerLink’s future success will be an inherent trust in the value of digital technology and fast-paced R&D, which Kharkavets highlights as being particularly important. “The term ‘digital transformation’ can be intimidating for many because it’s a big term,” she adds. “But you don’t need to do everything at once, so long as you’re putting the right building blocks in place.”

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JANUARY 2021

Delivering a Valuable Experience for Customers WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

JAKE MEGEARY

i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

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VITALITY

Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer, explains why delivering value and a superlative customer experience remains Vitality’s core focus

n an insurance market beginning to take stock of the potential for digital transformation to improve the tradi-

tional business, Vitality is a shining example of a company approaching a centuries-old industry from a refreshing new angle. Founded in 2004, 136

the company’s enduring focus has been not only to provide first-class health and life cover but to actively improve the quality of its customers’ lives. Summarising this approach as “good for them, good for us, good for society”, Vitality has even set the ambitious target of encouraging 100mn people to get 20% more active by 2025. Helping to explain how the company is achieving this and so many other impressive developments, Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer, spoke with us on why driving value and a superior customer experience is so vital. Priestley started with Vitality early on as a Sales Director for a joint project launched between South African company Discovery Ltd and Prudential PLC, one of the UK’s most established insurance companies. Now in his 16th year at Vitality - taking on the role of CDO in 2017 JANUARY 2021

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Dynatrace: unlocking the science of operational performance Dave Anderson, Brand and Digital Evangelist, describes how Dynatrace can optimise company performance in an increasingly complex IT landscape A specialist in accelerating digital transformation, Dynatrace is a software solutions provider founded in 2005 and headquartered in Massachusetts. “As cloud environments become more complex, the underlying software needs to work flawlessly,” says Dave Anderson, Brand and Digital Evangelist. “Dynatrace provides intelligence into the performance of a company’s operations and critically applies a layer of AI to enable DevOps teams to work more efficiently.” The company facilitates this by enabling the fast comprehension of where performance issues in an environment are, either automatically or through direct investigation. Recognising that digital transformation is no longer a choice but rather an inescapable and exponentially growing process, Anderson considers Dynatrace as essential providing its clients with “intelligence and confidence to ensure that these complex applications are working the way that they should.” One of its partners in particular, insurance company Vitality, understands the value of Dynatrace’s technology and is taking it in exciting new directions. “Vitality is a great client because it’s using our platform not just to understand their singular applications, but rather their entire digital experience.” After all, while insurance companies might be comparable in terms of products, it is by offering a superior customer experience that they

Dave Anderson @ Dynatrace

can truly differentiate and this is what Dynatrace helps them to achieve. Stating that Vitality’s emphasis on insurance fused with incentive-based health and wellness resonates strongly with him personally, Anderson compliments the company for “really understanding how the performance of every system, API connection and call” factors into its success. It is by working closely with clients like Vitality that Dynatrace is able to determine how best to improve its own services, “Our culture is predicated on not settling for the status quo and continuing to innovate,” Anderson continues. “Dynatrace thrives on exactly the same transformation that our customers are undergoing.” With a platform based on AI (artificial intelligence), one of the fastest growing enterprise technologies in the market, both in terms of adoption and development, Dynatrace’s proven services are likely to evolve concurrently, “You’re not going to see an end to the improvement of AI and automation.” However, Anderson also acknowledges that an important portion of any digital transformation is actually strongly rooted in culture. “It’s not about tools or platforms,” he emphasises. “[Vitality] has a fantastic culture and that will allow them to continue to innovate. I’m really excited about what they’re going to do next.”

VITALITY

“ When I joined the company it was clear right away that Vitality had a very different proposition for health insurance” — Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer, Vitality

- Priestley says that what inspired him about the organisation was its aspiration to do something fundamentally different within insurance. “The industry had remained relatively unchanged for a long time,” he recalls. “It was an uninspiring marketplace with very similar product offerings. When I joined the company it was clear right away that Vitality had a very different proposition for health insurance.” That proposition was integrating insurance with wellness, something which he remarks has

140

started to scale exponentially since 2004. “Now, almost all of the players in the market have some kind of wellness component in their proposition. However, at the time, I would say we were amongst the first to introduce it.” More recently, the evolution of technology is another key development that Priestley has observed, specifically the ability to monitor peoples’ health remotely, conduct video consultations, utilise AI-powered diagnosis tools, symptom checkers and more. Far from being simply restricted to a GP surgery or hospital, modern healthcare can be brought directly to people’s homes and the JANUARY 2021

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Dave Priestley Title: Chief Digital Officer

Company: Vitality

Dave has worked within healthcare insurance for the last 24 years, where he has held a number of executive management positions with CIGNA Healthcare, PruHealth and now Vitality. Dave was a member of the executive management team which launched PruHealth in 2004. Over the last 14 years, Dave has played a key role in shaping the strategy from a start-up business to becoming established under the Vitality brand as the 4th largest player in the market with 10% market share. Dave began his career as a pricing underwriter before moving into sales and distribution and was the Sales Director at CIGNA healthcare where he helped to grow the client portfolio to in excess of ÂŁ100M API and broaden the distribution strategy into new channels and markets such as sickness absence management and dental insurance. Dave joined PruHealth to help launch the business and establish the distribution strategy and operations. After driving rapid new business growth, he assumed overall responsibility for distribution at Vitality following the acquisition of Standard Life Healthcare. More recently, Dave has assumed executive responsibility for digital acquisition and customer retention and is now Vitalityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chief Digital Officer with responsibility for digital strategy and product management as well as the wider change portfolio.

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TCS is helping customers prepare for business 4.0 Vinay Singhvi, Business Unit Head of BFSI for the UK and Ireland, describes TCS’ commitment to helping clients navigate digital transformation

Vinay Singhvi @ TCS

TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) is a company that almost requires no introduction: one of the largest

started what has become more than a 10-year partnership with the brand, which now, according

and most innovative companies in India with a global reach and almost 450,000 employees, it is a true leader in IT and consulting services. “TCS is

to Singhvi, “has got one of the best brand recalls within the UK market.” Furthermore, their close integration goes beyond a simple supplier-client

one of the world’s largest and most recognised brands in its field. Our focus has always been to help customers drive their growth and transformation journeys,” states Vinay Singhvi, Business Unit Head of BFSI (banking, financial

relationship, as Singhvi describes, “We do not see ourselves as separate from Vitality. It’s about us working together to understand and implement their strategy and help them in achieving their purpose. Our teams that work as part of Vitality

services and insurance) for the UK and Ireland.

see themselves as more Vitality than TCS, that’s how deeply integrated they are.”

“The way we work is primarily about keeping customers at the centre and planning everything

A strong believer in preparing for the next

around them to ensure we are aligned to both their strategy and their business goals,” he explains.

generation of digitally-inflected business (business 4.0), TCS is prioritising a three pillar framework for

Fundamentally, TCS champions an approach that is cutting-edge without sacrificing the human touch, something that Singhvi considers will only become more important as technology keeps evolving. “It’s not about machines replacing

its customers to help them lead in the new normal based on ‘purpose-centricity’, ‘building resilience’ and ‘being adaptable.’” Singhvi also details the company’s ‘25 by 25’ vision: “25 by 25 illustrates that, in our view, by the year 2025, all our systems

humans; it’s about the augmentation that needs to happen and how hyperautomation and AI (artificial

and ways of working will be aligned, so that only 25% of TCS workforce will work out of TCS

intelligence) will enrich the entire human experience.”

facilities at any time. In this regard, we are very excited that TCS is taking a leadership position on new ways of working, not just in the UK but

Recognising early on that Vitality’s incentivebased health and wellness insurance platform held revolutionary potential for the industry, TCS

globally.

VITALITY

insurance industry has followed suit.

are consolidated into one easy-to-

The balance in incorporating these

manage platform for customers.

exciting new possibilities at Vitality,

144

Digital transformation has not been

he continues, lies in the unification

without its challenges; established five

of its digital and overall business

years before the ‘digital native’ era of

strategies. “It’s less about delivering a

businesses, Vitality initially began at

digital strategy in isolation and more

a disadvantage but quickly recovered:

about considering how the digital

“We were established on a more tra-

team can support the company in

ditional technology model with legacy

achieving its goals.” One of the sig-

systems in place,” Priestley states.

nificant journeys that this mindset has

“One of our most important challenges

led to is the creation of “one Vitality

has been reconciling our culture with

experience”, wherein health insur-

the digital world.” Investing time and

ance and life insurance investments

resources in building trust amongst its

JANUARY 2021

Vitality - Digital Strategy CLICK TO WATCH

2:36

145 stakeholders by hiring teams of digital

implement relatively small changes

specialists to help accelerate trans-

in the experience,” he says.

formation, Vitality has succeeded in

One of Vitality’s core innovations

marrying tech advances with its core

is its member’s app. Available on both

purpose: making people healthier. The

iOS and Android, Priestley claims that

company’s new Advisor Hub, utilising

the app “really gets to the heart of

microservices instead of monolithic

what’s different about Vitality from tra-

alternatives, is a prime example of

ditional insurance products.” Serving

the new agility and efficiency being

as the company’s primary interface

unlocked. “Our strategy is aimed at

with its customers, policyholders are

breaking up those back end legacy

able to link their other health track-

systems into multiple components.

ing apps, Fitbits, Garmins, Apple

This allows us to iterate rapidly on the

Watches and other IoT (internet of

front end at lower cost by not needing

things) devices to it. The app then

to return to the back end in order to

converts physical activity data into i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

VITALITY

“ It’s less about delivering a digital strategy in isolation and more about considering how the digital team can support the company in achieving its goals” — Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer, Vitality

not have been able to implement such a rewarding programme without the help of its many suppliers and partners. One partner, TCS (Tata Consulting Services), has been instrumental in helping Vitality deliver its new services. Based in Mumbai, India, TCS is a multinational IT and consulting company with a truly global reach of 149 locations spread across 46 countries.

‘Vitality Points’ and provides access to

Regarding Vitality’s special relationship

incentive-based rewards when they

with TCS, Priestley had this to say: “We

achieve certain point-based targets.

don’t have the scale as a business to

146 “The app will show how your points are accumulating and what rewards you’ve unlocked. We’re increasingly building more and more reward fulfillment into that interface,” he explains. For example, if a customer earned a certain amount of ‘Vitality Points’ for working out a pre-set number of times per week, they would be entitled to a free coffee, movie download or more. “It also holds your policy information,” continues Priestley. “If for any reason you need to quickly access your policy details, renewal day or something else, it’s all in there.” Conceiving such an innovative way of encouraging people to stay healthy and active is impressive, but Vitality would JANUARY 2021

be efficient at some of the technical

D I D Y O U K N O W?

Vitality has announced that Coronavirus (COVID-19) tests will be available to its health members as of 29 July 2020. The test will be able to accurately tell whether a patient has the virus currently or ever did in the past. All tests will be provided though its partnership with DocTap, a face-to-face GP provider. â&#x20AC;&#x153;DocTap are proud to be working with Vitality in the fight against COVID-19. Our ambition is to provide the most accurate, convenient, affordable and fastest COVID-19 tests on the market, backed up by our outstanding team of doctors,â&#x20AC;? said Dan Faber, founder of DocTap.

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VITALITY

Vitality - Challenges CLICK TO WATCH 4:48

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JANUARY 2021

“ Philosophically, Vitality focuses on the outcome we’re looking for and then works out what technology solution would be best” — Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer, Vitality

delivery skills necessary; we’ve found it far easier to find a partner to supply those skills. TCS is a partner that really understands our business: Vitality’s fast and dynamic culture is different to other insurance companies. TCS realises this and that’s allowed it to embed within our teams; we don’t call on it simply when we’ve got a big project; TCS helps us to continually improve our customers’ experience across the board.” Vitality’s commitment to providing its customers with the stellar level of service it has become known for was thoroughly tested by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our number one priority was the welfare of our staff,” Priestley declares, “but we also had to make sure that they could still deliver first-class service to our members.” Mobilising its IT operations department to quickly find a workable solution, he reports that the company managed to accommodate its full complement of staff (1,500) with remote working capabilities within a period of approximately 10 days, a significant logistical achievement. In parallel, Vitality rapidly innovated its customer proposition by adding a new category of benefits under the banner i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

149

VITALITY

“ If you just concentrate on trying to deliver value for your customers and creating an exceptional experience, more often than not, you’re going to do the right thing” — Dave Priestley, Chief Digital Officer, Vitality

users. “Philosophically, Vitality focuses on the outcome we’re looking for and then works out what technology solution would be best.” Not allowing the technology itself to guide his approach, Priestley says that the current applications of blockchain would not benefit the company’s customers at this time, although explorations of AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning) had revealed their potential for ‘proactive servicing’. “You can then

150

of ‘Vitality at home’. This involved nego-

reach out to customers and ask, ‘How

tiating commercial arrangements to

can we help?’ We’re also using ML

provide members with discounts linked

models to power personalisation in the

to physical activity and integrating with

experience, as well as RPA (robotic

these partners so that a fully digital end

process automation) to speed up

to end experience was up and running

admin and allow our staff to focus on

within three weeks of lockdown starting.

value-adding work instead.”

“That was a big success for us; we

Although 2020 has been a cata-

were still able to provide comprehen-

lyst year for change across so many

sive wellness benefits to our members

aspects of life globally, Vitality retains

by capitalising on our cultural assets.”

the same level of commitment to

In many ways the achievement encap-

making people healthier that it always

sulated the thoroughness of Vitality’s

has. There can be no mistake: the

strategy and demonstrated its adept

insurance industry is changing, with

digital skills. It also demonstrates

or without COVID-19, but the desire

Priestley’s insistence that any tech

for digital transformation which

innovation introduced has a functional

the pandemic’s restrictions have

purpose in delivering quality service to

introduced is here to stay. “Things

JANUARY 2021

Vitality - AI + Robotics CLICK TO WATCH

4:46

151

will be different to how they were,”

to achieve their goals. That’s

says Priestley. “For Vitality, that’s a

what keeps Vitality so grounded.”

good thing because we’ve always

Ultimately, Vitality demonstrates

thrived on evolution.” When asked to

that an insurance company’s worth

summarise what has enabled him to

is derived from its ability to improve

spearhead such a successful digital-

the quality of its customers’ lives and

business strategy, he emphasises

devoting itself wholeheartedly to

that customer-centricity is always at

that goal. “If you just concentrate on

the forefront of his mind and always

trying to deliver value for your cus-

yields the best results. “People

tomers and creating an exceptional

always show a lot of interest in talk-

experience, more often than not,

ing about particular technologies,

you’re going to do the right thing.”

but what’s more important is focusing on how to support customers i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

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