InsuranceTech Africa

KoiReader and Loadsure announce new partnership

2024-02-20T01:46:00.000-08:00

Bengaluru, India-based KoiReader Technologies has announced a strategic partnership with Loadsure, that is designed to enhance insurance claims processing by integrating KoiReader’s specialized Optical Character Recognition (OCR) API into Loadsure’s platform.

The integration is expected to result in a leap in efficiency for processing insurance claims within the supply chain, leveraging KoiReader’s autonomous technology for real-time processing and validation of cargo claims information., and Loadsure's AI powered Cargo Insurance tech solution.

The technology, KoiReader says, specifically targets the logistics industry, is capable of handling complex documents seamlessly in a fully automated, lights-out operation. It went live in 2023, facilitating the digitization of a broad array of cargo documentation, such as commercial invoices and bills of lading, among others.

“When two industry disruptors come together, you can expect real value creation. This is just the start of our strategic partnership, and we are working on a much broader collaboration across multiple transportation modes and several cargo industry use cases,” KoiReader CEO and founder Ashutosh Prasad said.

Justin Murphy, EVP of claims at Loadsure, expressed enthusiasm about the integration, noting its impact on simplifying the claims process for customers.

“We’re delighted to integrate KoiReader into the Loadsure platform - reliably automating the ingestion of claims information relieves our customers of an unnecessary time-burden and enables the quickest-possible review, approval and payment of claims; making our assureds whole and delivering best-in-class claims service,” Murphy said.

Germans invests in Kenyan blockchain insurance company

2018-07-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

German start-up financier GreenTec Capital has announced its investment into Kenyan blochchain based Bismart Insurance company. By using emerging technologies to address the issues of financing and transparency, Bismart aims to gain a strong foothold in the African market. The company will start with a small range of service and products that will be expanded quickly.

The interface being developed by the Bismart team will allow the distribution of insurance products across all of Africa, facilitating the rapid roll-out and scaling of the business.

The company’s founder, Eunice Maina, is a Kenyan woman entrepreneur who has dedicated 15 years’ of her life to protecting customers through insurance. She has now decided to embrace the challenge of Entrepreneurship and use technology to develop a platform that embraces a more personal and trust-building user experience that has been the core of her business.

This platform will also help Bismart to increase efficiency and transparency through the implementation of Blockchain technology “Smart-Contracts” in order to facilitate policy management and benefit from the security of decentralized databases.

Insurance adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa is in the low single digits with South Africa as an exception with a rate above 10%. This is due in part to the inability of insurance companies to rely on the traditional payment channels provided by banks for premium collection and claim pay-outs. Additionally, the African market is primarily composed of consumers with unsteady cash flows and low incomes that are wary of paying for services without perceived tangible benefits.

And finally, insurance acceptance is further limited by low financial literacy at the BOP that leads to inefficiencies in customer acquisition, policy management, and claims resolution. Bismart solves these problems through its platform.

GreenTec’s CEO Erick Yong said “One of the biggest challenges for innovative startups in Africa is the implementation of solutions with distribution channels that have Pan-African reach. Bismart’s application of emerging technologies solves this problem brilliantly, while disrupting the insurance value chain from customer acquisition to risk management.”

In addition to GreenTec’s investment, Bismart has already benefited from the commitment of an initial investor to develop its platform and expects to be able to launch its service offerings by the start of Q4 2018.

Leveraging on cutting edge technology, the company provides a digital interface to offer insurance products and services across Africa. Bismart’s vision is to enable every African to access insurance without the burden of immediate out-of-pocket payments, in a transparent, convenient, and friendly manner.

Technology and collaboration key for insurers in 2018 and beyond

2018-07-20T06:24:00.000-07:00

Following a challenging 2017, the South African insurance industry must adopt technology and collaborate with local governments, if it is to effectively tap into new markets to stimulate growth for the foreseeable future.

Many sectors have been very quick in adopting new technology, like the financial services industry, who have been at the forefront of technological innovation. It is time the insurance sector does the same.

Luckily, we have seen certain pockets in the insurance industry follow suit, such as Lemonade, who launched an AI claims bot. It has the potential to investigate and approve a personal lines claim in a record, yes wait for it, 3 seconds! This is a giant leap for the insurance industry. Proper use of technology will vastly improve customer experience. It will also allow insurers to properly assess a client’s exposure, underwrite and price it appropriately.

To stay relevant, insurers must adopt technology and redefine their market. According to the Automobile Association (AA) between 65% and 70% of the 11,4 million vehicles on the road are uninsured. Why is this? Simply put, a vast number of South Africans can’t afford insurance. Our industry needs a concerted effort to provide every single South African access to affordable insurance.

This won’t be easy. The industry faces many challenges in 2018 which needs to be attended to. They are:

Changes in regulation

There are many expected changes to local regulation that will have significant effects on the insurance industry. These include the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), Policy Protection Rules (PPR), Protection of Personal Information (PoPI) and Treating Customers Fairly (TCF).

Much has been said about these changes, suffice to say Insurers need to properly understand the impact of these changes and ensure they have systems and processes in place to properly manage these changes.

The effects of Climate Change

Insurers need to prepare for more frequent and more severe weather incidents. This could be as varied as more severe hailstorms in certain regions and more droughts in other. Insurers need to properly understand the impact of these changes, for example, extended droughts also mean that fixed firefighting systems may not work properly anymore.

Staying ahead of technological innovation

Technology is a key enabler for insurers. Robotics could reduce time spend on mundane tasks and artificial intelligence could enhance decision making, but at the same time, cybercrime is on the rise. Insurers struggle to come to grips with technology that is developing faster than they can cope; drones, cybercrime and driverless cars are just a few developments insurers need to internalize and understand.

Attracting millennials

There are indications that millennials now outnumber other working generations. However, there are very few insurance products that actually cater to their needs. The way insurance is sold, is also not fully aligned with their needs.

The retention of technical skills

The insurance industry has been losing its technical skills at a rapid pace. Very few people leaving school choose insurance as a career. The lack of skills has a negative impact on customer experience and will result in increased premiums as risks are not properly assessed and mitigated. The industry will have to introduce accelerated learning programmes to ensure we build the skills the industry needs.

Collaboration for future success

Besides the many challenges, the insurance industry is well positioned to better predict, anticipate and adapt their approach to the dangers of climate change. Insurers should partner with local government to firstly get an appreciation of the level of accumulation and secondly to prepare an integrated and holistic disaster management strategy.

By doing this, the damage caused by localised flooding can be managed if the exposure is understood and development of new property in flood zones and high-risk flood areas is carefully managed or discouraged.

By WP Pienaar, Chief Underwriting Officer: Commercial and Agri Assets at Old Mutual Insure

Amazon poised to disrupt global insurance industry

2018-07-16T11:04:00.002-07:00

Amazon is currently recruiting insurance professionals in London to join a new team looking to disrupt the insurance market in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Amazon offers transparent services such as the ability to track a package, next-day delivery, a clear returns policy, and customer reviews on products, providing clear communication to customers throughout the purchasing journey.

Patricia Davies, Financial Services Analyst at GlobalData, comments, ‘‘Amazon has a positive reputation for putting customers’ needs at the heart of its propositions. This level of trust is something the insurance industry has really struggled with, especially after the likes of the PPI scandal.’’

According to GlobalData’s 2017 General Insurance Survey 18% of consumers would buy their motor or home insurance from Amazon.

Davies, continues, ‘‘The company is in a good position having established itself as a key service provider for households with it’s “Prime” service, as well as offering a TV channel and movie service. We are already seeing a number of new propositions moving away from annual renewal to a monthly subscription basis, which would fit well with Amazon’s current business model.’’

The company’s investment in technology has brought households the Echo and Dot, voice-activated speakers that uses artificial intelligence to support everyday needs. This positions Amazon well for providing insurance needs, as tech in the home will soon define the insurance requirements of an individual household. This close and interactive relationship is a long way from the limited annual renewal or claim process touchpoints insurers currently work to.

Davies adds, ‘‘If insurers are not careful they may be pushed out of having a direct relationship with customers and will be relegated to the role of a price-driven risk carrier at the back end. Either way this is a sure sign disruption is on the way for the UK insurance market.’’

Cambodian IT firm, IG Tech partner Aitins in the insurance market

2018-07-16T10:52:00.001-07:00

Cambodian information technology (IT) solution firm IG Tech announced on Thursday that it had reached a partnership agreement with Malaysia-based Aetins to sell software to insurance companies.

IG Tech chairman Kim Puthkiry said on Thursday that the collaboration will benefit the Kingdom’s tech sector. He said it was not just about the sell-buy agreement, but also the transfer of knowledge to support IG Tech’s move to set up a new all-encompassing tech centre.

The centre will serve as a gathering place for the country’s tech-savvy to learn from experts and eventually develop their own software solutions. “In the future, we will survive with our own solutions and bring our products to compete internationally,” he said.

Puthkiry said the agreement will allow his company to distribute software from Aetins to Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. While Aetins is a major player with IT solutions for the insurance industry, Puthkiry said he aims to sign similar partnership agreements with IT solution firms from the US, Germany, India and Singapore.

He is looking for firms that specialise in payment platforms, banking systems and other technological areas. Puthkiry plans to set up a co-working space and recruit 10 people from the insurance industry – 20 working in digital solutions and 15 to train in payment solutions.

Aetins managing director Kupusamy Kanniah said the growth of Cambodia’s financial sector has created business opportunities in the insurance industry and provided his firm an opportunity to enter the market.

“Cambodia’s insurance market potential is so high that it is now imperative for players to look for the right technology-enabled solutions to stay competitive and grow,” he said.

Accenture to help build distributed ledger framework for multiple insurance use cases

2018-07-16T10:39:00.001-07:00

IT services giant Accenture has joined the Institutes RiskBlock Alliance to serve as the lead framework architect in the consortium created for implementing blockchain technology across the risk management and insurance industry.

Accenture will take up the responsibility for creating a production-grade platform to develop and implement blockchain and distributed-ledger use cases.

The company said that the platform will help the RiskBlock Alliance to implement and evaluate multiple use cases by the year end.

Accenture will also be responsible for maintaining and updating the platform as the business requirements and technologies of RiskBlock members grow. The consortium has seen over 30 global insurers and brokers joining it in the last 12 months.

RiskBlock, through its blockchain-based applications and tools, aims to better serve policyholders and cut down industry and consumer costs by optimizing payments, reducing fraud and making the accuracy of customer data better.

Accenture’s Michael Costonis, who leads the company’s Insurance practice globally, said: “As insurers increasingly rely on partnerships to create business efficiencies and improve customer experiences, blockchain technology will be critical to holding partners accountable without first needing to establish trust.

“RiskBlock has built a powerful alliance, and we’re eager to work with them to develop scalable blockchain use cases in insurance. Blockchain has the power to simplify, secure and speed up the way the insurance industry works.”

RiskBlock Alliance has marked over 40 uses cases and is set to implement and test some of the blockchain solutions offered by Accenture. Included in these is a data-sharing process, a “proof of insurance” application, a subrogation tool and a parametric insurance application.

RiskBlock Alliance president Christopher McDaniel said: “Accenture has established itself as a leader in developing practical blockchain solutions across a number of industries.

“Partnering with Accenture to develop real-world blockchain applications will lead to better insurance solutions and chart a clear course for effectively implementing blockchain technology throughout the insurance industry.”

DIA Amsterdam: Insurance embrace ecosystems

2018-05-21T05:28:00.002-07:00

No less than 1,200 (!) decision makers representing 50 countries from all 6 continents turned the fourth edition of Digital Insurance Agenda (DIA) into a massive success. DIA, the largest ‘must see’ insurtech event worldwide, took place at 16 and 17 May in Amsterdam and featured more than 50 insurtechs and 6 provocative keynotes and panel discussions. Technologies on stage varied from blockchain and bots to connected devices and conversational commerce.

“The keynotes speeches of Zhong An, Rakuten, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Discovery and Bought by Many set the stage for the future of insurance: Ecosystems offer new ways to become much more relevant. Solving the real problems customers experience across the value chain requires collaborations with other parties, even with competitors. Thinking beyond insurance and thinking platforms will be the next challenge for insurers”, summarizes DIA co-founder Roger Peverelli.

“Teaming up with insurtechs while building these ecosystems is essential to accelerate innovation. The DIA line-up clearly showed that insurtechs are more than ready for this and actively foster ecosystems as well; in any product category, in every part of the value chain. They even collaborate with other insurtechs, to come up with solutions that are more innovative and add more value. The massive response among the audience shows that the insurance industry is embracing ecosystems as a key to the future”, says Reggy de Feniks, the other DIA-co-founder.

DIAmond Award winners

The many insurers and insurtech investors in the DIA audience awarded six insurtechs the DIAmond Award for insurtech with most strategic impact; in random order:

· Xtract (Ireland): Transforming motor claims by aggregating real-world crash data. https://bit.ly/2HqdUWK

· BetterTradeOff (Singapore): Upgrading financial planning to become life planning. https://bit.ly/2GQksxl

· Wrisk (UK): Flexible macro-insurance that adapts to fit the customer’s life. https://bit.ly/2IYlacI

· Neurotrack (USA): Transforming detection and prevention of memory loss. https://bit.ly/2FcqXcu

· Pixoneye (Israel): Predicting key life events to deliver relevant insurance in real time. https://bit.ly/2IGg88m

· Buzzvault (UK): Digital asset vault built on the blockchain, enabling intelligent home insurance. https://bit.ly/2KDvBnw

The CareVoice to Launch 1st AI Voice-based Virtual Health Assistant for Insurers

2018-05-21T05:23:00.002-07:00

The CareVoice, a Shanghai-based health insurtech startup that is transforming healthcare into a more consumer-centric experience, have announced the launch of the first AI Voice-based Virtual Health Assistant for insurers and employers in Greater China.

This artificial intelligence-based symptom triage feature is integrated into the CareVoice platform, allowing insurance members to:

Check their symptoms;

Access self-care content;

Be guided towards relevant medical specialties.

While it supports insurers willing to become true health partners to their insurance members, it also generates efficiency by avoiding unnecessary consultations and directing members to more relevant and cost-effective medical providers.

The CareVoice has partnered with Sensely, a US-based company, to bring this unique feature to the market, leveraging Sensely’s proprietary technology and extensive collaboration experience with leading international medical institutions, including the UK’s National Health Service and Texas Medical Center. “The CareVoice has a great mobile-based solution for insurers that is a perfect fit, allowing us to bring our Virtual Health Assistant to China’s fast growing private insurance market.

In addition, “we are glad to partner with a great team that possesses an international background and a deep understanding of the Chinese market,” said Adam Odessky, CEO and Co-founder of Sensely. Sebastien Gaudin, CEO and Co-Founder of The CareVoice, added that “while our joint product team is completing the localization, we are very glad that we have already partnered with two insurers, AXATianPing and Ping An Health, to launch this consumer-centric innovation to the Chinese market, which will drive a better healthcare experience for their members.

We can rely on Sensely’s leading technology and solid evidence in terms of both member satisfaction and payer cost savings in order to fuel our value proposition to insurers and employers.” Frank Desvignes, CEO AXA Lab Asia, commented, “we have been successfully cooperating with The CareVoice since late 2016, and are looking forward to bringing in China to our AXA-Tianping insurance members this Artificial Intelligence based Virtual Health Assistant into our unique mobile solution improving their healthcare and insurance experiences.”

Following its latest financing round, The CareVoice has been upgrading its platform and mobile-based solutions with digitized claims, expanding its footprint in private insurance market by partnering with more insurance services companies, as well as employers. In addition, it has started its geographic expansion by bringing its innovation to Hong-Kong.

Symbility Continues Global Momentum, Fueled by InsureTech Demand

2017-09-20T04:42:00.000-07:00

Following the release of their second quarter earnings, Symbility Solutions Inc., has provided a business update on the Company's strengthening momentum in international markets. With relatively few competitors offering a globalized claims management cloud platform, Symbility is ideally positioned for further growth internationally.

"We're excited to see how the international market has embraced our platform," said James Swayze, CEO of Symbility Solutions. "Insurance has traditionally been seen as a slow moving industry, but with the rise of the InsureTech sector and increased investment by carriers in digital technology, we've seen faster adoption and an increased desire to innovate. This trend, coupled with the successful delivery of our strategy to provide consumer-facing applications to our carriers' policyholders, create new areas of potential growth for Symbility as we roll these applications out in our international customer base."

International Growth Highlights:

United Kingdom

Symbility is the market leader in the United Kingdom. Since Symbility's market entry in 2008, many of the country's largest insurance carriers have adopted the Symbility platform to support their claims management practices.

This success has led to extensive use in the UK supply chain, with thousands of users across more than 200 separate supply chain organisations regularly accessing the platform.

The use of Symbility software in the UK is not limited to industry professionals, but also extends to policyholders. UK Symbility customers have recently begun the deployment of LINK, Symbility's consumer-facing application, providing their policyholders with full visibility of their claim and, where necessary, allowing them to add supporting claim information directly into the Symbility Cloud.

Carriers in the UK have seen an extremely high take-up rate amongst policyholders when the LINK service is offered and Symbility is now looking to expand the application's use into additional global markets.

Germany & Europe

In Germany, the Symbility platform is utilized extensively by both insurance carriers and supply chain organisations across the insurance sector.

Symbility's German customer base includes companies, such as insurance carriers AXA, Helvetia Group, and DEVK and supply networks Rainbow International and tripleSAN, amongst others, all of whom have expanded their use of the platform since initial deployment. As press released earlier this year, AXA and Rainbow International have both renewed long term contracts with Symbility in 2017.

The Company has successfully expanded into the Benelux region (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg) winning two new customers, including P&V Group. The sales pipeline in this region is strong, and we expect this momentum to lead to further contract wins as opportunities mature.

Symbility is also currently pursuing active new deployments and pilot opportunities in France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.

APAC & South Africa

Outside of the European region, Symbility has established highly successful customer relationships with multiple insurance carriers across South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

This success is in part to the strategy Symbility has deployed of establishing relationships with Value Added Resellers in those markets. With our VAR's support, Symbility continues to expand with existing clients and win new contracts.

Our international teams are working hard to develop and deliver on new customer engagements and pilots in all of these geographies, highlighting Symbility's position as a world leader in the field of insurance software, already delivering on the promise of the broader InsurTech sector.

With a history in modernizing insurance claims solutions for the property and health industries, Symbility has established itself as a partner that puts security, efficiency and customer experience first. Symbility PROPERTY™ brings smarter thinking to property insurance. Symbility HEALTH™ helps benefits professionals build their brands and businesses. Our strategic services team, Symbility INTERSECT™ empowers a variety of businesses with smarter mobile and IoT product development strategy, design thinking and engineering excellence. With our three segments pushing industries forward, Symbility proves that change for the better is entirely possible.

Hitachi launches Vantara, to focus on digital transformation business in Insurance, others

2017-09-20T04:21:00.002-07:00

Hitachi is creating a separate company to focus on big data and technology infrastructure in a bid to grab digital transformation business. The entity, called Hitachi Vantara, unifies a series of enterprise units including:

Hitachi Data Systems;

Hitachi Insight Group;

And Pentaho.

"We're going to bring together companies that were otherwise siloed and working on similar tracks but not fully working together to power this new entity," Bob Madaio, VP of infrastructure solutions marketing for Hitachi Data Systems, said to ZDNet. The new company, he added, will immediately boast $4 billion in revenue, as well as a large install base and a headcount of around 7,000.

The goal for Hitachi Vantara is to be a player in information and operational technology as well as digital transformation deals. Hitachi has traditionally played in a bevy of verticals such as finance (insurance), government, manufacturing, transportation and utilities. All of those verticals are areas for analytics and the Internet of Things as well as public and private cloud infrastructure.

"The biggest opportunity for change for Hitachi and our customers is understanding the data in all these machines and environments to really drive change," Madaio said. "There's going to be a lot of data generated and potential solutions that don't necessarily deliver results that matter. We want to use our industry expertise to pick and choose which of those we focus on."

The launch of Hitachi Vantara will put it more in direct competition with the likes of Dell EMC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM and Lenovo. But Hitachi says it has an advantage over those companies, given its depth of understanding about the operational needs of various vertical markets.

"We can bring to bear an edge to outcome solution, which none of the IT guys can do without expensively partnering with a third party in a new market they're not familiar with," Ravi Chalaki, VP of global IoT marketing at Hitachi Insight Group, said to ZDNet.

Hitachi said the big push for Hitachi Vantara will be to provide "superior infrastructure and analytics technologies" for emerging markets such as the Internet of things where "there is no clear winner yet."

Hitachi Vantara CEO Ryuichi Otsuki said the company has more than a century of operational technology expertise. For the launch, Hitachi Vantara outlined its product lineup. Those moving parts include:

The Lumada IoT platform and its v2.0 release, which can run on-premises or in the cloud. The 2.0 version of Lumada includes asset avatars, or digital twins, analytics from machine and human data and design tools. Lumada initially launched in May 2016 and features ingestion tools for data, identity and access management, machine learning, alerts and dashboards.

Asset avatars are effectively what's known as a "digital twin" -- a digital blueprint of a physical asset. Chalaki said Hitachi's avatars are "significantly better than many average digital twins on the marketplace" because different avatars of the same type (such as an automotive avatar) can learn from each other.

Africa's insurance market is a 'sleeping giant'...James Norman KPMG

2017-09-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

KPMG Head of Insurance for East Africa James Norman has described Africa's hugely unexploited insurance market as a sleeping giant. According to him, there is a real buzz about the sector because of its plentiful or enormous opportunities. “There’s a real buzz about the sector because opportunities are immense,” he says. “There’s a young population, a growing middle class most with smartphones and an increasingly large diaspora coming back".

Speaking to Business Insider Sub Saharan Africa, he expressed that the African continent has a young generation of savvy consumers with disposable incomes and large infrastructure projects being built. "The insurance market is closely linked to economic growth. When incomes rise you have more insurable assets.

Norman also described the sub-Saharan African insurance market as a “diverse picture”.

"Additionally,there is also a huge amount of innovation happening around the continent: InsureTechs and FinTechs are on the rise". He however urged insurance companies to be innovative in carving packages that are better suited for the African market instead of a replication of products and services from the advanced countries.

Insurance gap

Norman believes there is definitely insurance gap in Africa since the continent can only boast of social insurance, informal insurance which even falls short of the trust of consumers.

"There is a general conception that says insurance companies fail when it comes to paying claims".

The KPMG Head of Insurance for East Africa also called for collaboration between banks and insurance companies in the country. According to him, the convergence of the two financial institutions will help the industry succeed and also make it easier to sign up people for insurance policies.

Although insurance regulations in Africa are really catching up with world's best practices, stakeholders must be committed to increasing the awareness on insurance, he added,

Technology in insurance

James mentioned the need to incorporate technology into running the insurance industry in Africa. He explains that, technology is a game changer for the insurance industry, therefore insurance companies must leverage on available technology to have a good run.

South Africa accounts for almost 80 percent of all premiums in sub-Saharan Africa and the country has an insurance penetration rate. The total value of insurance premiums as a proportion of GDP of about 13 percent, well above the developed world average.

Of the rest, Kenya is among the most advanced, with a penetration rate of 3 percent. Nigeria, in comparison, is about 0.3 percent, even though it is Africa’s largest economy.

10 insurtechs which take IT off the critical path

2017-09-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

Regulatory overhead + old technology = high prices + bad services.

A German insurer shared this telling formula with us, and it’s a perfect summary of the challenges insurers are facing. Among the 75 executives that we interviewed for our book Reinventing Customer Engagement. The next level of digital transformation many said that maintaining legacy systems consumes 90% of technology budgets. Typical digital transformation programs therefore give a lot of attention to simplifying IT environments.

But outdated systems not only result in high costs but also make it difficult and costly to act quickly and effectively on new customer wishes. The systems of most insurers are often older than the customers they serve. And meanwhile digital life has become so much more intuitive (Apple), interactive (Mint), contextual (Amazon), beautiful (Spotify) and intelligent (Google). Insurers have to operate much closer to the market and foster the opportunities that new technologies offer with techniques such as the ‘lean methodology’ to experiment with new ideas and processes, constantly tweaking these with fast feedback loops.

In this blogpost we included ten insurtechs and innovative tech providers that help insurers with solving the legacy issue; to take IT off the critical path:

1. KASKO

2. Backbase

3. Vlocity

4. Keylane

5. Faktor Zehn

6. Roundcube

7. Tieto

8. OutShared

9. Guidewire

10. Ti&m

DIA Munich

The forthcoming DIA edition in Munich (15 and 16 November) will of course feature the latest insurtechs and innovative tech providers that enable insurance carriers to take IT off the critical path.

1. KASKO: Helping insurers to act like an insurtech startup

London based Kasko is the first digital insurance platform for on-demand insurance products to enable insurance companies and brokers to quickly bring to market new on-demand insurance products. Kasko allows digital marketplaces and booking platforms to offer their customers contextually relevant insurance products via plugin or API. They relieve their clients from the regulatory and technological burdens associated with integrating directly within insurance companies. KASKO provides insurance solutions within the spaces of car, property, freelance, travel & events. By offering an API-powered agile insurance product platform that sits in between digital customer touchpoints and their customers legacy IT, they take the internal IT off the critical path to product launch.

Read more, click here.

Check demo, click here.

2. Backbase: Omni-channel experiences, ready to go

Backbase has created the world’s leading lean customer experience platform, Backbase CXP. It has been designed to help financial institutions organize, create, and manage deeply relevant customer experiences across all channels, on any device, to delight your customers and deliver measurable business results. Backbase has a flexible and modular architecture that puts insurance providers back in control of their digital experiences and strategy, which puts them back in touch with their customers. By putting their own business and digital marketing teams in the driving seat, insurers will be able to create the types of interactions that boost engagement, resulting in increased retention and a larger share of wallet, but most importantly, happy customers.

Backbase is a ready-to-go insurance solution. It fully supports internet, tablet, and mobile experiences, including omni-channel by facilitating cross-channel customer journeys, plus seamless handover and orchestration between channels and devices.

Read more, click here.

Check demo, click here.

3. Faktor Zehn: innovative agile insurance solutions

Munich based Faktor Zehn is well known as the product house for agile insurance solutions. The international IT consulting and software company, provides innovative consulting services in combination with concrete solutions based on the platform-independent programming language Java. Faktor Zehn focuses on product management, policy management and sales and service systems to help insurance companies to innovate and develop competitive advantages. All products are developed to support insurance companies to generate speed of innovation as well as competitive advantages. Therefore, all business transactions are executable through web services to ensure a high rate of fully automatic processing. The user interface is optimized to process complex issues whilst leaving all primary batch processes, such as follow-up debit and premium due date mutations, intact. While using products of Faktor Zehn business and IT development teams of an insurance company work hand in hand with product development to improve time to market, to make sure that the products meet the high standards and to launch new products or product variants quickly and efficiently.

Read more, click here.

Check demo, click here.

4. Keylane: software with smart robotic applications for insurers

Keylane is the showcase of insurance 3.0. The state-of-the-art Keylane technology platform supports core processes such as policy administration, sales and distribution, and underwriting, and enables companies to excel in operational performance as well as in customer service. Keylane’s software solutions enables companies to engage effectively with their customers; providing operational agility (founded on best practice), in the insurance and pension markets. New technologies such as speech recognition, social analysis and predictive analytics are already integrated with the Keylane solutions to make the insurance customer experience as easy and friendly as possible. The integration of core solutions with smart robotic applications provides frontline workers within a matter of seconds with a more holistic view of their information landscape. Improving efficiency, effectiveness and lowering of costs. The user-friendly multi-channel portals integrated with flexible administration systems, enable insurers to boost customer experience as well as excel in operational efficiency. Achieving cost savings of more than 50% on the IT budget.

Read more, click here.

Check demo, click here.

5. Vlocity: Adding industry specific process applications to Salesforce

Developed in partnership with Salesforce, Vlocity extends the Salesforce Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Communities Cloud, and other clouds with very specific business process applications for among others the verticals insurance and health insurance.

The Vlocity apps on Salesforce add value to the user through a much faster time to market, a lower total cost of ownership, and the agility of a product that stays in sync with Salesforce all the way through. Those are huge benefits from a business perspective.

ABD Insurance, a top 100 insurance broker in America, sells all different lines of insurance across multiple carriers and they use Salesforce. They liked it but they just couldn’t do all the things they wanted. Vlocity came in and deployed Vlocity Insurance in just 45 days.

Read more, click here.

Check demo, click here.

6. Roundcube: Why a ‘fat’ mid-office is healthy for insurers!

In order to be truly agile as an insurer you need an almost unattractive body: a slim back office, a flat layer that enables connectivity at the front end and a rich ‘fat’ mid office that is the engine that drives it all. It’s the mid-office where connections should be made. We cannot wish our legacy systems away, we cannot simply upgrade, we cannot continue to add channels that add cost without bringing in more business. But what we can do is use the back office for its core and stable strength by extracting relevant data and let it run the more stable admin tasks. This system can run at a different heart beat and cost than a mid and front office, whilst still making use of your existing investment. The Roundcube Insurance Platform is an agile mid office engine where data becomes relevant information, where you can build experiences with the customer through relevant offerings.

Read more, click here.

Check demo, click here.

7. Tieto: an ecosystem for business renewal

Tieto, the largest IT services company in the Nordic region and creator of world’s first internet bank, digital health records and e-invoice solutions, has already helped a large number of worldwide businesses in banking, insurance, retail, manufacturing, healthcare and public services with the digital leap in highly competitive markets. What’s more, Tieto actively builds an ecosystem of leading innovators and startups to complement its offering on data-driven area. They have several internal startups in the company focused on Tieto’s main growth areas; Customer Experience Management (CEM), Internal Internet solutions and Security Systems. This benefits their customers by allowing them an increased ability to speed up digitalization.

Read more, click here.

Check demo, click here.

8. OutShared: a digital insurer in a box

OutShared offers an in-house developed and built digital insurance platform in a SAAS solution to the market. OutShared's platform is an all-in-one insurance solution for policy management, quotations, claims origination and processing: from back-office database through middle-office processing to front-office web and app interfaces. Built on today's digital ethos, and offered through strategic BPO and SaaS operations, OutShared offers the smart integrated solution for insurance specialists. Developed for both new market offerings and the renovation of established operations migrated to the platform. HEMA for instance, an established retail brand, converted its traditional business to OutShared’s platform. As a result, the operational cost ratio decreased by 50%, the loss ratio improved by 10% points in 1 year. The portfolio was converted in 2 months, from zero to live in 6 months.

Read more, click here.

Check demo, click here.

9. Guidewire: Personalized and hassle free customer journeys with among others a chatbot and Facebook messenger service

The Californian based company builds software products that help P&C insurers replace their legacy core systems and transform their business. Providing insurers with solutions for the main drivers for a successful customer journey; digitalization, personalization and a real omni-channel strategy.

Guidewire products enable insurers to deliver excellent service for all stakeholder within the insurance lifecycle, increase market share and lower operating costs. Their platform is based on three elements – core processing, data and analytics, and digital engagement. These work together to strengthen the insurers’ ability to engage and empower their customers, agents and employees. Allowing insurers to select, deploy and upgrade best-of-breed applications individually or as a pre-integrated suite, according to their requirements and priorities. More than 260 P&C insurers off all sizes and business lines around the world have selected Guidewire. In Europe alone they have over 45 customers across eleven countries.

Read more, click here.

Check demo, click here.

10. Ti&m: the benchmark for a personalized digitalization strategy

Ti&m is a Swiss market leader for digitalization and security products. The ti&m channel suite is the simple, fast, trusted and efficient way to digitalize customer relationships. With flexible business modules, ti&m creates a personalized digitalization strategy. The ti&m security suite provides the necessary security for all channels and makes the digitalization journey safer and faster. Together they set the benchmark for business digitalization. The ti&m approach is cost efficient with an extremely low cost of entry and compatible with most of the current security providers

Read more, click here.

Check demo, click here.

By Roger Peverelli and Reggy de Feniks

Leading Insurance companies found InsurTech Hub in Germany to develop sector

2017-08-16T03:09:00.000-07:00

In order to grow innovations in the insurance industry, 12 Insurance companies from Bavaria have founded InsurTech Hub Munich eV in a joint initiative. The goal is to jointly shape the digital transformation and to make Munich an attractive location for the best international start-ups. The Bavarian state capital is to further expand its pioneering position in the digitization of the insurance industry.

To achieve its goals, the InsurTech Hub Munich is designed not only to develop an ideal physical infrastructure with incubator, coworking and event rooms but also to create a common digital platform for virtual exchange. In addition to the development and establishment of young companies and start-ups, the exchange with a network of research, business and international partners, for example from Sydney or Singapore, will play a central role. The InsurTech hub is controlled by a five-man board. In the first round, he will be represented by a representative of Allianz, Generali Deutschland, Munich Re, NÜRNBERGER Insurance and Versicherungskammer Bayern. The chairman will be Tom Van den Brulle of Munich Re.

"We are very happy about the joint initiative. We see ourselves as an integrative think-tank institution in the industry at the location in Bavaria, which may also be contrary to established views of the insurance industry and the industry, "explains Van den Brulle.

Bavaria's Economics and Digitization Minister Ilse Aigner: "Bavaria is one of the leading insurance companies worldwide. With the establishment of the InsurTech Hub, we bring together established insurance companies and innovative start-ups. We want to use this creative link in order to expand Bayern's leadership role in the digitization of the insurance sector. "

In May 2017, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) announced that Munich as a digital hub would also be responsible for "InsurTech" in addition to "Mobility" in order to successfully transform the digital transformation of the insurance sector. With the founding of the association, the Munich insurance company wants to actively promote the "Digital Hub".

The first regular members of the association are ADAC-Schutzbrief Versicherungs-AG, Allianz SE, ARAG, The Bavarian, Generali Deutschland, HUK-Coburg, LV 1871, Munich Association Insurance Group, Munich Re, NÜRNBERGER Insurance, Versicherungskammer Bayern, and WWK Lebensversicherung AG The "Digital Hub" is supported by the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology, Accelerator Wayra, Startup Treefin AG and WERK1.

Immediately after the founding of the association, the InsurTech Hub Munich initiated its first joint event. On a panel discussion the club members exchanged views on the future of insurance companies. The unanimous opinion: "Digitization is changing the insurance industry rapidly. The insurance industry must adapt to stiffer competition. With an active role in the struggle for ideas and talents, Munich and Bavaria will be able to secure their position in the global competition. "

On Twitter, the Hub will use the account @InsurTechMunich to comment on topics related to the digitization of the insurance industry.

InsurTech Futures: BGL Group opens tech hub

2017-06-14T05:26:00.000-07:00

BGL Group has this week opened its new tech hub at the White Collar Factory on Silicon Roundabout in London’s Shoreditch. BGL Group is home to price comparison website comparethemarket.com.

Matthew Donaldson, CEO, BGL Group, said: “For us it’s a priority to stay at the forefront of digital technology so that we can best support our customers with mobile apps and websites with a laser focus on user experience. “Basing ourselves at White Collar Factory, in the heart of London’s thriving tech industry, will allow our teams to work in an atmosphere of creativity, bouncing ideas off colleagues and professionals in the wider industry and continuing to break new ground in digital and data innovation.”

The group’s new offices, which occupy the entire sixth floor of the 16-storey building, will be its first permanent London base, in addition to its offices in Peterborough, Sunderland, Wakefield and Paris. Over 150 employees will be accommodated in the space.

According to BGL the building has been independently certified as having leading-edge digital infrastructure. Other features of the development include a rooftop running track, roof terrace with extensive views across London, 276 cycle spaces, flexible working spaces plus a courtyard, cafés and restaurants.

The office will be led by Jon Mullen, associate director, product engineering, who previously led the delivery of Now TV and was head of software excellence & culture at Sky.

Some of the roles to be based at the White Collar Factory include full stack software engineers, big data engineers, data scientists specialising in real time data processing and machine learning implementation, and user experience (UX) designers. The workspace will include a usability lab – an environment where users are studied interacting with applications – and a mobile device lab to automate the testing of applications across a suite of physical devices.

Donaldson added: “We firmly believe that our new tech-focused hub, with world class connectivity, will support us in attracting and retaining the best talent in digital, brand and data. We’ve equipped our teams with the latest technology and flexible working spaces to allow them to unleash their vision and imagination.”

Fairfax to back general insurance startup Digit

2017-06-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

After selling stake in ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Canada-based billionaire Prem Watsa's Fairfax Holdings is promoting a techdriven startup general insurance company — Digit. Watsa has partnered Kamesh Goyal, a former Allianz executive who led the German insurer's business in India.

The new Bengaluru-headquartered company's team is a blend of insurance and ecommerce executives.

Those with an insurance background are largely from Bajaj Allianz. They include Vijay Kumar, V Philip and Jasleen Kohli who were in the top management of Bajaj Allianz. From the e-commerce side, the company has Sandeep Komaravelly, who was part of Snapdeal's startup team, and Sriram Shankar, who was vice-president (customer experience) at Myntra. The chief technology officer has an e-commerce background.

The company, which has already received preliminary approvals from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), will start with a paid-up capital of Rs 385 crore. Fairfax Holdings will control 45% of the firm while the balance will be held by Indian investors led by Goyal, who will be chairman of the company.

Fairfax was the co-founder of ICICI Lombard. However, the Canadian group sold last month a little over 12% stake in the joint venture to Warburg Pincus and other private equity investors. Subsequently, it announced that it will be further diluting stake in the proposed initial public offering of the general insurance firm.

Speaking to TOI, Komaravelly said that the plan is to launch within the next 6-12 weeks, subject to final approvals from IRDAI. "We want to bring about a change in insurance. The differentiation is from the point of view of making the entire experience for the customer seamless," he said.

Incidentally, another general insurance company Acko General Insurance, promoted by the founders of online insurance distributor Coverfox, is also pursuing the tech-driven insurance model. Acko recently raised $30 million in seed capital.

Snapsheet Raises $12M Series D, Boosting AI in Its Insurance Claims Tech

2017-06-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

Chicago based insurance tech startup, Snapsheet, that helps people virtually file insurance claims, just raised $12 million.

The Series D round, led by Tola Capital, brings the 7-year-old startup's total funding to over $43 million (the startup raised $20 million just last year). Snapsheet will use the additional funds to improve on their tech using artificial intelligence and machine learning.

"Our platform is reimagining the claims process and enables 90 percent of all claims to be processed virtually,” said Brad Weisberg, founder and CEO of Snapsheet. “We’re dedicated to investing in technologies like machine learning that will continue to improve workflows for the insurance industry."

Snapsheet helps customers file and settle auto insurance claims through their online platform, by allowing them to upload supplementary photos using a smartphone camera and streamlining communications with repair shops. Using Snapsheet, carriers can process 90 percent of all claims by photograph, automate 70 percent of all customer communications and see up to a 20 percent reduction in loss payments, the startup says.

Snapsheet works with 45 major auto insurance carriers, including USAA and Liberty Mutual, and is on track to process 400,000 claims virtually this year. The startup employs 300, about half of which are in Chicago, according to Crain's.

Snapsheet will use the additional funding to further develop the technology behind their platform, particularly around AI and machine learning, as well as expand sales, marketing and customer engagement functions. Snapsheet also announced that Tola managing director and former Microsoft manager Sheila Gulati will join the startup's board of directors.

JAMII push for Mobile-Microinsurance penetration in Tanzania

2017-05-17T06:18:00.002-07:00

Earlier this year Jamii, a local start-up in Tanzania offering micro-health insurance services, announced ambitious plans to expand into East and Central Africa this year.

Launched in January 2015, Jamii is a mobile policy-management platform that performs the administrative activities of an insurer, while also providing access to low-cost insurance policies ordered on mobile phones using “quick codes” (formally known as unstructured supplementary service data, or USSD, codes).

Having won Tanzania’s portion of Seedstars World, an emerging markets start-up competition, in September that same year, the firm recently closed a $750,000 round of seed funding, split equally between grants and venture capital. This came on the back of a $250,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the firm will pitch for another $1m in investment in Switzerland in April.

Jamii’s plans include a new educational campaign to improve domestic growth, while also extending its reach into Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa over the coming months. The firm has set a target of expanding its customer base to 200,000 in 2017, rising to 720,000 next year.

Jamii’s expansion highlights the innovative approach insurers are taking to broaden their consumer base in Tanzania.

As with many of Africa’s economies, low insurance penetration, average incomes and product awareness make Tanzania’s market of 52m people a tough one for insurers to tap, with per capita GDP at just $879 as of 2015, according to the World Bank.

As a share of GDP, premiums averaged under 0.7% between 2012 and 2015, up from 0.5% in 2006 but still low by regional standards, according to the 2015 “Annual Insurance Market Performance Report” by the Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (TIRA). Meanwhile, a report by global reinsurer Munich Re revealed that 7.31% of the population had a microinsurance policy in 2012, the fourth-highest rate in Africa.

As a result, Tanzania’s high and rising mobile penetration – subscriptions spiked by 24.4% in 2015 to reach 39.7m, or 81% of the population, according to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority – has become a key driver of industry growth, according to a feasibility study carried out by Switzerland-based microinsurer Stonestep in October 2014.

For years the TIRA has actively promoted expansion of microinsurance in the country, a key part of this being the introduction in 2013 of its “Microinsurance Regulations and Guidelines”. These regulations – which focus on fairness, consumer protection, innovation, participation and transparency – describe microinsurance as an ideal channel for low-income Tanzanians to access insurance coverage.

To help secure this, they require companies offering such insurance to also provide risk-pooling instruments for low-income households, lower premiums than conventional policies, and insurance for informal workers such as farm hands. They also lay down comprehensive standards for agent education and – to address payment delays recognised as a big contributor to slow uptake – mandate that claims be paid within three working days of receiving a claim, with a maximum five-day extension.

Enacted in 2014, the guidelines were a key step in paving the way for innovation in the age of mobile finance, thus bolstering prospects for long-term increases in insurance coverage across the country, as it becomes ever easier to reach low-income people through the supercomputers in the palms of their hands.

Digital Insurance Agenda 2017: Massive customer centric change imminent in Insurance

2017-05-15T08:56:00.002-07:00

850 Decision makers of more than 250 companies representing 40 countries from all 6 continents turned the second edition of Digital Insurance Agenda (DIA) into a massive success. DIA, the largest ‘must see’ insurtech event worldwide took place at 10 and 11 May in Amsetrdam and set the stage for the most important digital developments in the years to come. More than 50 insurtechs presented solutions that will accelerate innovation in insurance. Technologies on stage varied from artificial intelligence and drones in P&C insurance to chatbots and connected devices in life and health.

“The live demos at DIA Amsterdam definitely made clear that insurance is at the brink of massive customer centric change. Many of the insurtechs at DIA presented applications that enhance operational excellence as well as drive customer engagement”, says Reggy de Feniks, who founded DIA together with Roger Peverelli.

“The DIA line-up and the response among the audience show that digital transformation is now mainstream, and artificial intelligence and machine learning are providing the next challenge”, summarizes Amir Tabakovic, Vice President Business Development at machine learning expert BigML, his impressions.

“The most important challenge for incumbents however is not about technology but about cultural change”, said Mark Klein, Chief Digital Officer ERGO Group. Amélie Oudea Castera, CMO und Chief Digital Officer at AXA Group, confirmed this: “Insurance carriers have to change; and they will change. But this is not an easy process.”

DIAmond Award winners

The many insurers and insurtech investors in the DIA audience awarded six insurtechs the DIAmond Award for insurtech with most strategic impact:

Ladder (USA): Digital term life insurance. https://www.ladderlife.com/

Friss (Netherlands): Fraud detection and risk mitigation for non-life. https://www.friss.eu/en/

Hover (USA): Property claims and inspections via smartphone photos. https://hover.to/

Sentiance (Belgium): Moving from IoT to IoU with context-aware assistance. http://www.sentiance.com/

Sherpa (UK / Malta): A 360 new and smart insurance concept. https://www.justsherpa.com/

Backbase (Netherlands): Omni channel customer engagement platform. https://backbase.com/

In total 60 selected insurtechs from 6 continents presented their solutions at DIA Amsterdam; among others Abracar (Germany), Amodo (Croatia), BIMA (Sweden), Boundlss (Australia), Cytora (UK), Dacadoo (Switzerland), eSignLive (Canada), GetmeIns (Israel), Guardtime (Estonia), Kevinsured (Spain), NuvaLaw (South Africa) PolicyPal (Singapore), Qover (Belgium), Reply.ai (USA), RightIndem (UK), Skyglyph (Bulgaria), SnapSure and Kasko (Germany), Tribe (Norway) and Youse (Brazil).

DIA - Digital Insurance Agenda, is the leading worldwide conference for insurtech and innovation in insurance. The purpose of DIA is to accelerate innovation in insurance, by connecting insurance executives with insurtech leaders from all over the globe.

DIA is founded by Reggy de Feniks and Roger Peverelli. Peverelli and De Feniks are the authors of the worldwide bestseller Reinventing Financial Services and just launched Reinventing Customer Engagement. The next level of digital transformation for banks and insurers. Both are listed on the global top 50 Insurtech Influencers. DIA associate Conny Dorrestijn is listed on the Women in Fintech 50. All three work more than 25 years in the financial services sector.

THE TOP 10 INSURTECH TRENDS FOR 2017 THAT SET THE DIGITAL INSURANCE AGENDA

2017-04-05T08:04:00.001-07:00

Series (1)

By Roger Peverelli and Reggy de Feniks

OutShared on stage at DIA 2016 Barcelona

The beginning of the year is usually the time to predict key trends for the year to come, and so it goes with the insurtech sector as well. Most lists focus on the latest sexy technologies and applications, but after a year, we find these have hardly gained any traction, so cannot really be considered “trends”. To call something a key trend, new and innovative isn’t enough. It requires adoption at scale. We therefore decided to take a different approach, resulting in quite a different kind of list.

Being consultants for several blue chip insurers, speaking at conferences and attending boardroom meetings, we meet insurance executives on a daily basis. Consequently, we have a fairly good idea about what’s at the top of their agenda, as well as the pace in which change will take place, and in turn what insurtech solutions are most likely to fit into those plans. These insights resulted in our Top 10 Insurtech Trends for 2017, illustrated by some awesome insurtechs that joined us at the previous DIA event.

Trend 1 (continued). Massive cost savers in claims, operations and customer acquisition

Already a major trend of course, but one that will gain even more importance in 2017.

Quite a few insurers face combined ratios that are close to 100, or even exceed that number. Digitalising current processes is absolutely necessary, for operational excellence and to cut costs. Digital transformation of insurance carriers started in 2015, really took off in 2016, and will be mainstream by 2017 and beyond. Virtually every insurer, big or small, that takes itself seriously will continue to look for ways to operate more efficiently in every major part of the costs column: in claims expenses, costs of operations and customer acquisition costs. Technology purchases and investments by insurance carriers will further explode in these areas, as will the number and growth of insurtechs that cater to that need.

With OutShared's CynoClaim solution more than 60 percent of all claims can be managed automatically, resulting in lower costs as well as increased customer satisfaction. Results of the first implementations: up to 50 percent decrease in costs, 40 percent increase in customer satisfaction. The solution takes 6 to 9 months to implement, whether it is from scratch or a migration of established operations to the platform, which is quite spectacular in the insurance industry. Check out http://bit.ly/2hOW1Vw

To be continued....

Citrix Collaborates With Samsung To Deliver Desktop Experience On Samsung Galaxy S8 With Samsung DeX

2017-04-03T09:24:00.001-07:00

As enterprises increasingly embrace mobile business strategies, people continue to carry as many as three devices with them, including laptops, smartphones and tablets. To lighten that electronics load, make people more efficient and help businesses reduce costs, Samsung is introducing Samsung DeX that – when combined with Citrix Receiver – converts the new Samsung Galaxy S8 into a desktop environment that includes an optimized UI for multi-tasking with keyboard and mouse support, resizable window capabilities, task bar pop-up notifications and more.

The combination of Citrix and Samsung DeX unboxes the phone and provides employees with secure access to their digital workspace and all of the business apps and data they need to get their work done. Samsung is exclusively showcasing Citrix in Samsung DeX demos with XenApp and XenDesktop and Citrix Receiver that will be shown to media, customers and analysts during the Samsung Unpacked event and at the Samsung Enterprise Mobility Analyst Day in New York City.

In addition to the preferred solution that combines Citrix innovation with Samsung DeX, Citrix also offers support and integration for Samsung devices that include XenMobile enterprise mobility management, security features and secure virtual access to apps and desktops through XenApp and XenDesktop, and support for Secure Apps with Samsung Knox at the native Android OS layer.

Citrix XenMobile also supports new Samsung capability known as Enterprise Firmware-Over-The-Air (E-FOTA). Samsung E-FOTA enables IT admins to take greater control over when devices get updated, as well as what version is updated. This Samsung capability provides IT with native device control without sacrificing user flexibility.

“While many people use their smartphones for business, they usually turn to a laptop or desktop when they need to use Windows or browser-based apps,” said Maribel Lopez, founder and principal analyst, Lopez Research. “Even though VDI or app virtualization lets them run Windows applications on their smartphone, the Windows experience does not always translate well to a small touchscreen. To address this issue, vendors have worked to develop solutions that make it easier to connect smartphones to a keyboard, mouse and a monitor. The solution that succeeds has significant market potential.”

This unique collaboration between Citrix and Samsung literally lightens the load for organizations and employees while providing greater security and flexibility for people who spend all or part of their day working outside of the office. This solution enhances security and productivity by enabling people to securely use their phone in the field. Then when they are in the office, they can connect to the Samsung DeX, converting their phone into a desktop-like experience without losing any phone capabilities to securely access their apps and data through Citrix Receiver, XenApp and XenDesktop.

For example, insurance claims adjusters can securely use their Samsung Galaxy S8 out in the field assessing claims, and then return to the office, plug into their DeX station and complete reports using a full desktop-like environment. Police officers can use their phones to enter tickets and take notes while on patrol using Citrix Secure Forms, and then return to the station, plug into the DeX station and complete their reports using a fully functional desktop-like environment.

“The Samsung DeX lets people use their Galaxy S8 like a desktop computer, using solutions, including Citrix Receiver, XenApp and XenDesktop, as our preferred technologies to enable customers to securely access and use their Windows and browser-based applications, just as they would with a traditional laptop,” said Injong Rhee, CTO of the Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “This is not science fiction, this is true, business-driven innovation.”

The Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone and Samsung DeX will be available in Q2, 2017.

Citrix aims to power a world where people, organizations and things are securely connected and accessible to make the extraordinary possible. Its technology makes the world’s apps and data secure and easy to access, empowering people to work anywhere and at any time. Citrix provides a complete and integrated portfolio of Workspace-as-a-Service, application delivery, virtualization, mobility, network delivery and file sharing solutions that enables IT to ensure critical systems are securely available to users via the cloud or on-premises and across any device or platform.

Insurtech opportunities could reinvigorate industry

2017-03-17T05:00:00.002-07:00

Many propositions stemming from the insurance technology (or ‘insurtech’) space are designed to reinvigorate some of the most traditional methods and practices within the insurance industry, including product purchasing and distribution, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

According to the company’s latest report, insurtech provides a means of accommodating the modern consumer, and challenges incumbents to embrace the unfamiliarity of new technologies. Insurtech start-ups are looking to provide consumers with quicker and easier access to insurance cover, as well as granting more autonomy when it comes to insurance dealings.

Thomas McCourtie, financial analyst at GlobalData, explained: “The industry is looking to fall in line with other areas of commerce by providing consumers with quicker and more efficient services. Insurtech acts as the facilitator in developing new propositions which enable customers to obtain cover without the need to contact an advisor, and can be arranged remotely on a mobile device. Good examples of this include the many online or app-based peer-to-peer platforms emerging from this space, which encourage users to group together and collectively share risk, often without the services of an underwriter.”

Via: Itij

InsurTech Startups Are Boosting innovation in Brazilian insurance Industry

2017-03-17T04:45:00.004-07:00

The insurance industry has a large demand for innovation, but it hasn´t benefited yet from digitalization as it should be. In 2014, only in the United States, insurance Market moved a total of US$ 1,99 trillion, which stands for 11% of American GDP. The emergence of what is increasingly known as InsurTech, a segment focused on advanced and disrupted services for the insurance market, can be seen as the first steps of this movement. In 2015, this new market attracted over US$ 3,1 billion investments all over the world, according to InsurTech Outlook report from Everis consulting.

The report shows that insurance companies are diversifying its investments in order to integrate new digital resources in its business strategies, turning companies even better and more effective. Another challenge is to adopt a new way of interacting with the clients, by using omnichannel platforms or gamification methods in order to make sectors’ players capable of offering more individually customized insurance services.

“Digitalization is a trend in every single market. The insurance industry is no longer different. These numbers show how the entire world is preparing for this new wave brought by companies that use technology to make the offer and policies even more attractive and personalized to consumers that demand efficient and agile services”, says Eldes Mattiuzzo, director at Youse.

A report released in March 2016 by PwC Consulting confirms that innovation represents a big opportunity for this market. “InsurTech companies have been growing as a transforming opportunity for the innovation of insurance companies to make them bigger. The Insurtech financing has been occurred in the same size as Fintechs investments. We hope these investments grow as far as new players join the field”, says the report.

According to Prepare for InsurTech Wave report, developed by Financial Technology Partners, the interesting for the subject has been grown gradually. From 2015 first quarter to recent days, the mention to the term “Insurance Technology” has raised approximately 800% in media appearance.

In this scenario a few Insurtech companies and brands has been arising all over the world, changing the traditional way of offering insurance policies and strengthening consumer relationship. This is a consequence of a lighter structure owned by insurance players by the use of technology, generating large benefits to consumers. And there is a few recent good examples of this change, even in Brazil.

Youse is the very first Brazilian InsurTech brand. It is the first local insurance selling service based upon an 100% online platform that belongs to Grupo Caixa Seguradora. Due to the way it’s operating, Youse can be inserted to the same group of companies that are bringing innovation to traditional markets to make them better and advanced such as Uber, Nubank and Netflix.

As an 100% native digital company, Youse offers personalized hiring of insurance policies in a matter of minutes through internet devices (website or mobile). There are over 1,000 possible combinations of services during the acquiring of a policy. Another new possibility brought to Brazil by Youse is the hiring of a policy with no need to consult any insurance broker during the process, making the service faster and eliminating steps.

The experience that companies such as Youse bring to the country is part of a global movement driven by innovation in the insurance sector. Last September a company called Lemonade was launched in USA, have been introduced as the first P2P (peer-to-peer) insurance company. Acting in residential insurance and planning to rapidly expand thought the country, Lemonade set as one of its goals to change the mindset on insurance services in order to emphasize its role as a social good, and not a ‘necessary evil’, which is close to Youse’s mission in Brazil. Like the Brazilian company, Lemonade offers fast insurance hiring thought internet devices, with no involvement of brokers.

Another example is Metromile, an auto insurance company with a new proposal: charge only for damage coverage regarding the travelled distance and a US$ 35 monthly payment. Consumers pay extra US$ 0,05 per mile using a “dongle” (a “token” connected to the internet). This American startup believes that traditional insurance companies are not fair with “low miles” drivers. They have taken into account report statistics that indicates that a large numbers of drivers (65%) have to pay for the coverage of those who drives more. “If you are driving less, you should pay less”, says Metromile website.

NICE Actimize Selected by First Tech Federal Credit Union to Implement Financial Crime Cloud Strategy

2017-03-17T04:05:00.000-07:00

NICE Actimize, a NICE business and the industry's largest and broadest provider of a single financial crime, risk, and compliance software platform for the financial services industry has been selected by First Tech Federal Credit Union to implement Actimize Essentials cloud solutions, including anti-money laundering and fraud applications. First Tech Federal Credit Union, a $9.4 billion financial institution, serves many of the world’s leading technology companies and their employees.

NICE Actimize Essentials is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) created to meet end-to-end anti-money laundering and fraud detection requirements, providing multiple best-of-breed modules that detect and score a range of banking activity, including transaction monitoring, customer due diligence, watch list filtering, and Suspicious Activity Report (or SAR) filings.

NICE Actimize Essentials also offers integrated case management capabilities that feature pre-defined workflows and checklists, as well as pre-defined users and roles. This highly secure cloud-based software as a service combines behavioral analytics and a rules engine to enable accurate and efficient detection of money laundering and fraud activities.

“As an institution with a discerning, technologically sophisticated member base, it’s vital that our First Tech team engages with a financial crime solutions provider like NICE Actimize who can grow with us and manage our requirements across both anti-money laundering and fraud-related concerns,” said Joseph Harrison, Vice President, Compliance, First Tech Federal Credit Union. “With NICE Actimize’s industry-proven experience, we are confident that this strategy will enable us to meet the demanding requirements of regulators.”

“Many solutions built for credit unions don’t effectively scale as their needs evolve, while others are too costly or cumbersome for their operations,” said Cenk Ipeker, Head of NICE Actimize’s Cloud business. “NICE Actimize Essentials offers the functionality, depth and upward growth capability necessary for those institutions to grow and protect their investment in fighting financial crime.”

NICE Actimize will be exhibiting at the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. from February 26 - March 2 at Booth #269.

NICE Actimize is the largest and broadest provider of financial crime, risk and compliance solutions for regional and global financial institutions, as well as government regulators. Consistently ranked as number one in the space, NICE Actimize experts apply innovative technology to protect institutions and safeguard consumers and investors assets by identifying financial crime, preventing fraud and providing regulatory compliance. The company provides real-time, cross-channel fraud prevention, anti-money laundering detection, and trading surveillance solutions that address such concerns as payment fraud, cybercrime, sanctions monitoring, market abuse, customer due diligence and insider trading.

Guidewire Acquires ISCS; Announces Availability of Cloud-Based, All-in-One Solution

2017-03-01T02:32:00.000-08:00

Guidewire Software, Inc., a provider of software to the Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance industry, has announced it has completed the acquisition of ISCS. The company also announced the immediate availability of Guidewire InsuranceNow™, a cloud-based, all-in-one solution that supports the P&C insurance lifecycle.

“Guidewire’s acquisition of ISCS enables it to add a proven option to the market,” said Karen Furtado, partner, Strategy Meets Action. “It also illustrates the growing importance of the cloud with respect to the solutions that vendors are providing to the P&C market.”

“We are excited to broaden our platform with the addition of InsuranceNow,” said Anthony Lye, chief cloud officer, Guidewire. “In addition, the acquisition of ISCS offers us additional IP and experience that will help us accelerate our delivery of new cloud-based products and services.”

As an all-in-one system, InsuranceNow includes key core functionality for policy administration, billing, and claims management. It also includes data and digital functionality, such as agent access and consumer portals, document management, reinsurance, business intelligence, and producer management, within a single system.

Key InsuranceNow attributes and benefits include:

· Cloud-based delivery and ongoing operational support frees insurers to focus on innovation and respond rapidly to market demands, even when they have limited IT support;

· Functionality that supports data and analytics and digital engagement in addition to core operations, delivering an all-in-one integrated solution and resulting in less complexity for insurers;

· An integrated design and guided implementation approach for shorter project timeframes and quicker upgrades; and

· A common user interface and fewer login screens that simplify the system login process, reduce training times, and improve collaboration between agents, insurers, employees, and partners.

“InsuranceNow is ideally suited to insurers who want to better compete with modern technology but lack the IT resources and model to get there,” said Andy Scurto, former CEO and founder, ISCS and now head of products for Guidewire InsuranceNow. “Its integrated design, out-of-the-box functionality, and guided approach enable rapid implementation and quick upgrades.”

Guidewire delivers the software that Property & Casualty (P&C) insurers need to adapt and succeed in a time of rapid industry change. We combine three elements – core operations, data and analytics, and digital engagement – into a platform that enhances insurers’ ability to engage and empower their customers and employees. More than 260 P&C insurers around the world have selected Guidewire.

Netwrix Auditor Empowers Insurance firms to Secure Customer Data and Prove Compliance

2017-03-01T02:26:00.000-08:00

Netwrix Corporation, a provider of a visibility platform for user behavior analysis and risk mitigation that enables insurance companies to protect confidential customer data and demonstrate regulatory compliance, has announced that Unigarant, an insurance company from Hoogeveen, the Netherlands, chose Netwrix Auditor to gain visibility across critical IT systems, protect sensitive data against exfiltration and speed up preparation for compliance audits.

Unigarant is a market leader in personal lines for mobility, holiday and leisure insurance, including bicycle and motorcycle insurance. Since Unigarant handles an enormous volume of personal information, the company's IT department wanted to reduce security risks by reporting on access to critical data and modifications to security configurations. The inability to spot malicious changes (such as privilege escalation) could put the business at risk of losing customers' loyalty and failing compliance audits. After evaluating several solutions, Unigarant opted for Netwrix Auditor, which enabled the company to achieve the following results:

Detect security threats faster. The IT team regularly reviews reports on changes and data access, including non-owner access to mailboxes, deletion or modification of virtual machines, and changes to domain controllers and databases. The Enterprise Overview dashboards help the IT team monitor user behavior patterns and detect suspicious activities, while email alerts enable them to address security issues quickly.

Reduce preparation time for audit checks. Unigarant uses the out-of-the-box compliance reports Netwrix Auditor provides to prove its compliance with the Dutch Data Protection Act, which the company is subject to. And the Interactive Search feature helps the IT team quickly find details about user actions and critical changes, so they can easily respond to specific requests from auditors.

"Before Netwrix Auditor, we weren't able to ensure that every permission and configuration was right across all the systems we have to report on: Active Directory, Exchange, file servers, SQL Server, VMware and so on. For a security or compliance check, we needed at least 2 days to produce the necessary reports. Today, it takes only 2 minutes to prove that there were no security policy violations," said Gerrit Meijering, IT Specialist at Unigarant.

"Today, insurance companies face two major challenges: maintaining the security of customer data and proving their compliance with wide range of industry regulations. As sophisticated cyber attacks continue to escalate, deep visibility across the IT environment becomes critical for detecting insider threats and external attacks in their early stages. User behavior analytics will help organizations gain a better understanding of what's going on with their sensitive data and become more proactive in their cybersecurity efforts," said Michael Fimin, CEO and co-founder of Netwrix.

Netwrix Auditor is a visibility platform for user behavior analysis and risk mitigation that enables IT teams to control what is going on in the most critical areas of the IT infrastructure. The platform empowers insurance companies to root out security gaps across the IT environment, protect confidential customer data and slash preparation time for compliance audits.