InsurTech Magazine - November 2020

Promoting better health through digitally enhanced cover insurtechdigital.com

NOVEMBER 2020

THE ROCHE APPROACH Entrepreneurs Gabino and Stephen Roche outline how their company is introducing some much-needed disruption to an inefficient financial system

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FOREWORD

I

nsurance continues to be a stabilis-

‘the art of the possible’ and outlined

ing influence in global communities

why problem-solving is at the heart

ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Far from offering the bare minimum to policyholders, the modern industry is offering smart, customisable and innovative solutions with the capacity to change lives.

of Protective’s business strategy.

Containing fresh insights from executives, thought leaders and insurance/ tech industry experts across a range of subjects, we interviewed Sapiens, Majesco, ABBYY, Software AG and

In our cover story this month, entrepre-

many more. This issue explores how to

neurs Gabino and Stephen Roche outline

create a compliant and secure insurance

how their company, Saphyre, is introduc-

firm, learns from SAS what the industry

ing some much-needed disruption to an

effect of analytics platforms has been,

inefficient financial system. Capable of

and counts down our selection of 10

streamlining processes in order to help

leading insurtech startups you should

its clients achieve revenue faster, readers

know about.

will find out about the company’s unique and valuable offering:

Be sure to check out the magazine’s ‘virtual roundtable’ feature, where seven

“We chose to take on this endeavor

experts debate the use, relevance and

because the status quo wasn’t serving

evolution of RPA in modern insurance.

people’s best interests,” explained Stephen. ”We just cut through the bureaucracy and deliver what the client

Will Girling

actually needs.” william.girling@bizclikmedia.com Elsewhere, Jeremy Johnson, CEO of Protective Insurance, enthuses that insurance companies should embrace www.insurtechdigital.com

03

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PUBLISHED BY

PRODUCTION DIRECTORS

PROJECT DIRECTORS

Georgia Allen Daniela Kianickovรก

Jake Megeary Jordan Hubbard

PRODUCTION MANAGER SENIOR EDITOR

Owen Martin

Will Girling Rhys Thomas EDITORAL DIRECTOR

Kieran Waite Sam Kemp MARKETING DIRECTOR

Scott Birch

Leigh Manning

CREATIVE TEAM

DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER

Oscar Hathaway Sophia Forte Sophie-Ann Pinnell Hector Penrose

Lewis Vaughan MEDIA SALES DIRECTOR

DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCERS EDITOR

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Shirin Sadr

James White DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Jason Westgate CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

Stacy Norman PRESIDENT & CEO

Glen White

DIGITAL MARKETING EXECUTIVE

Evelyn Howat www.insurtechdigital.com

CONTENTS

SOPHISTICATED YET SIMPLE PRE-TRADE ONBOARDING

10

24

38

54 66

74

Insurtech Startups

Driving insurers

digital future into a

At Cognizant, we’ve invested in the end-to-end capabilities needed to help insurance organizations not just do digital, but be digital. We partner with our clients to unlock new value and through the power of digital technologies and new ways of working, we help them evolve into more competitive, progressive versions of themselves.

Learn more at Cognizant.com

Copyright Š 2019 Cognizant

92 Vitality

110 Protective Insurance

10

SOPHISTICATED YET SIMPLE PRE-TRADE ONBOARDING WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

MICHAEL BANYARD

NOVEMBER 2020

11

i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

SAPHYRE

Stephen and Gabino Roche, President and CEO, discuss overcoming risk-aversion in finance and how Saphyre is disrupting an inefficient system

I

n an era of increasing digital sophistication, the extent to which out-dated technologies, techniques and processes

continue to weigh down even the largest companies in finance is surprising. Not content with simply disrupting the pre-trade space with an integrated onboarding platform, Saphyre offers 12

clients an intuitive, easy-to-use experience that belies its sophistication. Founded in 2017, it is an iconoclastic company that desires to break down barriers in a sector easily siloed and fundamentally believes in creating a streamlined and user-friendly alternative that enables customers to generate revenue faster.

“I’ve always built technology products from scratch; that’s always been kind of my thing,” states Gabino Roche, CEO. An experienced and successful business-technology leader with 20 years of expertise gained from executive roles at some of the world’s most prestigious organisations, he says that the knowledge gained from these companies regarding product R&D has been invaluable to the development of Saphyre. “I learned

NOVEMBER 2020

13

i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

SAPHYRE

“ I’ve always built technology products from scratch; that’s always been kind of my thing” — Gabino Roche, CEO, Saphyre

what five of the major US banks were doing in this space and then also what their clients in the arena needed.”

The process of mapping these two aspects together would prove crucial to the company’s development. Also adding to Saphyre’s strong leadership is Gabino’s brother, Stephen Roche, President. With a background focusing on business development and emerging communications tech, Stephen says that new innovation has always “enthralled” him. “I’ve worked with a

14

lot of Fortune 1000 entities and it’s always been a challenge to introduce new technology: companies always view it and the associated operations as an expense. However, it’s also been a good learning experience because I would help them realize a successful model, and that has allowed me to advise the Saphyre team on how best to allocate resources and grow.”

Allowing clients to digitise their emails, faxes and spreadsheets through an accessible platform and powered by ATTOM ((AI Tracking of Transactions and Operational Metadata), its patented artificial intelligence (AI) workflow management NOVEMBER 2020

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0:41

15 technology, Saphyre integrates data

by focusing on both cost-reduction

sharing, real-time messaging and

and increased revenue, the company

transparency. Developing a successful

has been able to gain attention quickly.

product for pre-trade was an inte-

“Clients can start trading and making

gral part of Saphyre’s development.

money straight away, meanwhile the

However, as Gabino explains, this

custodians are also making money

was only half the battle in establishing

by collecting interest and fees. Our

the company’s place in the market.

overall strategy is to digitize the pre-

“The other half was actually planning

trade space, not just for the benefit

the adoption strategy; how do you

of trading, but also for trading and

get clients, individual users, or even

post-trade.”

institutions to adopt a new technology

Core to Saphyre’s ethos is the idea

that’s never existed before?”

of ‘levelling the playing field’ or, in

A believer in appealing to the “selfish

the company’s own words, “disrupt-

interests of the client”, he relates that,

ing a broken system”; it is adamantly i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

SAPHYRE

16

opposed to the innovation-stifling

Wary that some firms were initially

bureaucracy that permeates so many

reticent to take notice at first because

aspects of finance. “We chose to

of (unrelated) unfruitful tech initia-

take on this endeavor because the

tives that spawned risk-aversiveness,

status quo wasn’t serving people’s

Saphyre’s first mission was to prove

best interests,” explains Stephen.

that it could outperform expectations,

NOVEMBER 2020

which, Stephen continues, it soon did.

designers, and a second team of

“I started with the company in May of

coders, to whom the middle and back-

2017. We released our first product in

office operations are taught in order to

the fall of 2017 and we went live with

establish the appropriate context as

our first client in March of 2018. We

they work. “What that does is structure

just cut through the bureaucracy and

things so that the technology team

deliver what the client actually needs.”

is uninterrupted, and they know what

Maintaining a spirit of innovation

we give them is solid because we’ve

among its staff is also highly important

already validated it several times with

at Saphyre, which it achieves through

our innovation team,” Gabino explains.

genuine employee empowerment and

“Working at some other financial

a dual-layered workforce dynamic: one

institutions three and a half years ago,

team consisting of product managers,

you would never have seen those two

industry experts and user experience

things combined together.”

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

Gabino Roche Title: CEO & Co-Founder

Industry: Financial Services

Location: United States Gabino is an experienced and successful business-technology leader with 20 years of expertise gained from executive roles at some of the world’s most prestigious organisations, including McKinsey, AT&T and JP Morgan Chase.

“I’ve always built technology products from scratch; that’s always been kind of my thing.” Holding a BSc in Business Management Information Systems from Seton Hall University (1993 to 1998) and an MBA in Global Management from the University of Phoenix (2000 to 2003), he is highly knowledgeable on industry trends, industry-leading approaches and the contemporary needs of clients. i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

17

SAPHYRE

18

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

Stephen Roche Title: President & Co-Founder Industry: Financial Services Location: United States Stephen has a background focusing on business development and emerging communications tech. He has acquired a large amount of experience working for AT&T prior to co-founding Saphyre with his brother. “I’ve worked with a lot of Fortune 1000 entities and it’s always been a challenge to introduce new technology. However, it’s also been a good learning experience because I would help them realize a successful model, and that has allowed me to advise the Saphyre team on how best to allocate resources and grow.”

to support a business, that would undermine how advanced our platform really is.” In some respects, market differentiation hasn’t been difficult for Saphyre at all: possessing a portfolio of 48 patents and a unique offering in the pre-trade market, Gabino states that, prior to the company’s formation, there was no competition at all.

Therefore, Saphyre’s team has been able to instead focus on raising the digital transformation of pre-trade to a higher standard. “When institutions in the finance space make investments, they invest in trading and post-trade because that’s where the money’s to be made. I’m not suggesting that pre-trade gets ignored, but you’d be Boosting Saphyre’s standing in a

surprised by the amount of Windows

cautious industry has been one of its

95 and legacy infrastructure that still

key challenges, particularly when other

exists out there.”

companies in the space compound the issue by over-promising and underdelivering. “And then, when you have a fintech startup saying, ‘We can do all these things too,’ people might look at our size and question it,” says Stephen.

“However, we’re bringing a phenomenal user experience,” Gabino adds, “If we needed to hire armies of people

“ We chose to take on this endeavor because the status quo wasn’t serving people’s best interests” — Stephen Roche, President, Saphyre i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

19

SAPHYRE

“ Our overall strategy is to digitize the pre-trade space, not just for the benefit of trading, but also for trading and post-trade” — Gabino Roche, CEO, Saphyre Any ‘glass ceiling’ that might have impeded Saphyre has been coun20

tenanced by the announcement in mid-September that it had struck a partnership with JP Morgan and BlackRock. Deployed to digitize their account opening workflow, produce

news.” Indeed, the partnership can be

improved scalability and remove

viewed as simultaneously a validation

manual processes, the two companies’

of Saphyre’s value and an illustration

choice to leverage Saphyre’s technol-

of the importance of collaboration, no

ogy has given it a significant credibility

matter how large a financial institution

boost. “We were selected because

might be, a conclusion that Gabino

Saphyre is the only one in this space,

concurs with: “If you try to be the

and [JP Morgan and Blackrock] were

master of many things, you’ll be the

tired of pseudo-monopoly financial

master of none. Saphyre has opted to

firms dealing with 1980s technology or

be the master of one thing, which we

faxing data information,” says Stephen.

do extremely well.”

“It’s our reputation and consistency of execution that has led to this great NOVEMBER 2020

Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic relatively unfazed, owing

21

S A P HY RE’S SU PP O RT

Saphyre’s new partners have been vocal in their support for the company: “Saphyre has been instrumental in transforming the account opening experience for our clients. J.P. Morgan was an early adopter of Saphyre and is now live in production after successfully testing its value proposition for over 6 months,” said Naveen TV, Managing Director, JP Morgan’s Securities Services.

“With powerful workflow features and enhanced visibility into the account opening lifecycle, Saphyre has enabled BlackRock to eliminate manual processes to support the account opening workflow across custodians and broker-dealers,” commented Liliane Ancona, Managing Director, BlackRock.

The full details of Saphyre’s momentous partnership with JP Morgan and BlackRock can be found here.

i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

SAPHYRE

22

to its high-tech operational infrastructure, Gabino even posits that certain aspects of the business, such as setting up meetings, may have become easier. “Traditionally, I would have to fly across the world, go to people’s offices, make pitches, etc. Now, relying on Zoom and Microsoft Teams, I’m actually more busy because I don’t have to allocate that additional travel NOVEMBER 2020

“ If you try to be the master of many things, you’ll be the master of none. Saphyre has opted to be the master of one thing, which we do extremely well” — Gabino Roche, CEO, Saphyre

23

time; I’ve got meetings back-to-back.”

streamline the entire experience and

Subsequently, Saphyre has been

make it more user friendly,” concludes

able to concentrate on its mission

Gabino. “In the world today everything

for 2021: eliminating 70% of manual

is siloed, but we’re breaking down

post-trade activities, a complement to

those walls and bringing it all together.”

its uncontested work in the pre-trade space and demonstrating its holistic, end-to-end grasp of the trade process.

“Our model is sophisticated yet simple; we’re constantly exploring how to i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

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

24

NOVEMBER 2020

WHAT DOES CUSTOMER-CENTRICITY MEAN FOR DIGITISED INSURANCE? WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

25

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

InsurTech Digital consults executives from Sapiens, Majesco and Kin Insurance on how to achieve optimal customer-centricity in the digitised industry

26

W

hile the utilisation of technology among individual companies is currently a significant differentiator in the insurance world, this isn’t to

say that it’ll forever be the case. As the tech

factor becomes more even across the board, insurers may find that customer-centricity is one of the easiest and most valuable ways to distinguish themselves.

The quantifiable metrics for great service include the speed of resolution, the quality of solution, transparency and simplicity of processes, and cost. Furthermore, despite technology alone being unlikely to drive value, in combination with customer-centricity it could be leveraged to enrich the service experience through digitised distribution and communication, enhanced customer interactions (such as via social media), and

NOVEMBER 2020

27

“ If you don’t nail customer-centricity and provide the expectations your customers expect, you risk losing them” — Colleen Wells, Vice President of Strategy, Sapiens i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

From Inspiration

to Innovation

To know more, visit us at www.capgemini.com.au/insurance or email us at capgemini.marketing.au@capgemini.com

Insurance made social - making customer-centric a reality CLICK TO WATCH

|

5:55

29

ing automation (AI, RPA, chatbots, etc).

IS CUSTOMER-SERVICE THE GREAT DIFFERENTIATOR?

All of these factors suggest that

BCG outlines three core aspects

automated service enhancements utilis-

insurtech is geared to address the

of customer service in its article

enduring pain point of the industry.

‘Customer-centricity in insurance’,

Therefore, a significant question is

namely speed, quality and transpar-

posed: are policyholders receiving

ency. “Meeting these basic expecta-

a truly 21st-century insurance experi-

tions serves as the foundation for

ence? To help us find the answer, we

strong customer satisfaction, but

spoke to three sector leaders: Colleen

it also enhances operations,” the

Wells, Vice President of Strategy at

company said. Insurtech’s digitally-

Sapiens; Lucas Ward, Co-Founder,

enhanced delivery could generally be

President and CTO of Kin Insurance;

summarised as improving these core

and Denise Garth, Senior Vice President

metrics in ways previously unavail-

of Strategic Marketing at Majesco.

able or unexplored. Mobile apps and i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

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

30

automated processes mean that insur-

consumers stated they would happily

ance can be bought in seconds and

pay more for a product or service if

claims can be processed in minutes.

their experience was exceptional. On

Keen to throw off perceptions that

the flip side of that coin, 26% stated

insurance is dull, complicated or

that they would shop around for bet-

unnecessary, startups are proving

ter deals or more personalised ser-

through better customer service that

vices.” The lesson here is that profits

this is no longer the case.

and good customer service are

The question of whether customer-

intrinsically linked. This is an elemen-

centricity and technology have equal

tary but nonetheless valid evaluation,

or disparate value can be polarising.

but does that necessarily mean that

Wells is emphatic that focusing

insurance should prioritise its devel-

on customers is unequivocally

opment over technology?

more important, “If you don’t nail

Ward contends that this is not

customer-centricity and provide the

the case, “I’d argue that the two are

expectations your customers expect,

inseparable. Technology exists to

you risk losing them. A recent PwC

make our lives easier, so, by exten-

survey revealed that nearly 75% of

sion, customers have to be the centre of technology. It has to measurably benefit them and anticipate their needs.” Garth adds more nuance by stating that a generation change is fundamentally at the heart of the matter. “In insurance, as with many other industries, these changes are rapidly being embraced, with digitalnative generations leading the way, including Millennials and Generation Z. The viability of the insurance industry is vitally connected to the

NOVEMBER 2020

Colleen Wells, Vice President of Strategy, Sapiens Wells has been in the insurance space for over 15 years. Primarily responsible for global digital product strategy for Sapiens’ North America P&C space, she is passionate about the future of the insurance industry and enjoys contributing towards the evolution of the company.

Lucas Ward, Co-Founder, President and CTO, Kin Insurance Priding himself as being a ‘builder’, Ward has been

31

involved in the founding of two companies, of which Kin Insurance is the latest. Holding a BSc in Computer Science from Southeast Missouri State University (2000 to 2004), his knowledge of the tech sector has been developed by roles at Accenture and ThoughtWorks.

Denise Garth, Snr Vice President of Strategic Marketing, Majesco Garth is responsible for leading strategy, marketing, industry relations and innovation in support of Majesco’s client-centric strategy. Possessing extensive experience within insurance, she is also a recognised insurtech influencer and industry leader adept at strategic thinking and international speaking, and has authored many articles on thought leadership, key issues and opportunities facing the industry today.

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

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

“ Technology exists to make our lives easier, so, by extension, customers have to be the centre of technology” — Lucas Ward, Co-Founder, President and CTO, Kin Insurance

customer; if we lose touch with our customers, both current and future, 32

we lose business.”

HOW CAN INSURERS BUILD ENDURING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS? Successfully using customer service as a key differentiator often hinges on

technology simplifies every part of

selecting and developing a personal-

insurance, from quote to claims, so

isable aspect of the experience. For

our customers can save money on

Kin Insurance, Ward states that the

essential coverage and have the help

company demonstrates a willingness

they need to recover quickly from a loss.”

to ‘go above and beyond the call of

The company also involves customers

duty’ using its technology to do what

by sharing the underwriting profits with

other, less digitally-advanced insurers

them directly, creating a dynamic, deep

cannot. “While other insurance compa-

and incentivised relationship.

nies don’t operate in Florida because

Deepening customer relationships

of its hurricanes, we do because

is a core business concept, and this is

that’s where the need is highest. Our

equally true for policyholders and the

NOVEMBER 2020

33

tech companies that support insur-

of today’s consumers.” The long-term

ers themselves. “At Sapiens, we think

sustainability of customer relation-

of our insurers as being more akin

ships must also be considered. Far

to partners with whom we’re in this

from being a simple consideration,

digital transformation and changing

it can ultimately have a profound

market together,” says Wells. “Our

impact on a company’s structure,

products enable insurers to provide

operational philosophy and future

their customers with a modern, digital

development. Garth explains,

platform that offers flexibility, agility

“Majesco’s customer relationships

and customisation, exactly what

are built on a long-standing expertise

insurers require in order to factor in

in core insurance market solutions

market changes and the demands

across Property & Casualty (P&C) i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

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

and Life/Annuities, which has only

needs should be given high priority.

expanded with our digital, data and

“We put technology at the centre of

analytics, and distribution manage-

our product development so we can

ment solutions. Our sales, client

move fast and respond to changing

partner, product and delivery teams

needs,” states Ward. “For example, in

work with customers to not just meet

2019, a Florida mobile home insurer

today’s needs, but also to prepare for

went insolvent and left 30,000 mobile

tomorrow’s. Majesco also provides a

homeowners on the verge of losing

range of valuable content and points

their coverage. My team subsequently

of view through our thought leadership,

built the infrastructure that makes

blogs and webinars to help them shape

it possible to add and launch a new

their journey to the future of insurance.”

product in weeks. That’s the big difference between us and other insurers:

34

CONFIGURING PRODUCTS TO MEET MODERN INSURANCE NEEDS

we have the full tech stack that lets us

The traditional insurance market and

As a tech provider, Garth says,

its typical business model is rapidly

Majesco’s purpose is to connect each

becoming obsolete. Assembly line

party in the insurance process as con-

products with ‘one-size-fits-all’ char-

veniently as possible, the importance

acteristics are no longer appealing to

of which can often be overlooked.

customers when innovative insurtechs

“The point is not merely the means of

like Lemonade and Hippo can cus-

production,” she continues, “but the

tomise and cost services for individual

means of connection, and the result

needs. Product flexibility has taken

is not just an increase in customer

on even greater importance in the

expectations but rather an expansion

post-COVID-19 world, where a multitude

of market boundaries.” As such, insur-

of different customer circumstances

ers on the whole (not just insurtechs)

are altering the nature of risk manage-

may soon come to regard themselves

ment. Counteracting this effect and

as “technology companies provid-

configuring products to meet modern

ing insurance” instead of vice versa.

NOVEMBER 2020

respond to real-time market needs.”

35

“ The point [of technology] is not merely the means of production, but the means of connection" — Denise Garth, Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing, Majesco

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

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

36

The technologies that facilitate this

customer-centricity. COVID-19 has

transformation are significant. AI (arti-

forced insurance to rapidly go digital,

ficial intelligence) and ML (machine

and the traditionally slow-moving

learning) algorithms leveraging large

industry saw many providers unpre-

streams of collected data enable

pared.” Any of insurance’s more ata-

insurers to know their customers in

vistic tendencies are compounded

comprehensively more detail than

by customer experiences that have

previously possible. “Insurers are the

been biased by ecommerce plat-

kings of data and being able to use

forms such as Amazon, Alibaba and

and aggregate it facilitates smarter,

Shopify. The future of insurance,

better-informed decisions,” adds

then, clearly lies in developing an

Wells. “The cloud and managed

intuitive digital service that meets

services are also now crucial to

similar expectations.

NOVEMBER 2020

“ Kin has built a blueprint that proves technology is the driving force in creating a more customer-centric insurance company" — Lucas Ward, Co-Founder, President and CTO, Kin Insurance

Garth states that Majesco is focusing on customer research in order to gain an understanding of their needs, “Listening to customers has never been more essential to sustainable growth than it is today. They care about where they are served, when they are served, how they are served, who is serving them, and what changes are happening with products and services.” Garth

PROMOTING BETTER CUSTOMER OUTCOMES

that capitalises on insurance’s opportu-

The complementary nature of customer-

nity to redefine the insurer-policyholder

centricity and digital technology within

relationship. Ward views Kin Insurance

insurance appears to be well-founded,

as being emblematic of this ‘renais-

but how can businesses use this

sance’ for the industry, a revitalisation

knowledge to achieve better out-

led by startups but, he believes, soon to

comes for their customers? Wells

be joined by more incumbents. “Kin has

emphasises that digital transformation

built a blueprint that proves technology

is as much about ‘culture’ than the

is the driving force in creating a more

underlying technology that facilitates

customer-centric insurance company.”

it. “That’s proven to be hard for many,

Finally, he concludes with a call to

urges for bold and visionary leadership

but, here at Sapiens, we see and

arms which places the old/new divide

understand the value it brings across

in sharp contract: “Customer satisfac-

our products, to our insurers and their

tion with home insurance companies is

customers.” To keep this cultural

shamefully low; the insurance industry’s

aspect in check, Sapiens has built a

NPS (net promoter score) average is 35

team of 350 staff dedicated to inves-

(on a scale of -100 to 100), yet Kin has

tigating the latest trends in order to

an NPS of 84. That indicates how we’re

provide insurers with optimal advice.

making a real difference.” i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

37

TECHNOLOGY

38

NOVEMBER 2020

39

AWAKENING INSURANCE TO THE BENEFITS OF RPA WRITTEN BY

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

TECHNOLOGY

Consulting seven company executives, thought leaders and tech experts, we conduct a virtual roundtable on RPA’s place within modern insurance

A

technology that is invaluable for automating process-driven tasks, the application of robotic process automation (RPA) in insur-

ance could be highly significant as the sector moves towards more digitally sophisticated and customercentric operations. Capable of introducing innovation to a centuries-old industry, the adoption of RPA could ultimately alleviate human workers from the burden of repetitive administrative tasks, and enable them to 40

focus more on qualitative work, product customisation, and overall service optimisation.

Insurance-specific processes that could benefit from RPA include:

• •

Underwriting

•

Claims

Sales and distribution

•

•

Analytics

Regulatory compliance

However, despite its potential, the industry has historically been poor at making use of and integrating new technology. This could be due to many factors, including regulatory restrictions which mean that all changes must be strictly assessed before they are implemented. Also, as with all technological innovations, RPA must be integrated intelligently with pre-existing systems that serve a quantifiable purpose. If done correctly, Capgemini surmises, the NOVEMBER 2020

41

operational gains can be significant. “Unlike traditional automation, RPA has the potential to boost an insurer’s overall operational effectiveness with less investment, shorter cycle time, and higher short-term business value.�

To explore how human and artificial intelligence can be optimally combined, in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

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the insurance-specific use-cases of RPA and its wider benefits (both in the present and potentially the future), InsurTech Digital consulted a broad range of executives, technology experts and thought leaders. They were: Jason Wilby, Co-Founder of Open Insurance; Chris Huff, Chief Strategy Officer of Kofax; Cathal

can play an important role in keeping

McGloin, CEO of ServisBOT; Elaine

organisations lean and agile in the unpre-

Mannix, Global Insurance Lead of

dictable post-COVID-19 landscape.

UiPath; Neil Murphy, Global VP of

Furthermore, the pandemic has left an

ABBYY; Monica Spigner, Executive

indelible mark on the industry; the chal-

VP of Business Transformation at

lenge of meeting difficult targets during

Teleperformance; and Simon Shaw,

the height of the lockdown has led to

Head of Financial Services and

an accelerated awakening among com-

Insurance at Software AG.

pany executives regarding the benefits

In general, our interviewees believed

of automation.

that insurance’s reservations about

Although it would be a mistake to

RPA were explained by a combination

consider this mass re-evaluation the

of scepticism towards new technology,

final step of insurance’s developmen-

a traditionally conservative industry

tal journey, there are many reasons

culture, and negative experiences

to anticipate that a more general

from previous tech-based endeavours.

acceptance of RPA and automation

The benefits of overcoming this bias,

technology is close at hand. What

they claim, include cost reductions,

follows is a selection of answers pro-

enhanced scalability, and a significantly

vided by our interviewees.

improved customer experience. The

NOTE: All statistics provided are

flexibility of RPA, which includes both

the commentators’ own, unless other-

front office and back office functions,

wise cited in-text. in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

43

TECHNOLOGY

A B O U T T HE GU EST S Neil Murphy, Global VP, ABBYY Murphy is the Vice President for Global Business Development at ABBYY. He specialises in helping organisations transform their manually intensive business processes using the latest innovations in machine learning, intelligent OCR (optical character recognition) and RPA (robotic process automation).

Chris Huff, Chief Strategy Officer, Kofax As Chief Strategy Officer, Huff develops and drives Kofax’s global ‘Intelligent Automation’ growth strategy, thought leadership and internal cross-functional alignment. Prior to

44

joining Kofax in 2018, he led Deloitte Consulting’s U.S. Public Sector Intelligent Automation/RPA practice, was CEO of a hypergrowth startup and served as a Major in the US Marine Corps.

Jason Wilby, Co-Founder, Open Insurance Open is a financial services company aiming to build one of the most powerful contemporary insurance platforms available. Co-founded in 2016 by Wilby, he leads the continual development of its product and drives Open’s growth plans.

Cathal McGloin, Founder and CEO, ServisBOT McGloin founded ServiceBOT in 2017 to automate customer and employee-facing processes through the use of AI to achieve specific business outcomes.

NOVEMBER 2020

Elaine Mannix, Global Insurance Lead, UiPath Mannix is an expert at solving old challenges in new ways.

Specifically, she helps insurance customers understand the value of hyper-automation in achieving their strategic goals.

She has over 20 years of industry experience, which she combines with practical knowledge acquired from running an ‘Automation Centre of Excellence’.

Simon Shaw, Head of Financial Services and Insurance, Software AG Shaw has over 20 years of experience helping financial services customers meet ever-changing consumer expectations.

In his current role at Software AG, he works with banking

45

and insurance clients across the UK and Ireland to reduce the time and cost of transactions, control the quality of mobile banking app development, and create transparency through process documentation.

Monica Spigner, Executive Vice President of Business Transformation, Teleperformance Spigner’s role at Teleperformance covers the US, UK, Canada, the Philippines and South Africa. She empowers teams to harness transformational tools and technologies, such as automation, analytics insights and journey mapping, to drive continued group transformation and growth. Spigner’s expensive career has involved guiding businesses through strategic planning and transformation, as well as establishing guidelines for operational excellence.

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

TECHNOLOGY

46

Q: R PA AND AUTOMATION GENERALLY COULD BE HIGHLY APPLICABLE TO INSURANCE. HISTORICALLY, WHY DO YOU THINK THE INDUSTRY HAS BEEN SLOW TO ADOPT NEW TECHNOLOGIES?

same concerns, with 0% of US decisionmakers being nervous about RPA. This chimes with the pressure faced by UK businesses when automating their most important processes. In insurance, improving customer experience is seen as the most helpful use case for RPA

Neil Murphy: Scepticism of RPA is a key

(52%), but is also proving the most chal-

factor in the UK, with business leaders

lenging to automate (41%). The majority

in the insurance industry wondering

(52%) see it as the most pressing.

if it is worth the investment (33%) and being nervous about the new technology

Jason Wilby: For many years, insur-

(17%). These nerves are markedly higher

ance firms have taken a conservative

than in other countries: 0% of confident

approach to technology. Large and safe

French decision-makers shared the

organisations by nature, they haven’t

NOVEMBER 2020

had the ingredients to be innovation-

Cathal McGloin: A recent Information

ready and it’s been this level of caution

Services Group (ISG) survey [read

that’s stunted the attitude to innovate.

BizClik Media’s profile of ISG here] found

However, we’re starting to see signs of

that large insurers have focused on cost

change; we’re at the beginning of a new

reduction rather than winning more

age for the insurance industry.

customers. The ability to scale to serve more customers more cost-effectively

Chris Huff: Automation is extremely

is a critical factor for sustaining profit-

applicable to the insurance industry,

ability in the sector, and this is where

yet the industry involves a lot of data

automation comes into its own. This is

flowing in and out of various, rarely con-

set to change, with 61.5% of insurance

nected systems. People sit in the middle

firms telling ISG that they plan to invest

catching data, only to turn around and

in digital customer experience and

input it into another system. Very inef-

46.2% planning to increase investment

ficient! Give a citizen developer the right

in data, machine learning and AI.

integrated automation platform and they could design an RPA robot with Capture and Workflow in less than a day. Most industries innovate and invest when necessary, but, otherwise, they sit on legacy estate tools and processes as long as practically possible. However, this is without realising the opportunities for better products and services lost through lack of innovation. This generally comes down to a company’s culture: if we look at the heads of many of these long-standing institutions, they often lack the vibrancy and energy needed to innovate with advanced technologies. in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

47

TECHNOLOGY

Q: H OW WOULD YOU SUMMARISE THE KEY OPERATIONAL BENEFITS OF RPA WITHIN INSURANCE? Cathal McGloin: RPA can reduce cost and improve scalability. It can also increase revenues and customer satisfaction scores by automating and personalising repetitive processes and providing paths to self-service, which ultimately minimises the manual steps that are handled by humans.

Tasks such as document upload and 48

validation are repetitive steps which can be automated in favour of focusing on higher-value tasks. Going back

Monica Spigner: By harnessing the

to the ISG survey findings, this type

efficiency granted by RPA, insurers can

of automation allows insurers to add

streamline manual processes and expe-

more customers and serve them at

rience a 40% reduction in the cost of

scale, rather than continually cutting

fault case management. From the back

costs, which is not sustainable in the

to the front office, insurers are witness-

longer term.

ing a domino effect from the positive changes being made throughout their

Jason Wilby: The key benefit we see

business operations, resulting in agents

is a significantly improved customer

and advisors having more time available

experience. RPA technology lends

to focus on more complex cases.

itself to faster, more accurate decision-making that’s running 24/7, and

Chris Huff: Insurance companies need

enables greater accessibility through

to rethink how and where they deploy

a few clicks.

human resources. Cross-functional

SEPTEMBER 2020

49 teams, where technology and opera-

and answers delivered in real-time.

tions work together to understand

Automation solutions can remove fric-

and deliver customer preferences and

tion from the customer experience by

expectations, should be considered.

automating repetitive routine tasks

The outcome for those that make this

for staff, protect document integrity,

shift could be a noticeable uptick in

and accelerate the process with less

business agility, thereby allowing

human intervention. RPA alone cannot

them to improve speed-to-market

address the insurance’s challenges

and reallocate operational savings to

without the industry itself having a

investment areas that reduce costs

strong grasp on the processes them-

and improve profitability.

selves. But, once businesses have their processes in order, they can

Neil Murphy: Today’s insurance

amplify the power of automation,

customers are more tech-savvy,

increase efficiencies and boost ROI

demanding personalised services

(return on investment). in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

TECHNOLOGY

Q: W HAT ARE SOME SPECIFIC USECASES FOR RPA’S DEPLOYMENT IN INSURANCE?

an ‘always-on’ function. So, for example, a claims manager can be notified if an anomalous number of claims have been made, or that payment cycles are taking

Simon Shaw: RPA use-cases broadly

longer than they should. Those same

fall into two categories: finding things or

teams are now able to make decisions

executing things. Operational efficiency

instead of spending all their time search-

is at the front of people’s minds right

ing for information.

now, which makes these use-cases

50

particularly relevant. Gone are the days

Monica Spigner: To adapt to today’s

when teams of people could sit down

ever-changing market conditions,

to identify process improvements or

Teleperformance is actively re-engi-

new operating models; it takes too long.

neering insurance processes through

RPA removes the need to constantly

automation. The company leverages a

be ‘on the lookout’ for improvements.

suite of intelligent solutions throughout

Proactive process discovery can be

the credit risk lifecycle, to assist insurers and enable their employees to perform tasks in a quicker, smarter, and more accurate manner. By streamlining the intake of claims, automating the underwriting process and monitoring fraudulent activity, Teleperformance simplifies, standardises, and automates business processes to identify potential issues for customers before they can even take place. In the midst of the pandemic, the Group is also prioritising the automation of claims management applications to help insurers process claims in seconds instead of hours.

NOVEMBER 2020

to automate a process that required employees to talk to brokers on the phone to locate particular transactions.

This used to take five minutes, but, working with RPA, the same transaction can be finished in 20 seconds.

Neil Murphy: ABBYY’s solutions have been used by leading German insurance broker Ecclesia Group to significantly Elaine Mannix: Historically, UiPath’s

reduce time spent on claims processing,

insurance customers tackled back-

enabling them to focus on optimising

office processes such as claims and

customer service. Claims operations

finance and accounting on an ad-hoc,

require staff to spend extensive periods

tactical basis. Recently, however, there

of time collecting, reviewing, scanning

has been a shift to a more strategic view

and distributing both paper and digital

in which insurance firms are beginning

claims documents, making it difficult to

to see hyper-automation as a ‘must-have’

keep up with customer expectations.

capability for transformation. There is

This time could’ve been spent on more

a growing trend to augment roles by

high-value responsibilities, such as set-

creating digital assistants with RPA.

tling claims for customers quicker. By

Firms are investing in attended robots

utilising ABBYY’s digital intelligence

to do a lot of the heavy lifting for under-

solutions, Ecclesia was able to stream-

writers, claims officers and actuaries.

line the claims process by enhancing

As a result, they are freeing up 5%+

the accuracy of document processing

capacity within these roles. For example,

and delivering faster processing times.

one large European insurance group

This meant insurance staff could spend

utilises its UiPath robotic workforce to

less time on paperwork and more time

streamline operations and deliver more

working closely with the business and

value-added services. They chose

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

51

TECHNOLOGY

Q: I N YOUR OPINION, HAS COVID-19 ACCELERATED INTEREST IN AUTOMATION? 52

ensuring processes run as smoothly as possible.

Elaine Mannix: COVID-19 has put a lot

Simon Shaw: At a time when we’re all

of strain on the insurance industry and

conducting many aspects of our per-

UiPath has seen an acceleration in the

sonal lives online, the absence of digital

adoption of RPA as a result. For those

insurance services negatively impacts

that already had this capability, they

the customer experience. Insurance

used it to support the virtual mobilisation

leaders are aware of this, with research

of their workforce. Others used their

revealing that over 80% believe digital

software robots to handle the increase

disruption will transform their customer

in customer demand on various channels

interactions. For example, Lloyds of

from emails, contact centres or chatbots.

London closed its underwriting room in

This success has grabbed the attention

March for the first time in its 330-year

of C-suite executives who were caught

history as a result of the pandemic. It is

out with less than resilient business con-

reopening, but with capacity reduced to

tinuity plans. Their eyes have opened to

45% in order to adhere to social distanc-

how quick and easy these deployments

ing. RPA and other automation tools will

can be, and many are now exploring it

help to facilitate the return to ‘normal’,

for the future.

NOVEMBER 2020

simultaneously easing pressure on call centres.

Neil Murphy: While it’s true that the pandemic has accelerated the plans for many companies to reduce their reliance on sub-optimal processes and manual tasks, just investing in RPA is not the end of a business’ automation story. Right now, many business leaders Cathal McGloin: At the start of lock-

still don’t know much about the AI

down, travel and insurance companies

behind the human and its potential to

saw a four-fold increase in incoming

transform their business. This needs

customer calls, as people desperately

to change.

53

sought advice on whether they were covered for lost holidays and cancelled

Chris Huff: Without a doubt, COVID-19

events. At the same time, customer

has accelerated a ‘digital awakening’

service agents were adjusting to work-

among boards and C-suites. The days

ing from home and struggling to meet

where point solutions like RPA were

demand. This created an urgent require-

given months and years to scale are over.

ment for companies to explore new

Boards are demanding a holistic digital

ways to handle sudden spikes in call vol-

transformation strategy that uses inte-

umes that threaten to overwhelm staff.

grated automation platforms with robust

Those organisations that had already

ecosystems to drive efficiency gains

started using conversational AI and RPA

and delight their customers. Given all

were able to rapidly set up automated

the disparate data, systems, and the

workflows to deflect calls from the IVR

new dislocated workforce, digital work-

(interactive voice response). These auto-

flows serve as the connective tissue and

mated systems provided customers with

new digital frontier for businesses seek-

timely resolutions to their queries, while

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

CLOUD & CYBER

54

HOW TO CREATE A COMPLIANT AND SECURE INSURANCE FIRM WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING

NOVEMBER 2020

55

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

CLOUD & CYBER

56

NOVEMBER 2020

Using expert insights from Capgemini and kompany, we determine the best way to maintain a compliant and digitally secure presence in insurance

A

s insurance becomes increasingly digitised, regtechs are gaining prominence as guardians of IT security. Consisting not simply of ‘cyber defense’ programmes in

this context, but rather the methods by which an insurer can remain fully compliant with regulations at all times, IT security for the industry has reached a difficult stage in its development. As the landscape continues to shift and old protocols no longer hold true, InsurTech Digital sought out information on how companies are using pioneering technologies

– including blockchain, data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation – to eliminate cyber threats and enhance the customer experience through improved transparency.

Providing guidance on how insurance companies can enact the highest standards of IT security are Chris Heaven, Global Head of Cybersecurity Go to Market (GTM) at Capgemini, and Russell E. Perry, Founder and CEO of Austrian regtech platform ‘kompany’.

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

57

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59

A THREE-STEP ROADMAP FOR ENABLING SECURITY AND COMPLIANCE

today also tend to base their business

Before discussing a solution, we must

verification on outdated, inefficient and

first identify how the contemporary

manual KYB (know your business) pro-

insurance industry’s security issues

cesses that, on top of everything else,

first arose. Something that Heaven

offer a poor experience for their clients.”

and Perry both point out is insurers’

These problems are the relics of an

tendency to employ external security

older industry where legacy tech had

experts to undertake expensive and

not yet been supplanted by pioneering

time-consuming audits on key pro-

digital alternatives. As such, the road

cesses like underwriting. This practice

map for modernisation involves a thor-

can be prohibitively expensive for

ough reassessment of five essential

SMBs (small-medium businesses) and

insurance aspects: client acquisition,

ultimately yields an unsatisfactorily

underwriting, portfolio monitoring, post-

shallow impression of a company’s IT

claim support and value-added services.

posture. Perry adds, “Most companies

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CLOUD & CYBER

60

STEP ONE: CLIENT ACQUISITION AND UNDERWRITING

that used to take days or even weeks

Key solution: AI and automation

is now reduced to minutes. This

The data-rich nature of the insurance

approach can be deployed at scale

industry makes it perfect for optimisa-

and also drives down the cost of acqui-

tion via AI and automation. With the

sition.” Perry states that kompany

capacity to improve not just the front-

has undergone this transformation

office but the back-office too, insurers

firsthand: “Having started by optimis-

have the opportunity to assess risk

ing data access via our Live Search

and perform the underwriting process

network, we are now using AI to make

using client-sourced data and globally-

this data more manageable. Where

sourced data (i.e. news, market reports,

shareholder records are inconsistently

police notifications, etc). Furthermore,

collected or stored, AI-based software

esoteric sources like the dark web can

structures this data, therefore facilitat-

provide invaluable indicators of past

ing risk officers’ tasks significantly.”

of a policy,” says Heaven. “A process

and future security compromises.

“By combining these two views, insurers can calculate a risk score with which to price and define terms

“ Most companies today [...] tend to base their business verification on outdated, inefficient and manual KYB processes” — Russell E. Perry, CEO, kompany

NOVEMBER 2020

61

It should be noted that both com-

credibility or value. AI and automation

mentators still expect a degree of

can certainly assist in keeping knowl-

physical auditing to persist. However,

edge of risk points up-to-date, but the

this will be complemented and

benefits of close collaboration between

enhanced by automation.

insurers/insurtechs and regtechs cannot be overstated.

STEP TWO: PORTFOLIO MONITORING AND POST-CLAIM SUPPORT

automatically assess regulation and

Key solution: close collaboration

compliance during the acquisition

with regtechs

and policyholder monitoring phases

A central characteristic of threats to

against existing and emerging stand-

security and compliance is their volatility;

ards. This is crucial as compliance

risk assessment must be an ever-chang-

adherence is also becoming a manda-

ing process if it is to retain accuracy,

tory condition of business outside

“These companies [regtechs] can

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CLOUD & CYBER

62

the financial regulated sector,” states

proprietary network to over 200 coun-

Heaven. “The best way to guarantee the

tries and jurisdictions.”

veracity of data is to take it directly and

By working closely with regtechs

in real-time from the primary source,”

operating in this way, insurers

says Perry. “In kompany’s case this

can bolster the integrity of their

means official commercial registers

decision-making during the claims

and financial and tax authorities them-

process by utilising time-stamped

selves, leveraged through our global

and audit-proof information.

NOVEMBER 2020

STEP THREE: VALUE-ADDED SERVICES

that these checks have taken place,

Key solution: blockchain

streamlining the process for busi-

While technology is crucial to offer-

nesses and customers alike. While

ing customers a modern experience,

business verification automation has

it is often the culture in which it is

always made sound sense, the COVID-

deployed that differentiates a com-

19 situation has acted as a clarion

pany from its competitors. IT secu-

call for companies to accelerate their

rity is an additional avenue that can

digitisation efforts following the sig-

be valuably exhibited to garner trust

nificant increase in business fraud and

and loyalty from the public, while

supplier/vendor failure.”

also reducing the risk of a claim being made in the first place.

A culture of openness on the topic of security and compliance, claims

“And a step beyond accessibility

Heaven, is something all insurance

and manageability is accountability,”

companies should embrace if they

explains Perry. “kompany’s new

want to create trust and lower risk

blockchain-based product, ‘KYC

simultaneously. “The client experience

onchain’, creates an immutable record

can be enhanced by sharing insights

“These companies [regtechs] can automatically assess regulation and compliance during the acquisition and policyholder monitoring phases against existing and emerging standard” — Chris Heaven, Global Head of Cybersecurity GTM, Capgemini

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63

CLOUD & CYBER

64

“ There is no reason that insurers can’t turn the ‘burden’ of maintaining IT security into an asset for gaining a competitive advantage” NOVEMBER 2020

on their security posture, thus enabling continuous improvement and plugging security gaps. Policyholder onboarding should preferably include training to improve cyber awareness, including what to do in the event of an attack.”

CONCLUSION “IT security will need to keep pace with the evolving threat landscape and how it relates to both the compliance needs of the business and/or the risk appetite the organisation has adopted,” 65

Heaven says.

Indeed, as previously discussed, security and compliance will forever remain an ongoing process and never a fully-realised state of being. However, by following these three steps, insurers can build a faster, more efficient and ultimately more compliant business than ever before (kompany estimates a 50% reduction in costs and 90% less time wasted).

Taking these factors into consideration, there is no reason that insurers can’t turn the ‘burden’ of maintaining IT security into an asset for gaining a competitive advantage.

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66

FIVE-MINUTE EXPERT INSIGHTS ON ANALYTICS PLATFORMS WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING

SEPTEMBER 2020

67

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

A I & D ATA

INSURTECH DIGITAL ASKED NORMAN BLACK, EMEA INSURANCE SOLUTIONS DIRECTOR AT SAS, TO DESCRIBE THE EFFECT THAT DATA ANALYTICS HAS HAD ON INSURANCE

A

lthough gathering high-quality data is foundational to innovation, how an insurer subsequently chooses to ‘unlock’ the

value within it is considerably more consequential.

Therefore, the value of an analytics platform lies in its capacity for quantifying risk and pricing accordingly, 68

organising the claims process and identifying emerging customer patterns or trends.

Norman Black, EMEA Insurance Solutions Director at SAS, kindly provided us with his insights on the company’s own software and how these platforms are reshaping decision-making, mitigating risk and driving productivity generally. Primarily helping insurers get the most from their analytic investments, Black advises SAS on business and technology trends within insurance and helps steer future development.

He holds more than 30 years of cumulative experience in the global insurance sector and has led major transformation programmes in a number of European insurance companies, as well as guiding the development of product configuration solutions for businesses in Japan, the US and South Africa.

NOVEMBER 2020

69

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

A I & D ATA

“ Data analytics has radically transformed the industry by allowing insurers to enrich the customer experience at all points of the policy lifecycle” — Norman Black, EMEA Insurance Solutions Director, SAS

• Helps actuaries and underwriters

to more accurately assess risk and respond to complex and shifting regulatory and compliance demands (e.g.,

Q: How would you summarise the effect that data analytics has had on the insurance industry?

70

IFRS 17, Solvency II, LTDI).

• Empowers investigational units to detect, prevent and even predict fraud.

• Allows insurance to extract more value

A: Data analytics has radically trans-

from large and growing data troves

formed the industry by allowing insurers

made available through artificial intel-

to enrich the customer experience at all

ligence (AI), machine learning, internet

points of the policy lifecycle, from policy

of things (IoT) and more.

inception through to claims processing.

More specifically:

• It enables insurers to design innovative

Q: How are analytics platforms helping to reshape insurer decision-making?

products and services that maximise

A: Rapid, accurate and incisive decision-

customer engagement.

making is the ultimate objective of an analytics platform. Put simply, data and analytics don’t drive an insurer: decisions do! An effective end-to-end platform such as SAS enables insurers to take advantage of all relevant data and extract insights. Most importantly, it also deploys and operationalises

analytics throughout an organisation’s

A: Firstly, SAS’ data management capa-

decision layers.

bilities control data quality, governance

This enables insurers to implement

and integration to enable an insurer to

two different types of decisioning:

exploit a wide range of new data sources.

1) automated, wherein analytics is

All data is now Big Data, and IoT presents

embedded in the background of opera-

a great case in point. As insurers look

tional processes to drive decisions at

to support connected cars, property

scale, with limited human intervention

and people, SAS can bring its deep IoT

and at the point where they provide the

processing experience to deliver solu-

most value; and 2) augmented, which

tions for streaming data and analytics

integrates analytical insights into the

on the edge.

user experience to support human

Next, understanding and leverag-

decision making at an insurer, such as

ing Big Data requires solid capabilities

chat applications or interactive charts.

in advanced analytics, principally: predictive modelling, AI (including

Q: Which background technologies

image processing and natural language

enable the SAS analytics platform?

processing) and machine learning. SAS in s ur t e c h digi t a l . c o m

71

A I & D ATA

“ By its experimental and iterative nature, data and analytics modelling is a key enabler of [...] persistent innovation” — Norman Black, EMEA Insurance Solutions Director, SAS

72 also supports a wide range of specialist

expand decisioning criteria, precision

capabilities, including statistical analysis

and accelerate time to value.

and forecasting, text analytics and optimisation and simulation.

Finally, in support of operational deployment and ultimately decision

Q: Another aspect of analytics is security.

How does SAS’ software mitigate risk and optimise operations?

making, SAS supports a wide range of solutions that enable insurers to deploy,

A: Most insurance data is highly sensi-

manage and monitor their analytics.

tive, whether for commercial reasons or

Industry domain content is embedded

for reasons of customer confidentiality

into SAS’ fraud, risk, and customer

under GDPR. To avoid the risk of reputa-

experience solutions. This includes pre-

tional and commercial damage, insurers

built data models, data transformations,

must manage the security, auditability

purpose-built algorithms, and persona-

and overall governance of their data and

based workflows and interfaces. These

analytics processes.

NOVEMBER 2020

to defend their data and operations against attack.

Q: Why is persistent innovation important for better productivity and ROI? A: Persistent innovation is a particularly important challenge for insurers. As an industry, the insurance sector is naturally risk averse and has been historically slow to innovate. An ‘innovation backlog’ has subsequently grown over the last 20 years, even as innovation in other industries has raised customer expectations pertaining to digital serSAS’ data management solutions manage data security, lineage and audit-

vice and responsiveness.

Insurtech, therefore, has been a

ability at an enterprise level across all

significant catalyst for addressing this

types of data. Our model management

and driving change and innovation in

solution provides a central repository

the sector. It has also been instrumental

for model development, including

in promoting ‘digital hubs’ and ‘inno-

versioning, model scoring and model

vation labs’, which have encouraged

validation capabilities. A workflow func-

insurers to pursue greater productivity,

tion tracks a model through its lifecycle

ROI, and customer satisfaction.

to deployment, and then monitors and

By its experimental and iterative

reports on its performance until it

nature, data and analytics modelling

needs to be retrained or retired.

is a key enabler of this persistent inno-

Finally, SAS provides specialist

vation, allowing insurers to rapidly

cybersecurity threat detection and

develop, test and change products

alert functionality to enable insurers

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

73

T O P 10

74

Insurtech Startups Arranged by estimated number of employees, InsurTech Digital takes a look at 10 up-and-coming insurtech startups that are pioneering a new industry WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING

NOVEMBER 2020

75

i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

T O P 10

10

Wrisk [ C E O , NI M E S HH PATE L ]

Wrisk’s core team combines the separate but complementary skill sets of technology and insurance to deliver simple, transparent and customer-focused outcomes. The company is acutely aware of the importance that a superior consumer experience can deliver and adamantly believes that insurance should entirely serve the policyholder’s interests, even down to sharing exact details on how premiums are calculated. Wrisk offers insurance expertise, cloudbased technology and seamless integration to a wide client base 76

of world-class providers. It also offers mobility solutions for vehicle cover, as well partner solutions for retail and banking.

2016 Founded

30

Number of Staff

UK

Location NOVEMBER 2020

2016 Founded

40

Number of Staff

Malaysia Location

09

PolicyStreet

77

[ C E O , Y E N M I NG L E E ]

PolicyStreet bases the success of its business on two factors: digitally-enhanced insurance solutions and a strong, communitybased work ethic (hence its name). Seeking to reinvent the modern idea of insurance, the company is striving to make it “sexy, fun and appealing to the millennials of today”. PolicyStreet offers fullspectrum policy options in accordance with this vision: life, travel, motor and medical cover. Regardless of where the customer ‘is’ in their life, the company wants to be involved in protecting the things they hold most important. With an estimated 1,000+ insurance products available in the local market and new ones continually under its consideration, PolicyStreet is determined to provide best-in-class service.

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

Š 2019 Fair Isaac Corporation. All rights reserved.

CONTACT US

08

Neos [ C E O , M AT T POL L ]

Billing itself as “the smarter way to insure property�, Neos is an IoT platform created specifically for the insurance sector, offering endto-end solutions designed to accelerate time-to-market and increase product quality for its clients. The company also provides easy-toinstall devices to its customers, both enterprise and individual, with a view to bestowing peace of mind for theft, fire and water damages.

Devices include leak detectors and sensors, indoor security cameras and specialised batteries.

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2016 Founded

50

Number of Staff

UK

Location

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T O P 10

2012 Founded

75

Number of Staff

USA Location

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07

Trōv [ C E O , S C OT T WA LCHE K ]

One of the most popular insurtechs in the investment sector, Trōv has managed to accumulate over US$114m in funding since it was founded eight years ago. Headed up by serial entrepreneur Scott Walchek, who has previously established successful businesses in the US and China, the company offers innovative solutions for insurance, finance, retail, mobility and more. The company features a dynamic ‘on-demand’ platform, which incorporates smart pricing, risk analytics, fraud detection and API integration, as well as being entirely cloud-based. Using this digitally optimised system, Trōv has managed to partner with industry leaders similarly committed to changing the ways people live, work and move.

NOVEMBER 2020

06

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

Cover Genius is a Sydney-based insurtech with a truly global outreach.

Currently holding offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Singapore and other locations, it was ranked as the Financial Times’ fastest growing company in the APAC region for 2020. The company serves a wide range of industries, from retail to logistics, travel, fintech and more, and offers award-winning products such as XCover, RentalCover, XClaim and BrightWrite. Furthermore, Cover Genius reinforces its commitment to helping the global community by operating its charitable arm, CG Gives.

81

2014 Founded

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Number of Staff

Australia Location

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2014 Founded

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Number of Staff

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05

Tractable

83

[ C E O , A L E X DA LYAC ]

At the heart of Tractable is a highly-skilled R&D team (composed of Oxford and Cambridge graduates) with over 30 years of cumulative experience in developing AI technology. The company uses its technology to assess car accident and natural disaster damages in real-time, which can then form a dataset for insurers to base their decision-making. Equipped with image-recognition software, the AI can assess visual information similarly to a person but on a much faster and larger scale. Estimating that its system can hasten insurer response times by up to 10 times, Tractable’s solution has already been embraced by some of the world’s leading insurance companies.

Currently a popular enterprise with investment firms, it has also managed to raise US$55m in venture capital for future development.

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T O P 10

04

Zego

[ C E O , ST E N S A A R ]

Insurance is a centuries-old industry, and yet, despite this, very little tangible change has actually taken place up to the modern-day.

Zego is acutely aware that, even if insurance hasn’t, people and their lifestyles have. Therefore, it is dedicated to bringing simple and fastpaced cover solutions in a suitably 21st-century package. Zego offers options on car, professional and commercial cover via its dedicated app. Users select their preferred option, can generate a quote within minutes and then pay. The service is entirely paperfree, optimised for ease-of-use and boasts flexible policies to suit 84

bespoke needs.

2016

200

Founded

Number of Staff

Zego Fleet: How we serve our Customers CLICK TO WATCH

NOVEMBER 2020

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2:57

UK

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2013 Founded

200

Number of Staff

Singapore Location

85

03

CXA Group

[ C E O , RO S A L I NE CHOW KOO ]

Capturing the spirit of innovation that has come to define insurtech in the post-COVID-19 era, CXA Group’s website proudly states, “Modern business needs new and more effective ways to manage the health and wellbeing of an ever-diversifying workforce. This is what we do.” Started by insurance industry expert Rosaline Chow Koo with a vision to change preconceptions of ‘one-size-fits-all’ benefits packages’ suitability, she actually invested $5m of her own money into the digital mission. The company has grown significantly; it is currently responsible for managing the insurancebased needs of over 766,000 employees, including those of several Fortune 500 entities. i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

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

02 88

2013 Founded

250

Number of Staff

France Location

NOVEMBER 2020

Shift Technology CLICK TO WATCH

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1:23

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Shift Technology [ CEO , J E RE M Y JAW IS H ] Shift Technology specialises in delivering AI-native SaaS (software as a service) solutions for the insurance industry in a bid to eliminate fraud. The company currently offers solutions for health, P&C (property & casualty) and travel, each with a particular focus on combatting specific threats while also minimising false negatives and improving investigator efficiency. Shift’s relevancy is likely to increase as insurance operations continue to become entrenched by digital technology. The company has analysed over 1.4 billion claims at the time of this article, a number that is rapidly increasing daily as more leading insurance companies onboard their technology. i nsur te c hdi gi t a l. com

T O P 10

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BIMA - disrupting the global mHealth and Insurance market for families in emerging markets CLICK TO WATCH

NOVEMBER 2020

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2:59

BIMA [ CEO, GUSTAF AGARTSON ] Created by Gustaf Agartson with the intention of disrupting the traditional insurance sector, which he contended was nonrepresentative for historically underserved customers, BIMA has, so far, managed to reach 35 million customers in its decade of operations. Using mobile technology to deliver highquality health insurance to those in emerging markets, the company serves 14 markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America, with funds of US$30m recently secured to drive even further expansion. At the time of the announcement, Agartson 91

referenced the COVID-19 pandemic and the company’s significance in the current socio-economic climate, “Through digital solutions and a human touch, we’ve been able to serve hard-to-reach communities with tools and services that bring them a sense of security at such a challenging time.”

2010 Founded

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Number of Staff

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NOVEMBER 2020

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

I

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, 94

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 NOVEMBER 2020

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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

98

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 NOVEMBER 2020

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 Vitality’s Chief Digital Officer with responsibility for digital strategy and product management as well as the wider change portfolio.

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Future-Proofing Insurers by building Resilient and Adaptable operating model Through our innovative framework and methodologies, TCS has aligned to the evolving priorities of Insurers to help them stay lean, nimble and finding newer ways to create value and ensure they stay ahead in the market.

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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,

102

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

NOVEMBER 2020

Vitality - Digital Strategy CLICK TO WATCH

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2:36

103 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

104 “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 NOVEMBER 2020

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. “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,� said Dan Faber, founder of DocTap.

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VITALITY

Vitality - Challenges CLICK TO WATCH 4:48

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NOVEMBER 2020

|

“ 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

107

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

108

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

NOVEMBER 2020

Vitality - AI + Robotics CLICK TO WATCH

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4:46

109

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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NOVEMBER 2020

111

Embracing the Art of the Possible WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

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

PROTECTIVE INSURANCE

Jeremy Johnson, CEO, describes the company’s tech transformation, customerfocused service and why problem-solving is at the heart of its business

A

t its most fundamental level, insurance is an industry predicated on risk management, customer service and trust. Few

companies understand the interconnection of these principles better than Protective Insurance, 112

and even fewer have an equivalent level of the experience, engagement and commitment necessary to transcend these precepts and deliver superior results. Founded in 1930 and headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, USA, the company is a transport insurance specialist for trucking fleets of all sizes, licensed in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and all Canadian provinces. With a long-standing heritage, a portfolio of diverse products, services and solutions, it has been and continues to be a strong partner for an equally essential industry, particularly in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jeremy Johnson, CEO, joined Protective Insurance in May 2019 following several years in executive positions at some of the world’s most

NOVEMBER 2020

113

i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

PROTECTIVE INSURANCE

“ There’s just so much data that, with the right attitude, you can really envisage a different approach, one that can really make the roads safer” — Jeremy Johnson, CEO, Protective Insurance

prestigious insurance organizations.

“Because it’s a smaller company (Protective has approximately 500 employees), it’s a much more intimate environment and it feels like one person can really make a difference,” Johnson explains. “It’s a pretty

114

revered brand and, because of our client-centric, relationship-oriented approach, Protective Insurance is very well respected both by our distribution partners and by our customers, trucking fleets.” Despite starting with the company only last year, Johnson says that his first exposure to truck insurance actually occurred earlier in his career. Recognizing that it was an intricate, data-rich opportunity, he gained a particular fascination with the sector which continues to this day.

“There’s just so much data that, with the right attitude, you can really envisage a different approach, one that can really make the roads safer. We’ve got NOVEMBER 2020

Protective Insurance CLICK TO WATCH

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3:33

115 a lot more work to do in order to seize

meant a new, tech-driven transfor-

that massive data opportunity, but we

mation of Protective Insurance was

have a great foundation, momentum

necessary as, like many companies

and a vision.

with decades of experience in the

For Johnson, this interest in the

market, the business was rife with

possibilities of data analysis goes

non-integrated legacy systems. “The

back to one of his former bosses, who

linchpins were moving to the cloud

instilled in him a passion for ‘the art of

using Microsoft Azure to build a ‘data

the possible’ – a spirit of inquisitiveness

lake’ and embracing an analytics-first

and innovation that isn’t afraid to chal-

commercial auto underwriting plat-

lenge the status quo or explore new

form built for us by TSIQ. We have a

directions. “Unless you’re prepared

partnership with a company called

to ask really intriguing questions,

Roots Automation, who’ve provided

the data just exists in a vacuum,” he

us with self-learning digital bots, and

states. Facilitating this approach

we have a great partner in Majesco i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

PROTECTIVE INSURANCE

116

whose approach to microservices and

However, increased technological

‘plug and play’ style system modules

sophistication is only a component

really align with our technology vision.”

of Protective Insurance’s success-

In addition, Johnson explains that

ful formula. What really sets it apart,

there will be numerous, more mundane

as Johnson intimated, is its cultural

but no less crucial changes happening

emphasis on employee engagement

behind the scenes that will affect the

and building strong customer rela-

company’s ability to scale as well as

tionships. “People genuinely enjoy

ingest, harmonize and analyze data.

working here,” he states. “In fact,

NOVEMBER 2020

1930

we recently celebrated one member of staff’s 50th year with us. We are

Year founded

a specialist and know our customers well; we have a shared dedication and

$495m+

excitement about our mission: making roads safer.” The importance of

Total Revenue in US dollars (2019)

this client connection took on even

500

In order to ensure that it was meeting

greater proportions at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in mid-March. its customers rapidly shifting concerns and priorities, Protective Insurance

Number of employees

reached out to understand how best it could lend assistance. The answer,

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

Jeremy Johnson Title: Chief Executive Officer Industry: Insurance

Company: Protective Insurance

Location: United States

Jeremy has more than 25 years of insurance industry experience and has been the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Protective Insurance since May 2019. Prior to Protective, Jeremy served in various executive leadership roles at American International Group, Inc. (AIG) for 17 years. Roles included, President, US Commercial for AIG; and CEO & President of Lexington Insurance Company, AIG’s excess and surplus lines unit. Jeremy is a graduate of the University of Oxford with a Masters of Arts degree in Law. i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

117

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“ Unless you’re prepared to ask really intriguing questions, the data just exists in a vacuum” — Jeremy Johnson, CEO, Protective Insurance

Johnson claims, was rather ironic.

“We asked them, ‘What can we do for you?’, expecting an answer that would revolve around digital technology. However, the overwhelming reply was, ‘We need hand sanitizer’.”

Partnering with a local distillery, Protective Insurance was able to purchase and distribute hundreds of gallons of sanitizer with logistical assistance from the American Trucking Association.

119

i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

PROTECTIVE INSURANCE

Despite this response, the company

you’re actually in that environment,”

was more than adequately prepared to

he explains. “I think there was a lot

meet the technological challenges of

of fear and trepidation as to whether

the pandemic too. Having analyzed the

our employees could effectively man-

pre-lockdown situation and modelled

age our customer relationships, pay

for various operational contingen-

claims, take submissions and commu-

cies, Johnson says that Protective

nicate effectively while working from

Insurance “didn’t miss a beat” through-

home.” Enabled by the company’s

out the transition, even though it

technology team, which provided the

was still undergoing a major tech

bandwidth necessary for sustaining

transformation at the time. “We had

an equivalently high standard of cus-

tested some things and taken some

tomer interaction virtually, Johnson

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“ Protective Insurance will continue to invest in other tools that can make our employees’ lives more comfortable when working remotely” — Jeremy Johnson, CEO, Protective Insurance

look at the modules that are of most interest to them.” Educating staff is

and empowered to succeed. “I think

an important part of his ‘embracing

we’re going to be in this environ-

the art of the possible’ concept, and,

ment for quite a lot longer. Therefore,

as data analytics continues to play

Protective Insurance will continue to

an important role in insurance’s digital

invest in other tools that can make our

transformation, knowing how to

employees’ lives more comfortable

extract results will be critical. “You

when working remotely.”

build all this infrastructure and you

To further develop this tech familiarity

gain the ability to look at the data, but

among its staff, Protective Insurance

how do you get the right minds to ask

hosted a ‘virtual’ fair on relevant

the right questions?” Johnson asks.

tech-based subjects. Presented

“What are the questions that will allow

to employees by employees, the

us to get a game changing advantage?

company hopes to augment its trans-

I think there’s a colossal amount

formation through learning and

of momentum behind unlocking the

communication to highlight the impor-

value of data.”

tance of change. “Employees can go through the many modules that make up the Technology Transformation Fair and learn, for example, what the cloud or a data lake is, and why and how that matters to us,” Johnson explains. “I’m fully confident that 100% of our employees will take the time to i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com

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PROTECTIVE INSURANCE

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“ We couldn’t have got into this position without 500 committed, experienced and able employees” The company’s worth is defined by — Jeremy Johnson, CEO, Protective Insurance

its ability to manage risk, save clients money and make the roads safer; 2021 is a year in which it hopes to fulfil this mission with tech-enhanced vigor and

Achieving this goal is Protective

partners equally committed to sur-

Insurance’s primary aspiration, “We

mounting the challenges of delivering

want to be our customer’s most valued

superior service. “I think we’re going to

transportation insurance provider.”

be valuable to all of our stakeholders;

NOVEMBER 2020

123

not just our customers, but our share-

and engagement with the corporate

holders, employees, reinsurers, vendor

mission: “Our existing customers value

partners and technology partners,

us and many more now want to work

who are all important to us.” Engaging

with us. We couldn’t have got into this

with ‘possibility thinking’ and adopting

position without 500 committed, expe-

an ‘always moving forwards’ mentality

rienced and able employees. I’m super

will maintain Protective Insurance’s

proud of what we’ve achieved.”

competitive edge, which has already seen it triumph over other, less-imaginative companies in the space. Finally, Johnson concludes with a declaration of pride for his employees’ hard work i nsurt e c hdi gi t a l. com