the efma-accenture innovation in insurance awards2 … · 1 efma-accenture innovation in insurance...

EFMA-ACCENTURE INNOVATION IN INSURANCE AWARDS 20191

SHOWCASING SUCCESSES IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

THE EFMA-ACCENTURE INNOVATION IN INSURANCE AWARDS 2019


While digital technology is rapidly reconfiguring all industries, insurance is among the most vulnerable to disruption1. But as is the case every year, the Efma–Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards for 2019 show that many insurance organizations are taking the opportunity to lead the next wave of innovation rather than fall victim to it.

The 2019 awards attracted nearly 400 entries, up from 320 in 2018. This highlights how traditional insurers and insurtechs are transforming a once stable and conservative industry into one that is vibrant and replete with new ideas and fresh value propositions.

Incumbents and disruptors alike are delivering hyper-relevant services, products and solutions that are changing the face of the industry. Those that are succeeding in their transformation efforts are becoming what we call Living Businesses—responsive, agile organizations that lead the market in sustainable growth.

What sets these companies apart from the rest? They have a better understanding of the changing digital needs of their customers; can pivot their growth strategies towards profitable areas beyond the core; and fund new growth by optimizing costs elsewhere. These market leaders have the ability to flex and adapt to make their business and its offerings more engaging, relevant and useful to the customer.

RIDING THE NEXT WAVE OF DIGITAL CHANGE

400320

ENTRIES, UP FROM

IN 2018

THE 2019 AWARDS ATTRACTED NEARLY

1_Accenture 2018 Disruptability Index - Disruption Research


Our analysis of this year’s entries identified seven key trends, which we explore in more detail in this paper:

2019 INNOVATION TRENDS

TREND

1

TREND

5

TREND

2

TREND

6

TREND

3

TREND

7

TREND

4Get to Know MeUnlocking customer value and unique opportunities based on a deep understanding of customers.

Beyond BoundariesOrchestrating ecosystem partners to provide end-to-end solutions for specific customer needs.

My Market Creating on-demand experiences to capture opportunities as they arise.

DARQ PowerLeveraging distributed ledger technology to spark a step-change and reimagine insurance.

Smart AutomationUsing artificial intelligence (AI) at scale to transform core operations and customer experiences.

Insurtech PartnershipsPartnering with tech innovators to build compelling new solutions and customer experiences.

Human+ Worker Applying AI to empower humans to provide services that are more human.

3EFMA-ACCENTURE INNOVATION IN INSURANCE AWARDS 2019


We used rich text analysis to investigate the underlying trends in this year’s award entries. Here’s what we found:

INSIGHTS FROM THE 2019 ENTRIES

Use of AI / machine learning and all forms of intelligent automation and RPA to transform insurance value propositions and service is accelerating among insurtechs and insurers alike. Insurtechs are leading the way in leveraging cloud and API architectures, which are being rapidly developed by insurers but are still far from being fully adopted.

‘Beyond insurance’ value propositions are becoming more common as insurers combine their core products with offerings and services from ecosystem partners, often leveraging connected devices.

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

INSU

RA

NC

E CO

MPA

NIES

2018

Digital services

AI incl. machine learning & natural language processing

AI incl. machine learning & natural language processing

Digital sales

Digital sales

Digital services

Analytics / Big data

Analytics / Big data

IoT / Telematics

IoT / TelematicsIntelligent automation

Intelligent automation

Cloud

Cloud

API

Virtual assistants / Robo-advisorsVirtual assistants / Robo-advisors

Digital transformationBlockchain

Blockchain

20182019 2019

INSU

RTECH

S

26%16% 25%

29%

15%

18%

18%

17%

8%

11%

16%12%

14%

8%

11%

12%

13%

9%

9%

7%

7%

4%4%4%3%

5%

10%

8%

4%3%2%2%

8%

6%

5%4%

5%2%2%

2%


GET TO KNOW METoday’s insurance consumers demand personalized, convenient and quick service. The most successful carriers today know that serving customers in demographic segments is not as effective as serving them as individuals. They are masters of delivering tailored, hyper-relevant experiences at massive scale.We have selected three award candidates that show how delivering personalized, real-time digital services unlocks value for carriers and consumers alike. They are examples of how insurers can access unique opportunities when they personalize offerings based on a deep understanding of their customers.

DISCOVERY HEALTH (SOUTH AFRICA)

Discovery has developed a system for real-time, automatic matching of call center agents to members with whom they will have the highest affinity. Leveraging data from 3.6 million member calls per year, Discovery’s affinity matching model aims to improve both customer satisfaction and contact center agent performance. It is applied to all calls where members identify themselves on the interactive voice response system. The model has been live across all inward call queues since mid-2018 and customer satisfaction on calls where affinity matching took place increased significantly.

AXA XL (US)

AXA XL has deployed an end-to-end Data Ecosystem & Engagement Platform (DEEP) to respond to the need to provide data to fuel decision-making across its business, including underwriting, pricing, claims administration and the customer experience. The solution aims to address the challenges of inaccurate, inconsistent and incomplete data and long manual processing times.

The organization leveraged AI and machine learning to build reusable data assets for internal users and external stakeholders like insurance brokers. This secure, user-centric and scalable enterprise data platform has transformed back-office operational support in the data analytics organization into a trusted partner for internal and external users.

CLARK (GERMANY)

CLARK is an insurance platform providing transparent, cheap and comprehensive insurance coverage. It offers a solution that consumers can use to manage their insurance products digitally and on the go with the help of a robo-advisor that recommends the optimal insurance policies for their needs. Customers can also get personal consulting from industry experts on this platform. The solution includes a retirement cockpit where users can analyze the gap between their salary contribution and projected net pension.


TREND

1


Direct digital access to customers and increasingly powerful analytics capabilities are opening up a range of exciting new opportunities for insurers—from offering real-time protection to capturing momentary markets with innovative solutions such as small-ticket, usage-based, just-in-time and parametric insurance. These award candidates offer some powerful examples of how insurers can use every moment as a chance to deliver a new product or service, designed not just for a specific customer, but for their needs at a specific point in time. They are blazing a trail by using technology to create a world of intensely customized and on-demand experiences.

BBVA (SPAIN)

BBVA has created a simple digital travel insurance offering that customers can sign up for through the BBVA mobile app. Customers are sent a mobile push notification to remind them to purchase travel insurance when they make a travel-related purchase using a BBVA credit card. They can take out a policy tailored to their needs: the destinations they are visiting, the travelers in their party (up to 12 people) and the cover they require.

GENERALI CHINA LIFE INSURANCE (CHINA)

Generali China Life insurance has created Pocket Insurance, a mobile app that provides customers with a secure, real-time transaction environment, convenient service, the ability to easily interact with the insurance provider and seamless access to a health-care ecosystem. Shifting customers from physical counters and the call center is enabling Generali China to reduce operating costs, while improving the customer experience.

The app makes use of innovative features such as facial recognition, optical character recognition, flash claims and payment, and an online reward points store to offer customers a smooth and integrated sales and service environment.

ZURICH (SPAIN)

Zurich Spain’s Azul is an AI assistant that scans the user’s face to determine their health and age, then provides a life insurance quotation in real-time. The goal is to educate prospective customers about the value of life insurance and to promote a healthy lifestyle. The app infers three characteristics from the customer’s facial features: age, whether they smoke or not, and their body mass index (BMI).

Zurich’s advanced analytics team developed the BMI algorithm—which extrapolates 4,000 latent variables from the face—with Barcelona-based startup, Beta. Zurich is not only positioning the app as a direct-to-consumer tool, but also as a way for brokers, agents and partners to speak to customers about the importance of a life insurance policy.


MY MARKETTREND

2


Effective deployment of AI at scale can give an insurer a significant competitive advantage. Carriers that succeed in embedding AI throughout their businesses, and along their extended value chains, will not only boost their customer experience, but also improve operating efficiencies and accelerate product development.

Here are three award candidates that show how leading carriers are putting AI to work to transform core operations and customer, agent and workforce experiences. They illustrate how intelligent technologies are delivering massive operational efficiencies, freeing the workforce to focus on higher value work, and ultimately, creating value for the end customer.

AXA (BELGIUM)

AXA Belgium has implemented a comprehensive set of AI-based solutions to transform its broker and customer claims experiences. These solutions include smart mail classification using natural language processing (NLP), smart document management, computer vision and image processing tools, and a chatbot for questions and answers.

One of the solutions uses AI and computer vision to extract handwritten information from the European Accident Form (EAF) in real-time. The solution significantly speeds up data entry (10 seconds instead of four minutes as with manual data entry) and supports end-to-end automation of the claims process.

METLIFE (US)

MetLife’s claims organization has made significant strides in a multi-year program to improve claims accuracy, increase operating efficiencies and enhance the customer experience through the application of data analytics, robotic process automation and AI across its claims value chain. This includes:

A robust analytical engine that segments and analyzes claims, with eligible claims automatically adjudicated in real-time. This has reduced turnaround time from 12 days to 15 minutes.

Data digitization, AI, text analysis and visualization solutions that enable case managers to review and reassess in seconds rather than minutes.

An AI platform that provides real-time alerts to help employees listen to and understand their customers regardless of language or dialect.

A digital operating model enabled through robotic automation that has freed up 200,000 hours per year for case managers.

KYOBO LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (KOREA)

Kyobo Life has developed the BARO (Best Analysis & Rapid Outcome) AI system to help improve the efficiency of insurance underwriting. BARO is a real-time AI underwriter designed to minimize evaluation time and maximize underwriting efficiency for simple cases. This frees up underwriters to investigate more complex cases. Sales consultants can query the system in natural language and the system uses NLP to provide the results.


SMART AUTOMATIONTREND

3


Insurance enterprises are equipping their employees, agents and extended workforces with technology that enables them to perform existing roles in new ways and, in some cases, to adapt to roles that did not exist in the pre-digital era. The workforce is becoming ‘human+’, with each individual empowered by their skills and knowledge, augmented by AI that helps them reach their full potential.Below are some award candidates that exemplify how insurers can unleash significant value by blending AI and people to not only drive large productivity gains, but also to create a more human workplace and customer experience. They demonstrate how automation and augmentation can liberate time to focus on human strengths while delivering significant cost benefits.

ALLIANZ (FRANCE)

The Allianz Digital Sales Academy is an online platform where sales advisors can learn about, be trained in, and become certified on the global Allianz Sales Methodology. Allianz’s learner-centric approach includes problem-based learning, micro-learning, and gamification elements. The learning platform leverages AI to customize the learning experience, and users can receive coaching from the Digital Buddy chatbot.

AXA WINTERTHUR (SWITZERLAND)

AXA is using AI to support its goal of enabling continuous learning, transversal job moves and segment-specific employee upskilling, which in turn will help to improve internal mobility in its workforce. Its team of virtual career assistants provide employees with tailored information about learning opportunities, mentoring partners and job openings within the organization.

This approach will enable the company to cost-effectively meet the rising demand for training and development support in its workforce. The use of AI-supported career development also generates valuable data that AXA can use for pro-active internal recruiting, project staffing, trigger-based learning and training offer design.

KBC INSURANCE (BELGIUM)

KBC’s AI Comprehensive Cover instantly informs customers whether a car accident is covered by their policy and frees up staff’s time to focus on solving customers’ problems. The company is able to tell customers instantly in around half of the claims it has received whether their claim is approved or not. This has improved the customer experience while reducing the time employees spend on routine claims handling tasks.


HUMAN+ WORKERTREND

4


As this is an area of intense focus and investment for insurance companies, there were many more highly relevant cases of leveraging AI and smart automation to deliver better and lower-cost customer experiences, particularly amongst this year’s award winners.

To name but a few:

• PZU, this year’s winner in the Workforce Transformation category, with its Robotics Process Automation (RPA) Factory, has already implemented more than 50 robots that perform 260,000 operations per month and interact with around 2,300 employees in the client service and claims handling departments.

• Nippon Life Insurance Company (Nissay), this year’s winner of the Customer Experience category, has developed a new tablet called “TASKALL” for its 50,000 sales representatives. Equipped with cutting-edge technology, including AI, TASKALL analyzes the activities of the entire salesforce and helps identify suitable targets from thousands of prospective customers. It then suggests, in a user-friendly way, activities which are most likely to be successful. The concept is to supplement and enhance both the quality of the sales representatives’ activities and of customer service levels.


HUMAN+ WORKERTREND

4


stay in control of their lives, and for their relatives who want the assurance that they are safe and cared for.

MAPFRE (SPAIN)

MAPFRE earlier this year launched Savia, an open digital platform that aims to let people take control of their own and their families’ health and simplify their health insurance choices. The MAPFRE spin-off company and its platform enable users to:

Use chat or video to contact healthcare professionals including doctors, nutritionists, personal trainers, and emotional coaches;

Store their personal information securely on the cloud; and

Access pay-per-use medical consultations, tests, treatments, and so forth.

Anyone can use Savia, whether or not they have health insurance, with the ability to purchase a single service or buy a subscription plan. The plans can be activated and deactivated on demand, with no contracts or cancellation fees.

GROUPAMA (FRANCE)

GARI from Groupama is an aggregation platform and mobile app that helps agricultural customers manage their farming-related risks efficiently. There are six initial services: weather information, farm task management, crop market prices, video surveillance, a connected haystack sensor, and a dedicated precision weather forecast station.The intention is, over time, to add a range of other IoT sensors tailored to various crop and agricultural practices and then offer comprehensive risk management solutions to increasingly tech-savvy farmers.

Insurers increasingly recognize that they can no longer work as isolated organizations if they want to reach their full potential and maximize their opportunities in the market. Instead, they must embrace today’s ecosystem-driven digital economy to access new customer pools, create new revenue streams, embed their brands deeper into customers’ everyday lives and deliver richer customer experiences.

These three award candidates are pioneering new business models that use digital platforms and networked systems to blur industry boundaries. Their innovations indicate how insurers can offer consumers a wider, more relevant and appealing set of offerings and experiences by orchestrating offerings from relationships with ecosystem partners.

AG INSURANCE (BELGIUM)

Phil at Home from AG Insurance is an elderly-care service that packages smart technology to safeguard customers and their homes, and offers daily services such as house maintenance and food delivery, and a personal coordinator. Customers also get a tablet computer to help them to organize everyday life (medication reminders, to do lists, etc.) and to stay in touch with family and friends.

The goal is to go beyond insurance and support customers in their day-to-day lives. Phil at Home—currently being piloted—answers an emotional as well as a practical need for aging people who want to


BEYOND BOUNDARIESTREND

5


Distributed ledger technology (DLT)— including blockchain—has the potential to transform entire insurance markets and ecosystems, and to enable the creation of new business models and products. It offers a powerful means to bring transparency, automation and efficiency to a range of insurance business processes that span organizational boundaries and require interaction between many parties or shared access to secured information.

The three award candidates in this section are looking to use DLT to spark a step-change in their business and reimagine insurance. They are leading the industry in using blockchain to transform their business processes and unlock trapped value, reduce duplicative efforts and process inefficiencies, improve security, mitigate risk and more.

THE HONG KONG FEDERATION OF INSURERS (CHINA)

Hong Kong’s self-regulatory body of insurance companies has collaborated with CryptoBLK, a DLT solution provider, to develop the Motor Insurance DLT-based Authentication System (MIDAS). The solution allows insurers, intermediaries, policyholders, law enforcement bodies and government agencies to carry out real-time authentication of motor insurance policy documents.

Maintaining data privacy is a crucial and integral part of the system design. MIDAS uses a cryptographic, hash-based transformation mechanism together with DLT and does not record or store personally identifiable information, such as the policyholder’s name or ID. The solution is one of the first DLT-based, industry-wide systems for motor insurance to go into production in Asia.

AON BENFIELD (US)

Aon Benfield and a number of its key partners have developed a blockchain reinsurance placement solution that aims to reduce friction in business processes between brokers and reinsurers. The solution—which leverages the DLT framework of The Institutes’ RiskStream Collaborative—seeks to streamline and standardize the communication and data transfer mechanisms used in reinsurance transactions.

The DLT ecosystem targets greater efficiency in the placement of reinsurance. The vision is to develop a marketplace where any new request for a quote for a placement can be submitted to multiple reinsurers. The goal is to optimize the entire placement process and reduce the effort needed for reconciliation of the data exchanged among the different parties.

AIG (UK)

AIG is supporting customers in using blockchain and DLT to increase transparency, remove friction and identify the provenance of data in an invoice lifecycle. The solution—developed in collaboration with Standard Chartered Bank—is based on TradeIX’s open-source blockchain technology and Aronova’s ERP-connectivity and eligibility testing platform.

The two financial institutions have developed a private network to meet a global logistic company’s need to help its customers extend their payment periods while maintaining their receivables at current terms. The solution enables AIG to provide working capital trade solutions to funders and corporates, backed by trade finance insurance.


DARQ POWERTREND

6


As insurance companies face increasing pressure to improve efficiencies and meet the heightened expectations of the digital consumer, partnerships with fintechs and insurtechs offer them great opportunities. Forging relationships with insurtech startups gives them a means of accessing new technologies, testing creative business models and driving innovation.

We have selected a few candidates for the awards to display how incumbent and insurtech relationships can bring out the best in both parties. They are examples of the value that insurers can unlock by working with insurtechs to create innovative customer solutions.

AXA XL (UK)

AXA XL’s Connected Cargo solution is a real-time digital cargo tracking solution designed to help customers optimize their supply chain. Connected Cargo gives customers 24/7 monitoring as well as access to the expertise of AXA XL’s risk engineers to develop loss prevention plans. Connected Cargo was developed by AXA in conjunction with Contguard. AXA Venture Partners is an investor in Contguard.

The solution uses data from sensors placed on containers— tracking factors such as geolocation, temperature and humidity, door opening and shock—to enable risk engineering experts

to develop impactful prevention services for transportation and logistics risks. With every shipment, the data produced by these technologies becomes richer and more valuable and enables underwriters to more accurately price and underwrite risk.

BALOISE (SWITZERLAND)

Baloise partnered with KASKO to launch a set of innovative insurance products for personal items. Customers can easily take out mobile-first, modular insurance policies for single items such as smart devices, coffee machines, hearing aids, musical instruments, model ships, designer handbags and drones.

The company has successfully scaled one innovative product— AI-powered watch insurance—into a thriving small-ticket insurance business that has already sold tens of thousands of policies. Customers choose the duration of the cover themselves. Once the cover period is up, the policy expires automatically.

ZURICH GLOBAL CORPORATE (SPAIN)

Zurich and CoverWallet are providing an efficient and intuitive customer journey that enables businesses to assess their insurance requirements, quote and buy online, seek advice from professionals if needed, and store their policies and background data online. Small and medium-sized businesses in Spain can purchase and manage Zurich policies in a few clicks on the CoverWallet platform.


INSURTECH PARTNERSHIPSTREND

7


THRIVING ON DISRUPTION Insurance remains extremely susceptible to future disruption. Innovation—and the ability to innovate in a sustained manner and at scale—holds the key to future survival. The Efma-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards entries for 2019 confirm that insurers across the globe are embracing new technologies to develop innovations around the customer experience, transform their operations and create new efficiencies. They are powerful examples of Living Businesses—organizations that are continuously adapting to the evolving needs of their customers, and market conditions, with speed and at scale, to achieve total relevance. Their ability to create new strengths and build new markets before their old ones fade will ensure that they remain powerful competitors in future—no matter how digital change reshapes the landscape in insurance.


ABOUT THE EFMA-ACCENTURE INNOVATION IN INSURANCE AWARDS 2019The Efma–Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards were launched in 2016 to recognize and promote innovation in the industry. Encouraging insurers to explore new ways of growing their business, the awards celebrate the best new ideas that are transforming our industry—and serve to spark further innovation.

Showcasing the best examples of insurance technology innovations in multiple categories, the awards competition this year attracted 395 submissions from 287 institutions in 54 countries. The winners were selected through a combination of votes by a panel of judges comprising senior insurers from around the world, and online by Efma members and non-members from insurance institutions.

A TOTAL OF:

395 SUBMISSIONS

FROM 287 INSTITUTIONS

IN 54 COUNTRIES

IN 2019



2019 AWARDS WINNERSGLOBAL INNOVATOR

CONNECTED INSURANCE & ECOSYSTEMS

CORE INSURANCE TRANSFORMATION

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Zurich (Switzerland) won for several innovations: the “Zurich Innovation World Championship,” its first global insurtech competition; the “Make the Difference” program, which empowers employees to make Zurich a better place for colleagues and customers by focusing on simplification, innovation and trust; and a platform powered by CoverWallet that enables businesses to assess their insurance requirements, quote and buy online, seek advice, and store their policies and background data online.

INNOVATION: LightGuard ConnectCOUNTRY: Germany

The first bicycle e-call in Germany combining a smart bicycle light with a certified crash sensor, a safety app called WayGuard and a casualty micro-insurance product.

INNOVATION: Self-Service PortalCOUNTRY: Poland

A self-service portal offering customers a wide range of property and life insurance, investment and medical care products in one place, in cooperation with banks, other intermediaries and its affiliate networks.

INNOVATION: TASKALL: Fusion of Face-to-Face Channel and AI COUNTRY: Japan

A tablet for sales representatives that is equipped with cutting-edge technology, including AI, to supplement and enhance the quality of sales activities and customer service.


2019 AWARDS WINNERS

INSURTECH PRODUCT & EXPERIENCE INNOVATION

WORKFORCE TRANSFORMATION

INNOVATION: CSS MarketplaceCOUNTRY: Netherlands

A cloud-based ecosystem with best-in-class apps. The solution enables a one-to-many approach, instead of point-to-point, with apps that can be quickly activated and paid for based on usage (e.g., per quotation, policy, claim, etc.).

INNOVATION: KlincCOUNTRY: SpainOn-demand insurance for millennials in Spain that lets them control their insurance policies and directly manage them through their mobile phones.

INNOVATION: Robotic Process Automation for PZU Group Employees & CustomersCOUNTRY: PolandA precise tool that allows the company to effectively use employee time for the benefit of customers, i.e., the management of workloads and efficiency.


ABOUT EFMA

A global non-profit organization, established in 1971 by banks and insurance companies, Efma facilitates networking between decision-makers. It provides quality insights to help banks and insurance companies make the right decisions to foster innovation and drive their transformation. Over 3,300 brands in 130 countries are Efma members. Headquarters in Paris. Offices in London, Brussels, Andorra, Stockholm, Bratislava, Dubai, Milan, Montreal, Istanbul, Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore. Learn more: www.efma.com

ABOUT AUTHOR

Jean-François Gasc Managing Director, Insurance Strategy [email protected]

ABOUT ACCENTURE

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions—underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network—Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With 477,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com

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the efma-accenture innovation in insurance awards2 … · 1 efma-accenture innovation in insurance...

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