summary & highlights
Warsaw, 20th January 2020

Better
digital future
When insurers talk about innovation these days, theyusually refer to various technologies. Technology creates
opportunities which did not seem realistic twenty years
ago. When Sollers Consulting was founded in 2000, we
strongly believed that technology would become a driving
force in the financial industry. However, its impact has been
greater than we had imagined.
It was a great pleasure for us to welcome more than 330
guests at our conference Innovation in Insurance. From
20th until 21st January, insurance managers and specialists
from 16 countries met in Warsaw to better understandwhat really matters in business transformation. At the
8th edition of our conference we put the emphasis on thehuman factor. After all, insurance companies transform tobetter serve customers and it is the employees who push
innovation with fresh ideas, new capabilities and theirenergy to build a better future.

Sollers Consulting turns twenty this year. The past twenty
years have been a time of accumulating experience. We
have been learning together with the colleagues whojoined us and with the companies we have been supporting.
The experience we have gathered outside our home market
helps us to solve problems worldwide.
We would like to thank every single one of our customers
with whom we have had the pleasure of working in thelast 20 years. Seeing so many initiatives on the market
makes us optimistic about the future, the next 20 yearsof cooperation and beyond. Sollers Consulting will keep
developing the skills of its team and the tools to support
the industry to remain your trusted partner in digitalisation.
We will share our knowledge and experience to help
insurers keep up with market trends in an industry which
has become so incredibly dynamic and competitive.

Michał Trochimczuk, Marcin Pluta, Grzegorz Podleśny
Innovation in Insurance has become a platform where
insurers from Europe and beyond exchange experience andlearn from each other. They face many challenges but there
are even more answers available. Insurance used to bea country-specific business. Nevertheless, withdigitalisation progressing, it has become crucial for insurers
to expand their scope and reflect on the experience of theirpeers in other countries.

2

Tableof contents

4

It is the people
that technology
is about

5Interesting numbers

6

Closing the global
protection gap
Michał Trochimczuk

8

Simplicity and innovationmust go hand in hand with
empathy and care
Andrea Simoncelli

10

New business models require
new ways of leadership
Dorothée Appel12

AXA Direct: Japan’s

14

Friday - Tech first withinsurance DNA
Dr Christoph Samwer

15

Violet teams lead thedigital journey ofa specialty insurer

16

Strategies to accelerate
digitalisation

18

Sollers Awards
for outstanding

first agile core system
implementation
Yuji Futamura,
Hideyo Shimojima,
Genta Hatakeyama

20

Panel discussion:
Insurers are moving
to the cloud

Hubert Młodzianowski

digitalisation projects

Ben Spencer

22

Admiral: A Digital
Leader Takes Customer
Service to the Next
Level
Dan Lewis,
Karl Jones

24

Agile makes life lesspainfulMatthew Gurney

26

Insurtech Pitch:
Tensorflight,
MINTE.AI,
Flock,
Brisk,
Albany29

R&D Lab Team:
Insights into excellent
software development3

It is the people
that technology is about
The 8th edition of the Innovation in Insurance
conference focused on people as the main drivers oftechnological innovation, on the part of customers
and employees alike.
Customer focus has been a key objective for
insurance companies for many years, but with theprogress of the major technology companies, insurers
understand that they must change significantly.
During the conference, companies such as the British
Admiral Group, the German insurtech Friday and Axa
Direct Japan reported on the ways in which they are
pursuing their ambitious goals and re-invigorating
their businesses. This is not only about new productconcepts, but also about the customer experienceand the way insurance is sold. A new understandingof customer orientation is one of the reasons why
companies like Friday and Zurich are opening up
their strategy to platform-oriented business models.
Generali Poland, on the other hand, focuses on agentsas the most important interface for the customer.
Efforts in digitalisation should focus on supporting
personalised approaches in sales.

Innovation has had a fundamental impact on theinsurance industry. The mobilisation of employees
has therefore become a decisive factor. At Beazley,for example, a decision was made to break down silo
structures between business and technology teams.
Axa Direct Japan identified flexibility and having acommon goal as key elements in a project which show
how cultural differences can be overcome. At Zurich
Germany, transparency and leadership have become
important because technology is not an end itself, but
it is designed to help people. During the transformation
project of the British MGA Saga, employees havelearned to take personal responsibility and to be proudof their activities and achievements. At Admiral, focus
on employees and maintaining a start-up culture havebeen identified as essential to the company’s successstory.

the venue
The 8th edition of Innovation in Insurance was held at the Copernicus Science Centre, located on the bank of the Vistulariver. It is considered one of the most advanced museums of its kind in Europe. The permanent exhibition at the Copernicus
Science Centre consists of more than 400 interactive exhibits, including a robot theatre, a Foucault pendulum anda planetarium.

4m2 conference
space

score among
attendees

4.7/5

over
Insurance
professionals

330

cups
of coffee

800

455

16

nationalities

20th

8 Conference editionth

22
Speakers

anniversary ofSollers Consulting

6

awardedcompanies

6

InsurTechs

5

Michał Trochimczuk, Managing Partner, Sollers Consulting

Closing the global
protection gap

i m p o r ta n t ta k e aways
Growing risks will not convince people to buy more insurance
Trust and a customer-oriented approach help to close the protection gap
Trust can only be created and maintained if customers feel they arebeing treated fairly

The global protection gap has more than doubled between 2000 and2018 and is now at a record high: $1.2 trillion. The figure calculated by
Swiss Re considers two areas: natural disasters and health care, including
the risk of death. In his keynote presentation, Michał Trochimczuk,Managing Partner at Sollers Consulting, highlighted this issue in thecontext of the property, health and life insurance markets.

“

Insurers are examining new ways of interacting with customers
Entering into loss prevention means more than cost-cutting

At least part of the $1.2 trillion gap can be filled, but
only if we, as an industry, are flexible enough to bend
down for it.

Trochimczuk stressed that the way in which society perceives insurance
is far from favourable. The Urban Dictionary defines insurance as “abusiness that involves the sale of promises of payment that are neverkept”. The widespread negative perception of insurance is in sharp
contrast to the idealistic definition of a business which helps to reducerisks and give people “peace of mind”, Trochimczuk stressed. The lack oftrust on the customers’ side and the insurers’ lacking focus on customer
needs are the main causes of the protection gap.
Trochimczuk presented several innovative solutions which show
how insurers are trying to improve their interaction with customers,
including examples from Baloise Switzerland, Admiral, Axa and Zurich.
For 20 years, Sollers Consulting has been helping insurers regain theircustomers’ trust through digital transformation, he said.

“

People’s understanding of basic insurance
principles is really poor.

67Andrea Simoncelli, CEO, Generali

i m p o r ta n t ta k e aways
Technology helps insurers switch from insurance cover to services

Simplicity and innovationmust go hand in hand with
empathy and care
Andrea Simoncelli, CEO of Generali Poland, spoke about Generali’s vision of theinsurance market. Simoncelli, a manager with more than 30 years of experience,stressed that insurance is a booming industry, which is profitable but not exciting.
‘You can’t touch it, you can’t feel it, but it gives you the peace of mind,’ said Simoncelli.
However, digitalisation and innovation could make this industry a little more attractive.
Generali’s vision is that simplicity and innovation must go hand in hand with empathy
and care. ‘Technology will enable us to move from a pure protection offering to a
strategy that combines protection, prevention, support and services, tailored to theindividual needs of customers,’ he said.

“

Thanks to data and technology, our agents will be able topersonalise and tailor their offerings and bundle products

The agent channel will continue to be the most important form of
distribution
Insurance companies should look for technologies to better support
agents

The second issue raised by Simoncelli is what he called the “immortal agent”. ‘The
agent will never die,’ Simoncelli said. The agent channel has lost about 20% market
share over the last 30 years. However, according to the CEO of Generali Poland,
it is a small drop as the agent remains the most important distribution channel.
The executive believes that the agent channel will continue to decrease, but notsignificantly. In his opinion, direct sales can reach a maximum of 10-15% of sales in
Europe.

“Agents provide the human touch which makes the differencein creating a long-term relationship with our customers.
Agents should be supported by insurers to provide better
service to end customers.

which combine protection with prevention. Our unmatched
distribution network will provide advisory services with a caring
interaction - personal and digital - that will set us apart fromour competitors.

Generali’s CEO sees transformation potential in two areas:• Sales: direct, web and telephone contacts can be combined to offer a 24/7 service.
• Claims: fast claims handling is possible thanks to web and telephone services. The
use of drones offers much more precise claims assessment.

8

9

Dorothée Appel, CIO, Zurich Germany

New business models require
new ways of leadership“People as the main drivers of change” was the focal pointof the presentation given by Dorothée Appel, CIO and CDO
of Zurich Germany. ‘There are patterns in different industries
regarding the way they use technology,’ she said. ‘There is
one fundamental, though: IT should be made to help people.
This is the core goal for which we create technology,’ Appelstressed.

“

Platform companies, such as Uber, think
differently.

They

have

fundamentallychanged the way we are doing business.

There have been three main milestones concerning
digitalisation in the last decades. In the 80s and 90s
digitalisation was about process automation. Companies
introduced processes which helped to react to customer
requests faster. To that end they automated their businessprocesses. In the new millennium the focus shifted tocustomers. ‘In the 2000s everyone was focused on
customer journeys,’ Appel said.

However, fully automated processes turned out to be lessthan an ideal way of interacting with customers. Companies
started to look at touch points and personas, putting thecustomer at the centre of their business models.
Today, the insurance industry is still in the process ofimproving the customer, agent and employee experience.
Special focus is put on platform business models to create
complete solutions and to fulfil customer needs end-to-end.
‘We still think linearly, not in platforms,’ Appel said. In orderto adapt platform-based business models, partnerships
are crucial. There is a need to provide a complete package
to end users. To make it work, a lot of challenges must be
addressed. One of them is legacy in the insurance industry’s
IT landscape. At the same time, there is a need to develop
new solutions “on the fly” and build holistic transformationplans.

“

Process automation is still a core challenge
for the industry.

10

11

Yuji Futamura, Hideyo Shimojima, Genta Hatakeyama, Senior Managers AXA Japan

AXA Direct: Japan’s first agile core system implementation
Three speakers from AXA Direct Japan – Yuji
Futamura, Senior Manager of Operations,
Hideyo Shimojima, Senior Manager of Customer
Strategy and Genta Hatakeyama, Senior
Manager of Solutions Delivery – presented thecase of a digital transformation project framedaround Guidewire implementation together
with Jeremi Nazaruk, Managing Consultant at
Sollers. It was based on agile methodology,
which is unique for a project of this scale in
the Japanese insurance industry. ‘It was a big
challenge,’ explained Futamura. According tohim, it was the ambitious goal to become thenumber one direct insurer in Japan that worked
as an engine to overcome difficulties along thejourney.

“

Our goal to become the number
one direct insurer in Japan
was an engine to overcome
difficulties.
Yuji Futamura“

The agile methodology project
was a big challenge.

The aim of the two-year-long “Butterfly
project” was to offer customer-centric services
by simplifying and speeding up processes. The
20-year-old legacy system was reaching thelimit of its capacity to catch up with changing
and diversified customer needs. Its “spaghetti
architecture” blocked off quick changes
required on a competitive market. The new coresystem makes it possible to integrate external
partners, introduce changes in the system andaccelerate time-to-market for new products.
As a result of the project, many customerfriendly features were implemented, including
paperlesscommunication,
anonymous
quotation and more automated processes.
After the last step of go-live in December
2019, AXA Direct Japan has seen some quick
wins, one of which is an improved quotation
process for new customers. AXA Direct
Japan, working closely with Sollers experts
has accomplished Japan’s first successful
Guidewire agile implementation project. Witha strong and flexible core system and agile
principles, AXA Direct Japan is ready to deploy
a new customer-centric strategy to become
the top direct insurer in the near future.

i m p o r ta n t ta k e aways
Physical distance requires adjustment of working hours
Smooth communication is key to avoid misunderstandings

12

13

Dr Christoph Samwer, CEO & co-founder, Friday

Friday - Tech firstwith insurance DNA
Dr Christoph Samwer, CEO & co-founder of Friday, reported on
the insurtech’s journey to becoming the leading digital insurerin Germany. ‘The key pain point for customers is the insurance
experience,’ he said. This is dramatically different from theexpectations which leading technology companies such as
Netflix, Uber or Amazon have established. Developments
in technology and customer behaviour will influence andchange the insurance industry at an unprecedented pace.
‘Digital market leaders are setting expectations for the user
experience,’ stated Samwer.
By creating a superior digital customer experience in termsof simplicity and flexibility, Friday aims to build Germany’s
most popular mobile insurer by 2021. ‘Our strategy is mobile
first.’ Technology and data are the key factors on this path.
Friday’s car insurance is characterised by intuitiveness,differentiation and flexibility. Future product enhancements
are automatically updated for existing customers. The
insurtech can be integrated into other platforms and works
with various partners such as Roland or ATU. ‘We do not haveto build everything ourselves. We combine the best available
services,’ Samwer explained.

“

As an insurer, you must be present where
the customer is or is expecting you, evenon price portals.

From the beginning, Friday was designed and built to support
a pan-European insurtech vision. The enormous market
potential can be realised through a pan-European licence andthe underlying technology platform, which allows for rapid
expansion into new markets. Friday’s focus is on Germany until
2021, but the business model is designed to work in othercountries as well. ‘There is no reason to rush,’ said Samwer.
He announced that Friday will open a technology centre in
Warsaw to support the company’s future expansion.

“

Happy customers are good customers.

i m p o r ta n t ta k e aways
The experience with insurance companies isdramatically different from that of technology
companies.
Technology will change the insurance industry at an
unprecedented pace.
Product simplicity and flexibility are the key successfactors.

14

Ben Spencer, Group CIO , Beazley

Violet teams lead the digitaljourney of a specialty insurer
How do you digitally transform and scale a hugely successful
business which specialises in underwriting complex risks?
Ben Spencer, Group CIO of the London-based market
specialist Beazley, gave an overview of the means his teamis using in its mission to help the company grow rapidly andmake the transition to customer-focused IT solutions in the
coming years.

“

Forget about the department’s goal.

“We believe Beazley’s future depends on what we do” is themotto which Spencer’s team follows. They have decided tobreak down the existing silo structure between businessand technology teams. In his well-received presentation,
Spencer portrayed the rest of Beazley as the “blue guys”
and the technology team as the “red guys”. People who haveskills and interests in both areas and can bridge the gaps inunderstanding are referred to as the “purple people”.

A team is shown in purple when it consists of red and blue
people - cross-functional teams working towards a common
goal. Ben Spencer argues that instead of several purple
people, Beazley needs purple teams to lead change.

“

We could be a steamroller, but people don’t
usually like to be steamrolled.

i m p o r ta n t ta k e aways
Forming cross-functional project teams
Changing the workspace to facilitate teamwork
Introducing reverse mentoring: experts who train
managers in new technologies
Prioritising products over projects

15

Hubert Młodzianowski, Digital Product Manager, Sollers Consulting

Strategies to accelerate
digitalisation
Insurers are encountering speed bumps in their digitalisation efforts.
The barrier most frequently cited by executives is obsolete IT
systems, said Hubert Młodzianowski, Digital Product Manager atSollers Consulting. ‘Legacy IT architecture makes it difficult to launch
new initiatives and ties up key staff and resources in the company,’
he said. The potential for growth through customer focus lies in theuse of fast, yet powerful digital solutions.

‘In insurance, there are product-oriented systems which address
the business of insurance, regulation and compliance,’ said
Młodzianowski. These factors are all relatively stable and do notchange quickly. True customer-centricity requires a dedicated,customer-centric platform designed to change frequently.
‘Customers’ needs, or at least our understanding of them, changevery quickly,’ he said.

““

The customer-centric system we need tobuild is all about the customer, and customer
needs change very quickly.

Working with financial groups around the world, Sollers Consulting
sees the following approaches to digitalisation: Some insurers only
digitalise tactically, while others focus on technology and disruption.
Młodzianowski discussed strategies through which insurers can use
technology and at the same time prevent old IT from slowing down
digitalisation efforts.

Digital transformation is a difficult andcomplex process, and it is not going assmoothly as it could.

i m p o r ta n t ta k e aways
Insurers must design their architecture in a customeroriented manner
Customer applications must change faster than coresystems
The reuse of IT assets is the most important cost saving indigitalisation

16

17

Sollers Awards
for outstanding
digitalisation projects“

The Sollers Award recognises extraordinary
achievements of our customers. The businesssuccess of our clients is particularly important to
us and this is how we want to be measured.
Marcin Pluta, Managing Partner at Sollers Consulting.

z u r i c h g e r m a n y - Dorothée Appel, CIO at Zurich Germany accepted
the Award for the insurer’s pioneering work in digital transformation.
Grzegorz Podleśny remarked, ‘It is not easy to be the first – sometimes it iseven risky – but the opportunities of a market mover are big.’a x a d i r e c t j a pa n - The agile business transformation of
Axa Direct Japan was recognised as a first-class achievement. Michał
Trochimczuk presented the Award to Senior Managers at ADJ, Yuji
Futamura, Hideyo Shimojima and Genta Hatakeyama. ‘The agile and leanapproach enabled Axa Direct Japan to achieve business benefits. Manyagile principles originated from the project and are being applied in thecompany,’ said Trochimczuk.

18

wa r ta was singled out for “The Fastest Claims Transformation”
in a complex organisation. ‘Warta is one of the most advanced and themost successful insurance companies on the Polish market,’ emphasised
Podleśny, while Trochimczuk congratulated Agnieszka Antol, Senior Headof the System Development and Maintenance, who accepted the Award.

g e n e r a l i p o l a n d was honoured for the successful agiletransformation of its business. The Award was accepted by Piotr Bułka,
CIO at Generali Poland. Many agile principles originated from the project
and are being applied in the company, which transformed sales andservicing,’ explained Pluta.

b e a z l e y accepted the Award for its agile “Claims Transformation” in theUK. ‘The insurer is one of the digital leaders at Lloyd’s and in the London
market,’ lauded Podleśny.

p z u was recognised as a “Pioneer of Transformation in Central andEastern Europe”. ‘The business transformation of PZU laid the foundation
for further extensions and capabilities,’ remarked Podleśny.

19

Panel discussion:
Insurers are moving to the cloud
Marcin Pluta, Managing Partner, Sollers Consulting | Thorvaldur Flemming Jensen, Senior Vice President, Tia Technology |Annemarie Bruch, Director Global Strategic Advisory, Guidewire Software | Ralf Bojarra, CCO, Fadata

Insurers around the world are investing in cloud applications to increase
efficiency and meet changing customer needs. In a panel discussion,
Annemarie Bruch, Director Global Strategic Advisory at Guidewire Software,
Thorvaldur Flemming Jensen, Senior Vice President at Tia Technology,
Ralf Bojarra, CCO at Fadata, and Marcin Pluta, Managing Partner at Sollers
Consulting, talked about the challenges and opportunities for the industry.

“

Cloud computing is an important pillar of

According to Annemarie Bruch of Guidewire Software, the move to the cloud
will free up capacity and budgets. ‘Insurers will be able to focus on technology todrive their business. Insurers around the world see investment in the cloud as anopportunity to shift resource capacity to focus on strategic initiatives,’ said Bruch.
Ralf Bojarra of Fadata noted progress in not only private but also public cloudservices. ‘Within the next five years we will see an increase in the cloud readiness.
By then, we will have reached a mature market,’ concluded Bojarra.

a successful transformation strategy.
Marcin Pluta, Sollers Consulting‘Cloud vendors continue to report double-digit growth,’ said Marcin Pluta.
However, insurers, especially in Europe, are lagging behind. ‘But this is now
changing,’ said Thorvaldur Flemming Jensen of Tia Technology.

“

Regulators are questioning if the financial
industry is able to comply.
Thorvaldur Flemming Jensen, Tia Technology‘Most insurance companies are considering cloud as an option,’ he added.
Moving to the cloud will help modernise technology. ‘It makes sense toclean up the existing system landscape,’ Flemming-Jensen advised.

20

21

Dan Lewis, Head of IT Delivery, Admiral | Karl Jones, Project Manager, Admiral

Admiral: A Digital Leader Takes
Customer Service to the Next Level
Back in 1993, Admiral started their journey to take over a big chunk of the
UK insurance market. Dan Lewis, Head of IT Delivery at Admiral and Karl Jones,
Software Delivery Manager, reported on the company’s history and sharedsome of its plans. ‘Admiral launched with just one brand, zero customers and
57 members of staff,’ Lewis said. Since 1993, the company has grown into
one of the largest car insurance providers in the UK and has a group presence
consisting of 17 different brands worldwide. The Admiral Group now employs
over 11 000 staff worldwide, with 7 000 in South Wales and has more than
6.51 million customers around the world, 5.24 million of whom are in the UK.
‘It is the strive for innovation accompanied by highly dependable staff thathelps contribute to the success of the company,’ Lewis added.

“

In the 90s Customers used what could be
described as a hard copy search engine, it wascalled the Yellow Pages.

i m p o r ta n t
ta k e aways

With an increasing number of customers, Admiral had to transform its IT
landscape to support the growth. Back in 2013, investments were madeto make sure that core and back office solutions would enable further
expansion and provide even more flexibility, not only to follow market
standards but to set some of them. The next step was to concentrate on thecustomers. Currently, Admiral is undergoing further digital transformation
which puts customers at its heart. The goal is to provide clients with a vast
range of self-service capabilities and create flexible offerings and policy
administration. This is supported by great customer experience: it includes
products, processes and tools customers are served with.

“

It is our priority to take care of our employees andmaintain the start-up work culture we share.

Focus on employees andmaintain a start-up culture
Digitalisation started byoffering the first online
quotation in the UK
Investments in a modern
core system support growth
Transformation to fullcustomer-centricity

Karl Jones

Dan Lewis‘In the 90s customers used what could be described as a hard copy searchengine, it was called the Yellow Pages,’ he joked. At that time the company
utilised standard communication channels like phone or television. The early
adoption of digitalisation started in 2000 and Admiral offered quotes online
through Admiral.com and launched the first internet-only brand in the UK,
Elephant.co.uk. In 2002, they realised there was another way to serve thecustomer. Instead of wasting 40 minutes to input data for one quote, why
not put in the data once and bring back a number of quotes for the customer?
Based on this idea, Confused.com was launched to exploit that market.

22

23

Matthew Gurney, Director of the Change Program, Saga

Agile makes life less painful
Matthew Gurney, Director of the Change Program at Saga, outlined thepath the British insurer has taken in its transformation programme toshape the future together with the client. The transformation of Saga’s
core system began in late 2016, when the company moved from a legacy
system to the Guidewire insurance suite and is now live with motor
insurance, while homeowner insurance is about to be launched. Other
business lines will follow.
During the project, Saga has focused not only on external but also internalcustomers, i.e. their own teams. This has proven to be a key feature of its
strategy to implement the system. ‘By gaining insight into our customers,
we are able to understand their needs better and identify products whichmeet those needs,’ said Gurney.
The challenge was to transform a waterfall and process-driven
organisation into a modern, flexible one, capable of responding quickly tocustomer as well as changing market needs in order to deliver on scheduleand at a manageable cost. ‘We have learnt that we need a consensus –a vision to work towards, and some common goals and principles to serve
as guidelines within which we can work.’
The linear process associated with handovers and unclear accountability
has been replaced with a more dynamic one, where ownership is consistentthroughout the project. Saga even designed an Agile production room
to support the new ways of working and transformed one floor of thecontact centre into an agile working environment. ‘Agile makes life lesspainful,’ Gurney said. ‘We want a culture where everyone works together- so we had to focus on bringing teams together and breaking down silos,’he explained.

Gurney also highlighted that teams had to be multidisciplinary andmultidimensional. They need to take ownership and be proud of what
they do and achieve. That includes failure. ‘Failure is not an option, it isnecessary, but people do not like to fail,’ he observed.
Changing behaviours took a lot of effort but had a great impact. Individuals
were given a real chance to shine without hierarchical or cultural barriers.
Saga realised that the change would benefit the end customer and create
added value for the whole company.

“

Managing emotions and the team’s mood is an
important part. It makes the team stronger andbetter.

i m p o r ta n t ta k e aways
Imperfection is OK!
Learning is crucial
Dividing the work into manageable parts makes mistakes lesspainfulThe end point is improved by the pitfalls on the journey

24

25

Insurtech Pitch
Tensorflight:
AI for better risk
assessment
Tensorflight helps the P&C industry assess property risks and understand portfolio
exposures by combining machine learning and geospatial imagery. Using an automatedobject recognition system for images, Tensorflight analyses satellite, aerial and street
view imagery along with incorporating outside data sources, said Jakub Dryjas, Head ofGrowth at Tensorflight. This analysis helps to improve risk modelling accuracy, in addition toproviding tools for underwriting, reinsurance purchasing, sales performance, and entering
new markets. The solution is being utilised to analyse current portfolios of homeowner andcommercials risks in addition to incorporating the offering into the underwriting process forrenewals and new business opportunities.

“

Natural disasters can strike anytime,
anywhere. What you might not know is thatthe impact massively varies depending on

MINTE.AI:
Personal claims
automation
Nowadays, it is very important to automate the claims handling process while maintaining
high quality. Romuald Paprzycki, CEO and co-founder of MINTE.AI, presented a solution
which aims to automate and accelerate the settlement of personal claims, such as accidents
and medical events (hospital, surgery). MINTE.AI processes descriptive information from a
medical documentation scan, passes it through its universal medical model and maps
it onto an insurance policy. By reducing the involvement of medical doctors, the solution
can generate savings on operating expenses. It enables an insurer to settle a claim very
quickly and it brings transparency to the customer by delivering an unbiased, algorithmbased assessment and automatically generated reports which explain the claim decision
to the insured person. Additionally, the solution structures unstructured data from medical
documentation, which can be used later for fraud detection, insurance premium optimisationand new insurance products testing.

“

We combine AI and the vast know-how
of our medical examiners in a product for
the insurance industry.

building attributes.
Jakub Dryjas, Head of Growth at Tensorflight

Romuald Paprzycki, CEO and co-founder of MINTE.AI

26

FLOCK: Empowering thefuture of underwriting
Flock is a UK insurtech which launched Europe’s first pay-as-you-fly insurance productwith Allianz in 2018. It now insures the world’s largest drone fleets through a suite of risk
intelligence-powered insurance products. Flock is pioneering the use of real-time data ininsurance underwriting, said Antton Peña, the founder of Flock. Using real-time location-“

based data (such as weather conditions, nearby
schools, airports, notices to airmen) as well as
pilot information and drone details, the app
can intelligently price insurance premiums
for commercial and recreational pilots. The
company is now talking to major insurers globally
about how its technology can be applied toother verticals such as general aviation andautonomous vehicles.

BRISK: Transforming
Commercial Insurance
for SMEs

Flock’s product suite allows pilots to fully
customise their insurance policy to suit theirjob; this includes adjusting flight time, liability
limits and the option to include comprehensive
equipment cover. Additionally, the Flock Coverapp functions as a flight safety tool for pilots.
Real-time risks such as hyper-local weather
conditions, nearby ground hazards and restricted
airspaces are clearly displayed to the pilot before
take-off. In addition, Flock offers a predictive
risk analytics engine, which allows pilots toanticipate their risks (and book insurance) for
any flight up to 10 days in advance.

‘Brisk is a new way for small and medium-sized businesses to automate risk management and
get insurance which matches their needs and adapts as their business changes,’ said James
Russell, co-founder and CEO of Brisk. Brisk’s platform offers an AI-powered assistant for six
main areas: financial, operations, people, security, compliance, and reputation.
Information from different sources enables businesses to proactively monitor, anticipate
and protect themselves, their clients and their supplier from various threats. Brisk is taking
advantage of AI technology and the abundant availability of data to ensure that small andmedium enterprises (SMEs) are not disadvantaged compared to larger businesses. It helps
them to access data and technology which can support them in becoming more resilient andin prospering.
Algorithms analyse the data and propose accurate insurance coverage at the right price. The
solution enables insurers to offer switch-on and switch-off insurance. It automatically adapts
coverage to changes in business. Brisk’s solution supports not only business but also brokers
and agents that advise SMEs.

We started with drones, we are building a best-in-class aviation
insurance platform and now we want to work with insurers to explore
what other lines of insurance we can transform together.
Antton Peña, founder of Flock“

Small businesses haven’t got time for complex insurance
and risk management. Brisk automates these activities.
James Russell, Co-founder and CEO, Brisk

ALBANY: Revolutionising
supply chain management
Compliance oversight, management of the supply chain and providing compliance to regulators can bechallenging and time-consuming. The answer to this requirement is Albany’s solution, which provides
intelligence and compliance tools for the insurance, financial and legal sectors, said Adam Richards, COO
of Albany Group. The solution helps to manage and organise all regulatory, compliance, contractual andprofessional needs of managing an extensive supply chain, allowing companies to identify risk and staycompliant.
In the insurance world, the solution enables insurers to manage all partners across the world. Everythingis in line with its regulatory obligations, managed in a simple and intuitive way. All information anddocumentation about each partner is collected in its own dedicated self-service profile page.
Albany demonstrates that regulatory compliance can be beautifully simple. The solution allows insurers
to create a global network with its partners. At the same time, they can prove to the regulator they are
ensuring good customer outcomes, worldwide.

“

Regulatory compliance can bebeautifully simple.
Adam Richards, COO, Albany Group28

R&D Lab Team: Insights into
excellent software development“

In order to grow, companies must
be able to design, create and deploy
software quickly.
Emil Bojar, Lead Consultant, Sollers Consulting

The conference guests had many questions and engaging
discussions with the team of the Sollers R&D Lab about
its activities. The recently created team designs, develops,
tests and scales new digital solutions for insurancecompanies. They are tailored to answer the most common
problems faced by the industry. During this year’s
conference, the focus was on BATS and GoQu, two flagshipproducts from Sollers Consulting which help insurers toautomate software testing and improve code quality.
The challenges associated with excellence in softwaredevelopment are among the most important at a time when
new digital capabilities are being built at an ever-growing
pace. ‘Insurance companies are struggling to keep up withthe digitalisation efforts of other industries,’ comments
Emil Bojar, Lead Consultant at Sollers. ‘Innovation in theinsurance industry has given us a great opportunity tobetter understand our customers’ needs,’ he adds.
The discussions during the 8th Innovation in Insurance
conference focused on typical problems encounteredin IT projects and how insurers can manage and reduce
project risk by following best practices. Insurance experts
asked how Sollers Consulting addresses these issues andhow GoQu and BATS can be used by IT departments toautomate important parts of the core system development.

Keep yourcode clean
As our businesses digitise,code quality becomes
ever more significant.

Members of the Sollers R&D team presented their ideas
on how to organise IT governance in a way which best
supports innovative thinking, encourages ownership andfacilitates an Agile work culture. ‘It was a great opportunity
for us to share our ideas, knowledge and experience,’
summarised Bojar.

“

The

R&D

team

at

Sollers

Consulting supports insurers withnew products that help accelerate
digitisation.
Emil Bojar, Lead Consultant, Sollers Consulting

29

Meet and greet

30

Innovation in Insurance
in the media

31

32

We look forward
to seeing you again
at i n n o vat i o n i n i n s u r a n c e 2021
in warsaw

Sollers Consulting is an international businessadvisory and software implementation specialist
supporting the financial industry in business
transformations. Sollers Consulting teams havesupported more than 80 financial groups inenhancing their digital capabilities, including Allianz,
AXA, LV=, BNP Paribas, Cardif, Basler, Generali,
Zurich, Santander Consumer Bank, and ING.
Sollers Consulting specialises in IT systems that help
insurers, banks, and leasing companies transformand adapt to new technologies. The company offers
RIFE, a digital platform designed for the needs of theinsurance industry. Sollers Consulting cooperates
with more than 15 technology providers such as
Guidewire Software, Tia Technology, Fadata, Oracle,
AWS, and Microsoft. Approximately 600 businessand IT specialists from Warsaw, Lublin, Poznan,
Cologne, Tokyo, and Copenhagen are helping
financial institutions in Germany, Great Britain,
Poland, Scandinavia, and many other countries reap
the benefits of digitalisation.

Sollers Consulting Sp. z o.o.
ul. Koszykowa 54,
00-675 Warszawa
www.sollers.eu

innovation@sollers.eu