Regtech

Digital Transformation And Cybersecurity Are Top Concerns Of CROs

									by Company Announcement
October 20, 2017

7   8

Risk management functions within financial services organizations are primarily concerned with cybersecurity and data-related risks at their firms, according to the EY and Institute of International Finance (IIF) eighth annual global bank risk management survey of Chief Risk Officers (CROs): Restore, rationalize and reinvent: a fundamental shift in the way banks manage risk.
Cybersecurity has surged as a concern with respondents, with 77% claiming it is one of the most important risks over the next year, a 22% increase since the 2015 survey. In addition, a majority of the banks surveyed (86%) cited data-related risks (availability, integrity, etc.) as a top emerging risk over the next five years.
image via ey.com/bangkingrisk
Tom Campanile, Partner, Financial Services Office, Ernst & Young LLP, says:

Tom Campanile
“Banks have reached an inflection point in risk management. How banks navigate emerging risks and opportunities presented by technological innovations will dictate their ability to thrive over the next decade. Risk leaders recognize that data is both a risk and a major opportunity. Being able to manage multiple challenges and changes simultaneously will distinguish leaders in the industry, especially as cyber threats and digital disruption continue to impact banks globally.”
Respondents noted that with ever-present cyber threats and digital disruption taking place, risk and compliance functions are prioritizing key tasks. The top critical roles within risk and compliance functions are: helping to identify risks and align strategic efforts with risk tolerance (71%), offering guidance on laws and regulations that could be interpreted as relevant to new technologies, products or services (49%) and providing review and approval prior to product launch (47%).

Andrés Portilla, Managing Director of the Regulatory Affairs Department at IIF, says:

Andrés Portilla
“CROs and anyone who works in the risk function have to be much closer to the business lines with a more proactive mindset. Banks depend on people to implement, maintain and protect systems and data. Data will help identify and address emerging risks as well as inform strategic and everyday decisions. But data itself is also a source of risk, either from a data protection, integrity or fraud perspective, and risk managers have a key role to play in keeping a balance between leveraging the new technologies as much as possible within their organizations and keeping the associated risks within their risk appetite.”
Banks are embracing new technologies such as blockchain, robotic process automation (RPA), chatbots and more. Survey respondents expect new techniques and technologies will drive down costs in risk management, notably through the use of automation (87%), digitization (64%), machine learning (59%) and risk models using artificial intelligence (AI) (57%). When it comes to implementing new technologies to drive digital transformation, the top three concerns of respondents are cybersecurity and shortage of IT resources/talent (both 64%) and also, cost (52%).
Campanile says:
“Over time, risk functions will have to leverage technology to improve risk management, and become technology innovators, rather than spectators. Banks will have to rethink how they manage risks, what risks need to be managed and what new types of talent will be required.”
For further information, view the report at ey.com/bankingrisk

Featured image via ey.com/bangkingrisk

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

Bandboo’s New P2P Excess Protection Eases The Sting Of Accident Insurance

									by Company Announcement
October 26, 2017

Bandboo, a Singapore-based insurance technology platform startup, announced a new product to protect drivers from costly car excess insurance payments.
Insurance excess, the payment drivers are liable to pay towards a claim made on a car insurance policy, can be significant. Bandboo’s membership-based Car Excess Insurance provides drivers with added protection by reducing or eliminating the excess by providing a pay-out equivalent to the excess charged, up to S$4,000.

Ashley Kee
“While Singapore roads are among the safest in the region, accidents can still happen from time to time. For those who make a living by driving, the risk of an accident occurring inevitably increases as they spend more time on the road.

When this happens, not only is there a loss of income, but they may also be slapped with expensive insurance excess liabilities. This is even more pronounced for independent private hire drivers,”

said Mr Ashley Kee, CEO and co-founder of Bandboo.

“Bandboo’s affordable Car Excess Insurance seeks to take away one of the worries that concern these drivers, giving them peace of mind so they can remain alert and focused while on the road.”
Bandboo’s Car Excess Insurance puts all premium payments, which range from as low as S$4.50 to S$9.00 a day, into a secure common pool. Claims are paid out from the pool, and tracked in a ledger that provides an open, accountable trail that cannot be tampered with.
Pricing structure | image via bandboo.co
At the end of the month, all remaining premiums in the pool are returned to customers. The shared ledger tracks all transactions into and out of the pool, allowing members to see, in real-time,  the number of members, premiums and claims, and to estimate the amount of cash back they will receive each month.
As all unconsumed premiums are returned, Bandboo covers its costs by charging a membership fee of 12% of the monthly premium amount, which goes towards the technology infrastructure, processing of claims and other operating costs.
Mr Kee continued,
“Having open ledgers ensures that our premium and payout records are highly transparent. They also allow us to give our members cash back on the unused portion of the premium pool with an extremely high level of accuracy and trust. This assures our members that they have been treated fairly and with honesty.”

To learn more about Bandboo’s Car Excess Insurance and how it works, please visit http://www.bandboo.co/.

Featured image via Bandboo facebook page

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Regtech

Regtech Turns Investor Protection Requirements Into Advantage

									by Gino Wirthensohn
November 8, 2017

3   4

Regulatory Technology (RegTech) solutions can help investment firms to meet suitability requirements. Swiss RegTech start-up Riskifier provides in addition to the investor risk profile behavioural and social insights through a user centric experience to empower better investment decisions.
Investor protection in the focus
Across the globe investor protection frameworks have been further strengthened or are in the process of. A key element of investor protection is the collection of data about clients and the subsequent assessment that an investment product is suitable.
Demand for customer centricity as a challenge for compliance driven processes
While regulated entities must adhere to these regulatory requirements customers are demanding short and hassle-free processes to consume requested banking products and services. FinTech’s and Challenger Banks are providing their services with a strong focus on user-experience whereas traditional financial service provider are more risk averse and have built their processes along regulatory requirements.
These established players have a disadvantage in targeting specific customer segments such das digital natives and tend to offer standardised products offerings while younger generation may have different expectations and needs. Complex legacy systems and processes further increase the costs for additional documentation requirements such as updating of risk profiles.

Current suitability assessments may be ineffective
Outcome of studies in behavioural finance have shown that some of the current suitability assessments may be ineffective if client’s behavioural biases (e.g. mental accounting or loss aversion) are not taken into accounts.
Behavioural finance theories focus on the specific risk perception of an individual investor (taking into account both individual psychological characteristic and the emotional sphere) while classical finance theory considers risk as an objective measure (ESMA, Consultation Paper, certain aspects of the MiFID II suitability requirements, 2017).
Using technology for fostering customer relationships
An ideal investor risk profiling process should therefore deliver a bias-free risk assessment through an effortless user experience while collecting all required information in a short time frame. This can be achieved by introducing gamified elements for the data collection and applying questions which are addressing latest results in behavioural finance research.
Sourcing of social media data upon user consent can shorten the data collection process and can deliver additional insights about user’s likes and preferences to find the best investment products not only in line with the risk profile. Built-in consistency checks enhance the quality of the data and prevent manual adjustments in a later stage while an automated update process of the profiling saves time and money.
Test the Riskifier Solution and meet the Co-Founders
Recognized as one of the world’s most innovative RegTech companies, Swiss based start-up Riskifier has created a prototype of a new suitability assessments using a user centric chatbot experience.
Riskifier is combining social media, behavioural finance and artificial intelligence to create personalised investor profiles with social and behavioural insights which empowers investors as well as financial advisor to make better investment decisions.
Meet the Co-Founders of Riskifier (Gino Wirthensohn and Jelena Jakovleva) during the Singapore FinTech Festival at the booth of F10 Incubator & Accelerator and see how investor risk profiling can be turned into a user engaging experience providing more insights for better investment decisions.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

Better Protection For Fintech Startups With Free Coverage From Prudential

									by Company Announcement
November 10, 2017

16   3

To support fintech entrepreneurs in strengthening their safety net and managing risk better, Prudential Singapore (Prudential) is partnering with the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA) to offer its members complimentary Group Personal Accident coverage for a year.
This initiative is targeted at supporting young startups established in Singapore within the last five years. Such companies have less than ten employees on average and are usually run by the founders themselves.
These entrepreneurs tend to overlook provisioning for adequate personal insurance coverage for themselves and their employees especially in the first critical years of operations.
To help close their protection gap, Prudential is extending personal accident protection with coverage of S$350,000 to employees of the startups registered with SFA. The plan provides 24-hours, worldwide coverage against accidental death and injury and no medical underwriting is required.

Mr. Wilf Blackburn, CEO of Prudential Singapore, said Prudential’s support of SFA’s members is in recognition of the tremendous value and vibrancy that fintech startups bring to Singapore’s insurance industry and financial ecosystem.
There are now some 1,600 to 2,400 tech startups seeking and creating opportunities in Singapore with many having set up shop here following the rollout of the Smart Nation masterplan  in 2014.

Wilf Blackburn
“Fintechs play an important role in the development of Singapore’s financial services industry as they create innovative solutions that enrich the lives of consumers and the community. At Prudential,  collaboration with fintechs forms a key pillar of our digital roadmap to deliver better customer experiences, enhance efficiency and help people meet their life goals,”
said Mr. Blackburn.

This is Prudential’s second boost to the local fintech community following the introduction of its PRU Fintegrate Partnership programme through which it collaborates with fintechs to develop new digital solutions. Mr Blackburn said that in doing so the company has gained a deeper appreciation of the challenges startups face in establishing and growing their businesses.
“Having insurance will give startups the peace of mind to focus on what they do best, which is to innovate, test new ideas and develop solutions for customers. This coverage should grow in tandem with the company as it matures and expands its footprint and employee base,”
he said.
The SFA which has more than 200 active members is a cross-industry, non-profit initiative which facilitates collaboration between stakeholders in the fintech ecosystem. Mr. Chia Hock Lai, President of the SFA, said that the organisation is committed to helping fintechs build sustainable businesses.

Chia Hock Lai
“The partnership with Prudential Singapore provides vital reassurance to our members at an early stage in their business. It means one less factor to consider as they grow. With support from Prudential, the SFA can continue their commitment to help fintechs in the region accelerate their businesses”
said Mr. Chia.
As part of their agreement, Prudential and SFA will explore insurance education and awareness- raising initiatives for fintechs. SFA members who require wider insurance coverage will also be able to seek advice from Prudential Financial Consultants knowledgeable in enterprise solutions.
Prudential’s offering to SFA members is in line with the insurer’s commitment to help companies in managing employee well-being and business risk with its range of enterprise solutions. To find out more, visit http://www.prudential.com.sg.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

Insurance Claims Assessment In Seconds Soon A Reality For Prudential Singapore Prushield Policyholders

									by Company Announcement
November 13, 2017

24   3

Prudential Singapore (Prudential) is leading a step change in the way insurance claims are made with its trial of an industry-first, machine learning-based solution that assesses claims in seconds.
It sits at the core of a new customer e-claims platform which Prudential is making available to selected policyholders on a trial-basis.
The first phase of the trial, set to commence in late November 2017, will focus on automating the processing of PRUshield pre- and post- hospitalisation claims from eight major hospitals. These form the bulk of the 14,000 paper bills and receipts that Prudential’s claims assessors review each month.
The trial will simplify the process by allowing participants to upload scans or images of bills and invoices through the PRUaccess customer portal. This will significantly reduce the time that claims assessors spend on handling paper-based submissions. The system’s intelligent decision-making capabilities aim to progressively shorten the claims assessment time from seven days down to mere seconds by the time the trial ends in the first half of 2018.

Ms. Theresa Nai, Chief Operating Officer at Prudential, said the move towards high precision, data-driven decision-making is part of the company’s wider digital roadmap to improve productivity and make insurance simpler for customers.
“We are continuously working on new technology solutions such as e-claims that will increase the convenience for our customers. Internally, e-claims cuts down the amount of manual work required and enables our people to focus on more meaningful customer engagement initiatives,”
she said.
Intelligent e-claims solution powered by machine-learning Once a participant uploads and submits a claim on the trial e-claims system, the inbuilt text-mining engine identifies and categorises payable and non-payable line items. Then, the intelligent machine-learning engine assesses the validity of the claim and recommends an outcome (approve, partial approve or decline) and the payment amount.
The system has already been trained and back-tested using claims data from the last two years and has reached a good level of accuracy. In the first phase of the trial, claims assessors will review the machine’s recommendations and provide feedback to the engine for continuous learning until it reaches an optimal level of confidence.
Prudential intends to fully launch the e-claims platform with straight-through processing capability in the second half of 2018.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

Tokio Marine Insurance Chatbot Now the First to Recruit Digitally Savvy Advisers

									by Company Announcement
December 6, 2017

23   3

Tokio Marine Life Insurance Singapore, the only Japanese life insurer in Singapore, launched the recruitment function in the latest phase of its TOMI chatbot (short for Tokio Marine Insurance).
This makes TOMI the first chatbot in Singapore to support an insurer’s recruitment process, on top of being the first self-learning AI chatbot in Singapore that makes life insurance more accessible to the public.
Aimed at enhancing the insurer’s engagement with today’s digitally savvy generation in recruitment, TOMI now answers more than 300 questions on how to pursue a career as a financial adviser. It also provides information that is typically not accessible to the public, including required qualifications, the training involved and even hiring preferences. The chatbot continues to be accessible at all times through commonly-used social media platform Facebook Messenger.

James Tan
“Advisers play an important role in supporting Singaporeans in managing their financial planning and insurance coverage. We are always looking for talented individuals who are keen to help people plan the necessary coverage for themselves and their loved ones,”
said James Tan, Chief Executive Officer of TMLS.

“TOMI will help us reach out to these potential talents more quickly and easily, through familiar communication channel Facebook Messenger, and encourage them to join us as advisers.”
TOMI facebook chat
To help users who are uncertain about a career in insurance, TMLS introduced a short interactive quiz on TOMI that briefly evaluates the user’s interests and personality. TOMI also now provides information on upcoming recruitment events, organised multiple times a year, to encourage interested individuals to personally engage with TMLS.
To access TOMI’s recruitment function, users may go to TOMI’s main menu and select the tab “Ask Career”. Alternatively, the function can also be accessed via the “Ask Career” section on the main menu of TOMI.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech
Malaysia

Malaysian Insurtech Company, Fatberry Launches

									by Vincent Fong
December 8, 2017

48   1

Malaysia’s insurtech company, FatBerry.com launched a digital marketplace for insurance providing Malaysians with a way to get insured in two minutes. In conjunction with the launch, FatBerry.com also announced its partnership with Tune Protect Malaysia, the an online retail portal of the General Insurance market in Malaysia.
Fatberry.com is an Insurtech start-up which encourages and helps users in finding and purchasing the best-fit insurance online through a fast and intuitive chatbot-like interface.

During the launch, Priscilla Lim, CEO, Fatberry commented, “FatBerry believes in empowering end-to-end consumers to make effective decisions, by providing this platform of convenience that helps consumer to save time and money”

The partnership defines FatBerry’s and TuneProtect’s mission to empower consumers by providing an innovative digital purchase platform for insurance in this increasingly tech-savvy world.  The collaboration will kick start with Tune Protect’s personalised general insurance products offered on Fatberry.com – namely Motor Insurance, Travel Insurance and PA Insurance.
“Our partnership will provide consumers with an easy-to-use online tool to understand and find the right insurance. FatBerry’s technology platform is truly innovative, fast and user-friendly” said General Manager of the Region Representative of Tune Protect Malaysia, Mr Choo Hock Soon.
With the detariffication of the insurance industry in Malaysia since July 2017, FatBerry believes in providing transparency and options to consumers via its online interface that can help consumers make informed decisions. The simple to navigate consumer dashboard also enables consumers to retrieve their quote and policies online easily.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

Singapore Online Insurer announces 200% YoY Revenue Growth from Online Sales

									by Company Announcement
December 14, 2017

3   3

Etiqa, an Online Insurer from Singapore, is helping accelerate Singapore’s smart nation transformation by launching new services and integrations.
Etiqa is the first insurer to integrate with ‘MyInfo’, a digital data vault launched by Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) and the Ministry of Finance. With this, over 3.3 million consumers on SingPass can purchase insurance in record time.
In addition, Etiqa has also collaborated with DBS Bank on instant claims payment capabilities to launch Etiqa’s eWallet service, enabling consumers across multiple banks to instantly credit and encash insurance claims online, in real time. This streamlines the standard two-week claims payment process from cheque preparation to receipt.
The launch caps off a record year for Etiqa, which has seen more than 200 percent annual growth in online revenues from its financial products as of Nov 2017, given the increasing number of consumers in Southeast Asia purchasing insurance online. In 2017, Etiqa has helped more than 70,000 customers purchase products online, and successfully approved more than 90% of submitted claims within one day.

“The shift from offline to online plays to Etiqa’s strength as among the most innovative digital insurers in Asia and the market leader in Singapore. Our status as the first online insurer to integrate with MyInfo and our efforts to leverage market-first digital capabilities leveraging on Application Programming Interface (API) from DBS further cement our commitment towards improving the customer experience as we capitalize on growth opportunities in the online insurance industry,”
said Sue Chi Kong, Chief Executive Officer of Etiqa Insurance Pte. Ltd.
Integration with MyInfo
With Etiqa’s online life insurance sales platform now integrated with MyInfo, new customers no longer need to encode government-verified personal particulars into forms and submit supporting documents such as the long-term pass or proof of address when purchasing online life products.
Launched by GovTech and the Ministry of Finance in 2016, MyInfo consolidates personal data from seven public agencies including the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
By compiling personal information into a single repository, MyInfo spares users from the hassle of having to manually key-in data when filling up forms for different services. By the end of 2017, all 3.3 million users of SingPass will automatically be enrolled in MyInfo, as part of the government’s Smart Nation initiative.
eWallet on TiqConnect
Existing customers can now enjoy instant payouts via eWallet for claims or policy cancellation refunds as the electronic service leverages on DBS’s new application programming interface (API), DBS IDEAL RAPID. Through DBS IDEAL RAPID, existing customers can enjoy a significant reduction in insurance claims processing time: they no longer have to wait for the industry standard of two weeks, as the manual, cheque-based process is moved online.

Benjamin Yeo
“We are pleased to support Etiqa in delivering a seamless digital insurance claim experience for policyholders and reducing the industry’s reliance on cheques. This will help enhance operational efficiencies for the insurance sector, as well as support the nation’s goal of becoming a Smart Nation,”
said Benjamin Yeo, Managing Director and Head of Insurance Coverage at DBS Bank.

Currently, eWallet via DBS IDEAL RAPID is available to 19 major banks in Singapore, including DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and United Overseas Bank.
eWallet’s initial roll-out will focus on travel-related claims. It is available on TiqConnect, Etiqa’s new online self-service portal that enables existing customers to submit policy cancellation and endorsement and renew policies online.
“By allowing consumers to purchase new policies and solutions and encash claims online, Etiqa is eliminating pain points, including long processing periods, to better respond to our consumers’ needs. Our goal is to drive rapid digital transformation within the insurance sector, and in doing so, we hope to significantly enhance the lifestyles of all our consumers,”
added Sue.

Featured image via Etiqa Facebook page

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

Why the Insurance Industry needs to Digitalise

									by Jan Weiser
December 21, 2017

10   4

Digitalisation benefits the entire insurance industry.
From simplifying complex policies and streamlining approval processes, digitalisation can have a positive impact on all parties including customers, agents and brokers.
On the internet, 80%1 of local financial research is largely centered on insurance policies as customers gather more information before committing to a purchase. As a result, it has become crucial for insurers to provide a strong digital experience for customers.
However, a recent global study found that over 58%2 of senior-level executives in the insurance industry believe they are behind other financial services when implementing digital technologies. This indicates a significant gap between the industry norm and what customers look for. To leverage the benefits of digitalisation for the insurance industry, it is key for insurers to understand how they can best adopt digital technologies to provide customers with a personalized service experience.

Implementing digitalisation effectively
To begin with, there are several touch points along the customer journey where digital offerings can most prominent feature in pre-sales, sales and post-sales. In order to generate greater traction online and secure customer interest, insurers can consider implementing an engaging and interactive pre-sales segment. This may be achieved through mobile and online apps, games, and quizzes. Upon capturing the customer’s interest, insurers can offer tailored product configurations and deliver competitive individualised offers to cater to the customer’s needs.
On the customer-facing front, extensive product training used to be a key requirement for most insurance agents, bank agents or brokers. However, today we are also increasingly seeing that technical product knowledge can be embedded directly in their sales tools. On the internal back-end systems, digitalization can be applied by optimising the sales process, using chatbots to deliver instant online assistance or deploying artificial intelligence for customised fact-finding and needs-analysis.
Although many insurers have developed end-to-end processes including e-signing and e-submission, this has not yet been seamlessly implemented for more complex life insurance cases. However, with greater advances in technology, more holistic integration of insurance processes can be expected in the near future. Post-sales, digitalisation can also deliver a unified service experience through claims processing apps and tools or loyalty programmes that can more effectively manage and upsell the services.
Leveraging the human connection
online finance via pexels
With easy access to the internet, it is becoming more commonplace for consumers to purchase simpler policies like motor, travel, basic savings, health and life insurance through online insurance platforms.
For more comprehensive insurance policies, customers still visit agents, brokers and banks to get more insight.
At this stage, digitalisation comes into play as technology can go a long way in reducing complexity for the customer, ultimately making the product easier to sell.
The entire customer experience is enhanced with the help of digital technology. As insurance policies become easier to purchase online, it then becomes key for insurers to deliver a differentiated and more personalised experience to customers.
Understanding data analytics and AI
Analytics statistic via Pixabay
Data analytics and artificial intelligence are already the buzzwords for forward-looking insurers. For the intermediary segment, the mandatory fact-finding and needs-analysis process is rapidly becoming more intuitive, customised and engaging.
Although the implementation of data analytics and AI is not yet widespread within the industry, it has been increasingly integrated into the digital insurance sales process. For example, when querying for information such as age, income, and preferences – AI is being applied by streamlining the dialogue and recommending the right products.
Insurers can also leverage on data analytics of the customer purchasing behavior and use product and price anchors or smart comparators to help guide the customer towards a more confident purchasing decision. Overall, insurers will be able to employ data analytics and AI in other key processes of the customer engagement process in the future.
Digitalisation has already begun to change the face of the insurance industry, and agents can increasingly devote their efforts towards articulating more complex insurance policies. Straightforward insurance needs such as travel or motor policies will increasingly be phased online. As a whole, insurers need to focus on delivering optimal digital experiences to customers to win majority market share, especially with tech-savvy consumers.

Featured image via Pixabay

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

Singapore Life to Acquire the Business Portfolio of Zurich Life Singapore

									by Fintech News Singapore
January 8, 2018

12   1

Singapore’s newest life insurer Singapore Life Pte. Ltd. (Singapore Life) and Zurich Life Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (Zurich Life Singapore) have announced an agreement for Singapore Life to acquire the business portfolio of Zurich Life Singapore.
Under this agreement, Singapore Life will become responsible for all Zurich Life Singapore’s customers’ policies, totaling approximately SGD6 billion of coverage for life, critical illness, and disability benefits.
This agreement follows Zurich Life Singapore’s closure to new business in December 2015 and does not affect any of Zurich’s other life or commercial Insurance businesses in Singapore, including Zurich International Life Limited (Singapore Branch) and Zurich Insurance Company Ltd. (Singapore Branch). The transfer of all Zurich Life Singapore’s policies to Singapore Life is expected to be completed in the first half of 2018, subject to confirmation by the High Court.
All policyholders who transfer to Singapore Life will continue to have the existing terms and conditions of their policies upheld and will enjoy the same service level as existing Singapore Life customers – including 24/7 access to their policies online.

They can take full advantage of online capabilities to manage their policies – either on their own or together with their financial advisers. All existing relationships between customers and their financial advisers will be maintained as well.
 Customers who are impacted will receive further information from Zurich Life Singapore and Singapore Life regarding the personal details of their transfer in early 2018.
 Mr Walter de Oude, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Life, said:

Walter de Oude
“Singapore Life is thrilled to offer a new home to Zurich Life Singapore’s customers, and to continue enhancing their experience of owning insurance for many years to come. Singapore Life is built on the belief that technology will create a better kind of insurance company. Everybody needs life insurance and Singapore Life, being a digital insurer, makes it a better and easier experience.”

“Bringing this portfolio of customers into that of Singapore Life’s is exactly in line with our strategy to accelerate quickly in becoming a preferred Singaporean insurance company for our customers’ needs. With the strong support from our shareholders, we are confident that this agreement will demonstrate Singapore Life’s aspirations for significant growth and positively contribute to Singapore’s insurance industry and beyond. We will continue to look for further acquisitions over time,”

de Oude continued.
Mr David Kneale, Chief Executive Officer, Zurich Life Singapore, said:

David Kneale
“This decision is in line with Zurich’s strategy to optimise its portfolio and geographical footprint, and follows an extensive process to ensure that existing policyholder terms and conditions are safeguarded. We are confident our customers will continue to enjoy a high level of service and security with Singapore Life.

We remain fully committed to growing our commercial insurance business in Singapore and maintaining excellent customer service for our international life customers who are not impacted by the transfer.”

Featured image via singlife.com

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Regtech

The Singapore Academy of Law Launches Future Law Innovation Programme

									by Company Announcement
January 11, 2018

4   4

The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) launched its Future Law Innovation Programme (FLIP), a two-year pilot programme to encourage the adoption of technology, drive innovation and create a vibrant ecosystem for legal technology.
FLIP was announced last July by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon at SAL’s annual Appreciation Dinner.
It aims to bring together lawyers, technopreneurs, investors, academics, and regulators, in an initiative that will support the development of the model for the delivery of legal services in the future economy. FLIP comprises three components, the first two of which are part of today’s launch.
They are a Legal Innovation Lab located in the Collision 8 co-working space across the road from the Supreme Court, and a virtual collaboration platform called LawNet Community. The third component, South East Asia’s first legal tech accelerator to groom promising legal tech start-ups, will be launched in April.

To date, 31 participants from 23 entities have signed up for FLIP. These range from large law firms (such as Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP and Dentons Rodyk & Davidson), small law firms (including ECYT Law LLC and Consigclear LLC), to local and international legal tech enterprises like SingaporeLegalAdvice.com, LexQuanta, MyLawyer and Zegal (formerly Dragon Law), as well as in-house counsel from Discovery Networks and BNP Paribas.
Participants may enroll in a maximum of three tracks – “Lighten-up!” for smaller law firms that want to leverage technology to operate a lean back-end; “Ideate!” which brings together lawyers and technopreneurs to collaborate on legal innovation, and “Accelerate!”, a 100-day acceleration programme to help promising tech-based legal enterprises start-ups scale up their business.
Mr Paul Neo, SAL’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, said:
“We are encouraged by the strong response from the legal community to the FLIP initiative. Over three-quarters of the planned capacity for the pilot programme have been taken up in a short time and we have no doubt more will join as the programme gains momentum.
“We look forward to working with the first batch of participants to take advantage of the digital disruption that is transforming many industries and professions.”
To assist FLIP participants in technology adoption and innovation, SAL is partnering the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Singapore Management University (SMU). Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) were signed between the parties, with SMU in the morning, and IMDA’s at the FLIP launch in the evening.
SMU will be SAL’s academic partner for issues relating to legal innovation and the future business of law. The University will collaborate with FLIP on several fronts, including student and curriculum development, thought leadership, as well as case studies and research.
SMU School of Law will co-host dialogues and seminars with SAL, develop thought leadership through case studies and research on future law topics, and explore the possibility of curating modular executive education programmes to support leadership and/or legal innovation for FLIP participants. SMU undergraduates will also have the opportunity to do internships with SAL and firms participating in FLIP, as well as participate in FLIP-based consulting projects through the University’s experiential and multi-disciplinary SMU-X modules.
One of the projects SMU students have been working on involved helping to collate the catalogue of 100 legal industry problem statements from legal counsel, paralegals, other supporting staff and service providers, as well as consumers of legal services, such as corporates, SMEs and private clients.
Associate Professor Goh Yihan, Dean of SMU School of Law, said:

Goh Yihan
“The impact of technology on the legal landscape is clear. We are very pleased therefore to play our part and contribute our academic expertise as Singapore’s legal profession transforms in response to technology.
In the area of research, SMU’s partnership with SAL will certainly catalyse the development of insights into future law topics which will be meaningful, relevant and impactful to the fraternity.
In legal education, we have begun to explore incorporating technology-related issues in our legal curriculum, and thus we value this opportunity for SMU undergraduates to be involved in SAL’s FLIP initiatives, as these platforms broaden their perspectives and expose our future lawyers to the possibilities of innovation in the legal sector.”
FLIP will work with IMDA on two projects under the MOU. The first project will involve FLIP and IMDA working together to build up a team of legal technologists. They will be trained in the latest IT tools for law practices and equipped with current cyber security and system integration know-how. They can be deployed to law firms to help identify existing issues in their business processes, recommend improvements and adopt appropriate technology tools.
Initially, this will be through a lite Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) toolkit developed by FLIP in close consultation with industry and the Law Society; with the expectation that such collaboration will catalyze the development of new job roles within the legal sector and new legal technology services which smaller law firms can tap on. Deployment of both the technologists and the lite BPR toolkit is targeted to commence in the first half of 2018, supported by students from SMU and other universities.
The second project builds on the 100 legal industry problem statements from SMU. Together with IMDA, FLIP will look to share and compare these problem statements with other professional industries as part of a cross industry approach. The intent is for solution providers to identify multi-sectoral opportunities and be encouraged to develop solutions that have applications across sectors for greater synergy and economic potential.
Mr Tan Kiat How, Chief Executive, IMDA, said:

Tan Kiat How
“IMDA believes that every business needs to be a digital business to remain relevant and to seize growth opportunities. We are encouraged by the legal community’s participation in the FLIP programme, which aims to identify key challenges in the legal sector and source for innovative solutions for these pain points.
Through FLIP, we aim to equip our law firms with the best practices and technologies for them to be globally competitive.”
SAL’s Mr Neo said:
“It is our vision to extend the legal ecosystem in FLIP to the wider community. We are grateful for the support that IMDA and SMU have given us. The digital transformation of the legal sector is a long process and its success relies on the collective efforts of organisations in and outside of the legal sector.”
FLIP is part of the Legal Technology Vision, a five-year roadmap by SAL for the digital transformation oput together by representatives from the Judiciary, the Ministry of Law, Attorney-General’s Chambers and private sector lawyers, is a call to action for lawyers to become part of the digital disruption that faces the legal industry today.

Featured image via https://www.flip.org.sg/

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Regtech

Swiss Regtech Netguardian Establishes APAC Base In Singapore

									by Company Announcement
February 5, 2018

5   6

Swiss Fintech company NetGuardians is inaugurating a new Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore to boost its capacity to bring innovative solutions to more financial institutions in the region.
NetGuardians is recognized globally as a leader in the fight against cyber fraud and financial crime. Their unique technology leverages machine learning and user behavior analytics to detect fraud before it happens.
This patented, Big Data model is used across financial services to address challenges such as eBanking fraud, payment fraud, mBanking fraud, internal fraud and fraud detection for SWIFT Hacking.
The official inauguration of the NetGuardians Asia Pacific offices wasmarked by a cocktail event on February 1st, with opening remarks by Emilija Georgieva, Deputy Head of Mission Embassy of Switzerland and NetGuardians CEO Joel Winteregg.

Joel Winteregg

“Cyber fraud is expected to reach 6 trillion USD by 2021,”
says Winteregg.
“The Asia Pacific region is far from immune to these global trends.”

Raffael Maio
“APAC Financial institutions are very attuned to the need for airtight fraud prevention solutions,”
concurs NetGuardians co-founder and COO Raffael Maio.
“Our clients here appreciate the quality of our made-in-Switzerland solutions, because of our banking know-how and agility to rapidly provide use cases to meet evolving fraud trends.”

Maio recently relocated to Singapore to lead the 10-person strong team, which also includes APAC Sales Director Peter Marini.  He says that the island state is an ideal base for Asia Pacific operations, with its centrality and recognized position as a technology hub.
With more than fifty clients in fifteen countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, NetGuardians has a growing clientele in Asia, including Acleda Bank in Cambodia and, most recently, a major bank in Singapore. They currently partner with Ernst & Young Singapore and are looking to establish further strategic partnerships.
NetGuardians was recently named one of the Chartis RiskTech 100 2018 vendors. The RiskTech100 Rankings are globally acknowledged as the most comprehensive and independent study of the world’s major players in risk and compliance technology.

Featured image via Pixabay

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Regtech

Partnership to Shape the RegTech Ecosystem in Southeast Asia and Japan

									by Company Announcement
February 14, 2018

9

RegPac Revolution headquartered in Singapore and Japan-based encognize have announced a co-operation agreement to support and accelerate the innovation and adoption of Regulatory Technologies, RegTech, in both countries through a program of joint-initiatives.
The objectives of the collaboration are to:

Run an exchange visit between Singapore and Japan to introduce RegTech companies into their respective countries and assist them with their go-to-market strategy
Co-create guidelines allowing solutions to be tailored to the needs of the local market
Liaise with governments and regulators for trade missions and road shows
Collaborate on specific themes and topics in the regulatory space for events, seminars and workshops
Facilitate cross-border knowledge exchange

Regtech Academy
As a first joint-initiative, both companies have announced the launch of the RegTech Academy (www.regtechacademy.com) with the mission to educate the Financial Services Industry on the importance of RegTech and its most recent trends.

The first 8h class, the RegTech Foundation Course, is scheduled for March 1st in Tokyo. It aims at providing the basic understanding on Regulatory Technologies, from scope of applications to underlying technologies to concrete use cases and common adoption challenges.
Mona Zoet, Founder and CEO of RegPac, said:

Mona Zoet
“We are very pleased with this bilateral partnership and excited to work together. We see Japan as one of the most prominent growing countries within the RegTech space in Asia and feel that encognize complements and shares the same values and mission statement that we have chosen last year when we revamped our brand and became a separate legal entity.
With encognize as our partner in Japan, we are confident that we will be able to build bridges much more efficiently and effectively between the two countries as well as really share knowledge, develop the RegTech ecosystem and boost awareness about the importance of RegTech at a more regional and global scale”.

Bruno Abrioux-Takano, Founder and CEO of encognize, commented:

Bruno Abrioux-Takano
“Facing an increased regulatory pressure at home and abroad, most of the Japanese Financial Institutions understand the urgent need to gain efficiency in their risk and compliance functions while keeping related costs under control. However, from what I could assess so far, very few have a clear view on how digital technologies can help them achieve this goal.

Featured image via Pixabay

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

ClaimConnect: Aviva Singapore Digitises Claims Process for Group Insurance Customers

									by Fintech News Singapore
March 15, 2016

Aviva, a leading insurer in Singapore, has introduced Aviva ClaimConnect – a mobile application and portal designed exclusively for its group insurance policyholders. It enables users to locate their nearest panel clinic with ease, and eliminates reliance on paperwork by allowing them to submit employee insurance claims electronically.
Aviva ClaimConnect
The key features of Aviva ClaimConnect are as follows:
Locate the nearest panel clinic in either a list or map view for easy navigation to the clinic
Submit claims electronically with scans of the relevant documents using the camera function on your phone (no additional paperwork required)

Receive updates on the status of claims via instant notifications
Access details of your company coverage for you and your dependants
Claims calculator to determine the claimable amounts of your hospital bill, based on your company’s coverage
View your claims history as well as your dependants’
No longer necessary to carry a physical employee benefits card when visiting a panel doctor (all your details are held on the e-employee health benefits card as part of the mobile app)
‘Digital First’ strategy
In December 2015, Aviva opened its ‘Digital Garage’ in Singapore which reinforces Aviva’s long-term commitment to supporting and promoting digital innovation in insurance in Singapore and across Asia for the benefit of its customers, in line with its ‘Digital First’ strategy.
ClaimConnect marks another milestone for Aviva Singapore in leveraging digital technology. Commenting on ClaimConnect, Mr Lionel Chee, Group Business Director at Aviva said, “This illustrates Aviva’s continued efforts to focus on the needs of our customers and partners by harnessing digital channels. We want to simplify the process and provide our HR partners, brokers and insured employees with an improved customer experience.”
As one of Singapore’s leading group insurers, Aviva receives about 50,000 group insurance claims per month from insured employees and panel doctors. Of this, about 13,000 are direct from employees seeking reimbursement. Since rolling out the digitised service late last year, about 140 companies who are insured with Aviva have already introduced the programme to their employees. 52% of the claims from those employees are now made via e-submission.
Shorter turnaround time, reduced paperwork, greater efficiency and less dependence on manual processes are among the key benefits of this environmentally friendly initiative.
Mr Chee elaborated, “ClaimConnect benefits HR personnel through greater ease and efficiency, and improving overall management of their employees’ claims. Apart from doing away with paperwork, HR can now conveniently perform a range of tasks such as managing the company’s insurance coverage and generating relevant reports.
“The claims process for insured employees is also significantly easier now that the whole process has been digitised. The straight-through process and instant notification shortens the turnaround time. With the claims calculator as well as access to coverage details and claims history, employees can manage their medical expenses and claims with more clarity.”
Mr Chee also shared that the insurer is pleased with the progress they have made with digital innovation to provide better services to customers and partners, and will continue to harness digital channels to make Aviva one of the easiest insurers to work with.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

InsurTech Startup PolicyPal Wants to Help People Manage, Track and Understand Their Insurance Policies

									by Fintech News Singapore
April 5, 2016

1

Earlier this month, notorious accelerator program Startupbootcamp Fintech Singapore unveiled the ten teams it had picked to integrate the program, among which PolicyPal, a young and ambitious startup that intends to help us manage our insurance matters more easily.
The PolicyPal app, expected to launch in beta in six weeks, will allow users to manage their policies in one place and understand where they have duplicate or missing coverage. It will also let them find the policies that are the most suitable for their needs.

According to PolicyPal’s founder and CEO Val Jihsuan, the purpose is to provide consumers with a simple, user-friendly tool that would allow them to manage their insurances more conveniently and select the right options.

Jihsuan, a former banker at OCBC Bank with a background in risk assurance at PwC London, said the idea of PolicyPal emerged when her family faced an unfortunate event that made her realize the struggle of keeping up with insurance policies and payments, highlighting that a proper tool was still missing.
Val Jihsuan, Founder and CEO of PolicyPal, via LinkedIn.
“The idea struck me when my mother’s health insurance claim was rejected because it was lapsed for a few months,” Jihsuan told Fintechnews. “My sister bought a health insurance policy for my mother but due to her busy schedule, she missed the premium payments and it was lapsed for a short period of time. A year later, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, thankfully she recovered but we were not able to file a claim against the policy.”
“It takes a long time to shop around for new policies and often it is not clear what we are covered for and what the premium difference is,” Jihsuan said. “We need to help people manage, track and figure out their insurance.”
Jihsuan quit her job at OCBC Bank earlier this month to entirely dedicate herself to PolicyPal, a venture she hopes will make a difference in people’s lives and deliver a “social impact.”
“PolicyPal would like to curb the hard selling and mis-selling problems in the insurance industry by bringing transparency. We are empowering consumers to make the right decisions for their needs,” she said.
This argument is what differentiates PolicyPal from competitors as direct online purchasing and insurance comparison websites are failing to recommend the best insurance policy for consumers.
“There will always be an inherent conflict of interest by pushing in-house products or recommending an insurance product based on a simplistic comparison model,” Jihsuan said.
“As we have an overview of their insurance portfolio, we are able to recommend insurance policies that best fit their needs without any bias or conflict of interest. Think of us as your friendly insurance advisor that is always in your pocket.”
In the long run, PolicyPal plans to use data analytics to provide robo advisory services to handle consumers’ insurance needs. Jihsuan said she wants to offer personalized insurance coverage to users based on their historical data and improve the efficiency of insurance distribution.
The next steps for PolicyPal would be to grow its team, increase marketing efforts to grow the user base, and eventually secure funding to scale across Southeast Asia, a region that is still under-served for insurance distribution, Jihsuan said.

Featured image: Insurance concept by Shutter_M, via Shutterstock.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

InsurTech M&As in Asia Surge in 2017, Three Times That of 2016

									by Company Announcement
April 9, 2018

8   2

The total transaction volume of InsurTech M&As in Asia hit US$460 million in 2017, more than three times that of 2016, as industry incumbents and new entrants to the market pushed towards greater digitalisation, according to the fourth Quarterly InsurTech Briefing from Willis Towers Watson.
The new research, produced by Willis Towers Watson Securities and Willis Re, in collaboration with CB Insights, highlights the key InsurTech trends of 2017.
It shows that InsurTech transactions continued to focus on capabilities related to digital distribution, consumer models and data analytics, while claims management and other back-end processing applications also became top business priorities, as insurers and reinsurers seek to enhance efficiency and engagement throughout the value chain.

Vincent Lien
“Investments have picked up especially in the areas of artificial intelligence, automation, process enhancement and customer engagement as companies hope to drive further efficiencies in business operations,”
says Vincent Lien, Managing Director, Willis Towers Watson Securities, Asia Pacific.

“InsurTech certainly plays a significant role in those areas via the use of data and analytics. They are still to reach prominence across Asia Pacific, so the opportunities are huge.”
The popularity of data and analytics comes from the natural connection between data, peoples’ lifestyles, and their corresponding insurance needs, according to Kevin Angelini, Head of Strategy for the Insurance Consulting and Technology business in Asia Pacific at Willis Towers Watson.

Kevin Angelini
“Thanks to advances in technology, now a growing abundance of data is available enabling insurers to use sophisticated data analytics to reward people who live a healthy lifestyle,”
says Mr. Angelini.
“This is a growing trend within insurers and the next challenge is to gain alignment from the wider ecosystem such as regulators and reinsurers.”
Turning to specific markets, China and India, home to much of the innovation in InsurTech, accounted for a significant 73% of transactions in 2017. Hong Kong, Singapore and other Asia markets continued to build on the momentum from 2016 and accounted for 27% of the transactions, representing a much more conspicuous contribution than in 2015 when they only amounted to 4% of the regional sum.
“As companies seek InsurTech transactions to tap new technologies, they are looking mostly to Asia, and in particular to Hong Kong and Singapore, amid low growth and even lower interest rates in the U.S. and European economies,”
Angelini adds.
“Hong Kong and Singapore have well-regulated free markets, mature insurance customers, and access to international capital markets. These make it easier for investors to integrate resources.”
Among the high profile transactions was Yunfeng Financial’s acquisition of MassMutual Asia. In August last year, Jack Ma’s Alibaba-backed Yunfeng said it would buy Hong Kong-based MassMutual Asia for US$1.7 billion, with ambitions to integrate robo-advisory technology and advanced data analytics into the insurance business.
Singapore Life
Another example was Singapore Life, which received a capital injection from China Credit during 2017. Singapore Life is the first local independent life insurance company in Singapore to be granted a licence since 1970. Singapore Life markets life products directly through a state-of-the-art digital underwriting engine licenced from UnderwriteMe. It announced the acquisition of Zurich Life’s Singapore run-off business in January 2018.
Both Hong Kong and Singapore are trying to position themselves as the region’s leading FinTech hub. Last year, this effort saw Hong Kong’s Insurance Authority launch an InsurTech Sandbox to facilitate pilot trials, and start a licencing fast track to provide a dedicated queue for new authorisation applications from online-only insurers in order to accelerate the approval process.
Meanwhile, last February, Monetary Authority of Singapore announced its intention to introduce the ASEAN InsurTech LaunchPad, which aims to bring in high-growth InsurTech start-ups to Singapore and facilitate collaboration between locally-based insurance corporations and start-ups.

The increase in deal activities in Asia helped drive global InsurTech transactions to a record high in 2017. In the fourth quarter alone, insurers and reinsurers made 35 private technology investments globally, pushing the yearly total to 120, the highest numbers recorded respectively in any quarter or year. In terms of the actual volume, US$697 million of InsurTech funding in the last quarter rounded off 2017, which saw a total of US$2.3 billion, up 36% from 2016, and marked the second highest total for any year to date.
Featured image via Pixabay

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

SkillsFuture Singapore to train Prudential’s employees in Future Skillsets

									by Company Announcement
April 18, 2018

24   1

Prudential Singapore is partnering SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) to help its employees acquire the skillsets needed to meet the future demands of the insurance industry.
As part of the partnership, employees will have access to the SkillsFuture Series of courses curated for the insurance sector. They will be trained in innovation, entrepreneurship, data analytics, social media and cyber security, among other areas.
The tie-up with SSG complements Prudential’s existing set of training courses which are designed to enhance the skillsets of its employees.
Mr Wilf Blackburn, CEO, Prudential Singapore said that last year the company invested more than 25,000 hours in training employees in leadership skills, design thinking, innovation and digital skills.

In addition, the company’s internal mobility programme and commitment-free part-time education sponsorships enable employees to build new competencies while on the job and to forge new career paths within the organisation.

Wilf Blackburn, CEO, Prudential Singapore
“We encourage everyone at Prudential to learn, explore and experiment as part of our innovation culture,”
said Mr. Blackburn.
“Investing in capabilities-building for our people is core to the success of Prudential and the insurance industry. By partnering with SkillsFuture, we are further helping our people to prepare themselves for future roles in the digital economy so they can remain relevant and continue serving the evolving needs of our customers.”
Chief Executive of SSG, Mr Ng Cher Pong said,
“Strong employer support and involvement is critical in ensuring that our workforce stays relevant to the current and future needs of the economy. SSG has been intensifying our efforts to engage the employers. Hence, we are very encouraged by Prudential’s initiative to invest in their employees’ training through the various SkillsFuture programmes, and we hope to see more employers adopt this proactive approach to skills upgrading.”
As a start, Prudential will enrol 1,000 employees, Financial Consultants and customers in SkillsFuture Advice. At the workshop, they will receive useful information about SkillsFuture and how they can tap on the various resources and tools for their skills upgrading needs and career planning.
Among the first to attend was Ms. Gerardine Lim, an employee from Prudential’s customer interaction and support division.
As the customer support lead for Prudential’s intelligent chat-bot, askPRU, Ms. Lim has had to build new competencies in user experience design, mobile application development and data analytics, in order to continue delivering as her role expands. She said she finds the list of training courses offered by the SkillsFuture Series highly beneficial in her area of work.
“It is great to know there are courses I can access to upgrade my skillset on the job. Through the SkillsFuture Series of training courses, I can now upskill myself in areas such as data analysis, data visualisation and coding as well as take on leadership training in project management and strategic thinking,”
said Ms. Lim.
“To stay relevant in my role, it is necessary to keep up with emerging technologies and to understand the changing customer needs.”
Prudential will also identify employees who are not as digitally savvy and encourage them to undergo the SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace programme. Employees can pick up foundational digital skills to prepare for the future economy, understand emerging technologies and their impact on work, and interpret and use data.
Prudential employees explore SkillsFuture courses together with Wilf Blackburn, CEO, Prudential Singapore and Ng Cher Pong, CEO, SkillsFuture Singapore
Getting its workforce future-fit
Prudential’s partnership with SSG is part of a larger transformation drive by the company to make work smarter and make insurance simpler and more accessible using technology. The company’s S$70 million technology investment in 2017 resulted in the development of several innovative solutions, such as the industry-first e-claims solution and a chat-bot powered by artificial intelligence.
These solutions have helped reduce manual processes and repetitive tasks, enabling Prudential’s employees and Financial Consultants to spend more time on higher-value work.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Regtech

Australian Regtech Starts Global Rollout in Singapore

									by Company Announcement
May 21, 2018

32   1

Australian-based Regtech firm GCS Agile has signed its first international agreement in Singapore for the use of FACS, their FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) And CRS (Common Reporting Standard) Service.
FACTA Compliance Reports via crs-fatca-reporting.com.au
FACS is a world leading software program built specifically to manage the complex requirements for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), for which reports in Singapore and Australia are due for the first time this year. The partnership is with Trusted Source Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Management Services Pte Ltd.
Ong Whee Teck
“We are thrilled to partner with GCS Agile on this important initiative aimed at reducing tax evasion globally. Singapore is a perfect launch pad for such technology given its strong commitment to the rule of law and international tax conventions,”
said Ong Whee Teck, CEO of Trusted Source.

Gerry Carcour,CEO, GCS Agile
“We are proud to have this opportunity to partner with, and be related to the Temasek Group, a respected Singapore icon.  We believe that Trusted Source is the best positioned organisation to deliver FATCA and CRS compliance in Singapore using our FACS platform.
Additionally, Trusted Source has the capability to deliver our vision of a “utility service” for the Financial Services Industry required to both enforce and significantly reduce the cost and burden of compliance,”
said Gerry Carcour, CEO of GCS Agile.
CRS is an inter-governmental agreement between the world’s Tax Authorities designed to detect tax evasion. Millions of businesses in more than 100 jurisdictions globally that manage the financial accounts of foreign tax residents must report to their local Tax Authority which in turn shares this financial information with the relevant home Tax Authority.
Rollout first in Singapore, then Hong Kong, New Zealand and South Africa
After Singapore, the technology roll-out is expected to continue in Hong Kong, New Zealand and South Africa. Australia’s financial services companies are required to file CRS reports with the Australian Taxation Office on July 31. Each territory has differing compliance deadlines – reporting to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, for example, is due on May 31.
The highly publicised Panama Papers brought attention to global and systematic tax evasion using offshore accounts, from which 145 governments worldwide are estimated to lose more than 5.1% of global GDP annually according to a report published by the Tax Justice Network in 2011. With Global GDP reported to be US$75.4 trillion in 2016, global tax evasion is estimated to be US$3.85 trillion in that year.
“With CRS, there’s nowhere to hide,”
says GCS Agile CEO Gerry Carcour.
“Many expats the world over who have spent their lives creating a network of overseas accounts will be laid bare extremely quickly.”
Mr Carcour says each country has their own objectives for instilling CRS compliance into their financial systems.
“Singapore and Hong Kong are characterized by hubs of expats that attract the interest of the world’s tax authorities, whereas South Africa is about combating corruption and wealth inequality as large amounts of revenue flow out of the country and are held overseas in various forms of value. FACS will be a significant tool to aid transparency,”
says Mr Carcour.
“New Zealand is not dissimilar from Australia, in that many financial institutions are not yet fully cognisant of the CRS requirements and their implications for the running of their businesses.  The biggest impact of this system will be to identify those individuals who have previously slipped through the tax revenue net.”

Featured image via Pixabay

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Regtech

Facial Recognition to Protect Singapore Bank Card Holders Rolled Out

									by Company Announcement
May 23, 2018

27   1

Finda System, a fintech company offeringc solutions to the banking sector, announced receiving grant from Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) through the central bank’s FSTI (Financial Sector Technology and Innovation) Proof of Concept Scheme.
This scheme is aimed at supporting the creation of “industry-wide technology infrastructure” for new products and services, a category that includes fintech startups.
The Facial Recognition technology rejects fakes such as a photograph
The Singapore-based firm, which originates from Macau, will conduct its proprietary KYC service of facial recognition in Singapore under this POC Scheme.
Mr Chen Yingjie, Chief Engineer from Finda said,

“Our key innovation amongst others include its capability to differentiate a live subject from a “fake” one, and our core digital-KYC as an authentication infrastructure can be integrated to users on mobile phones to ensure online payment transactions more secure and efficient. For example, a bank card holder can report a lost or stolen card on mobile devices via facial recognition authentication instead of going through the lengthy process over the bank’s phone hotlines and entering 16 digits card number etc.”
“We see Singapore with increasing adoption on cardless transactions and various alternative payment modes such as QR code as an ideal test-bed that may support regional development of such fintech solutions.”
He added,
“The Greater Bay Area initiative, a key Belt and Road Project linking Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, has accepted the technology and standard and is in the stage of fine-tuning the applications. As for longer term plans, Finda would like to first focus on helping to establish the authentication infrastructure in the region.”

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

PayNow Collaborates with Digital Insurer and DBS

									by Company Announcement
June 14, 2018

68   2

The digital insurer FWD and DBS Bank collaborating to provide electronic payment of claims via PayNow.
PayNow is an electronic fund transfer service available to customers of any of the seven participating banks: Citibank Singapore Limited, DBS Bank/POSB, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and United Overseas Bank.
FWD customers who wish to receive payments via PayNow, simply need to provide their PayNow registered mobile number or NRIC number for the funds to be transferred to their account.
Abhishek Bhatia

“Many insurers make their claims payouts via cheque – and this has led to unnecessary delays and even lost cheques. PayNow is a very convenient payment platform that will benefit FWD’s customers.

We’re proud of the fact that this service will improve an already exceptional claims experience by ensuring our customers receive claims payments faster, and more conveniently than other insurers have traditionally been able to achieve,”

said Abhishek Bhatia, Chief Executive Officer, FWD Singapore.

Aligning with Singapore’s push for greater electronic payments and drive towards digitisation, this initiative comes off the back of a collaboration with DBS, where in February this year they together launched real-time electronic claims payments using DBS IDEAL RAPID.
Benjamin Yeo, Managing Director and Head of Insurance Coverage at DBS Bank said that the collaboration is in line with the bank’s promise to bring new digital experiences to its partners and customers.
Benjamin Yeo

“In today’s digital age, customers seek an instant and hassle-free experience. We are continuously working on innovative solutions to bring to the reality greater convenience for corporates and consumers.

By leveraging on our digital expertise, we are pleased to provide a solution that does away with claims cheques, providing customers a truly seamless claims experience,”

he added.
The insurer’s philosophy of marrying technology with customer experience has paid dividends in the industry, with FWD already having won Best Customer Experience at last year’s Financial Services Summit, the Best Digital Insurer of the Year at the Asia Insurance Industry Awards, and the Best Direct Insurer at the Insurance Asia Awards.
Payments via PayNow (which rides on the FAST Payment Mechanism in Singapore) are currently capped at a limit of S$200,000 per transaction.

Featured image via Freepik

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

Insurtech As An Enabler Rather Then A Disruptor: Report

									by Fintech News Singapore
August 3, 2018

4712  11

The insurance industry is undergoing profound changes, driven by new customer expectations, emerging technologies, and sustained downward pressure on margin.
Since 2015, insurtech players have boomed globally and while initially perceived as potential threats, these are now quickly emerging as enablers that can help incumbents drive new customer experiences and deliver more value, according to a report by Startupbootcamp and PwC.
Breaking Boundaries, Startupbootcamp and PwC
The Breaking Boundaries report, released in July, analyzes data from over 1,000 startups and draws insights from interviews with entrepreneurs to understand and identify the latest trends in the insurtech industry.
It stresses that “the idea of standalone insurtech will become as outdated as the concept of having a separate digital strategy for the company,” but instead “will become an innovation ecosystem in and around insurance, with insurers working with a range of partners from within the industry and beyond.”

In particular, collaboration with startups from adjacent industries, such as agriculture, aircraft manufacturing, health, cybersecurity, maritime and general transport, will be critical for incumbents and provide them with the opportunity to access new revenue streams.
The report cites the example of drones and satellite technology which are increasingly being used in agriculture to predict environmental factors, support farming activities, improve yield, and help farmers tackle localized issues. For insurers, these data offer a means to reduce crop claims with precision agriculture and to extend cover to the uninsured.
CyStellar, a Startupbootcamp 2018 startup, operates a platform that integrates, manages and secures data from ground sensors, aerial surveillance and satellite imagery. These data power applications such as precision agriculture, predictive maintenance, or logistics for interactive, predictive decision making.
Another example is the use of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) in property management to help commercial property managers and home owners predict and prevent events such as fire from faulty equipment, water leaks or theft. One startup that’s operating in the field is Flowenum. Flowenum helps commercial property managers minimize problems such as damp and mould, and plan their maintenance programs.
And of course, the use of the IoT and wearable devices in healthcare. These tools give individuals access to information about their wellbeing and provide opportunities such as the means to encourage change or manage medication. For insurers, opportunities include the possibility of new value-added services, better prevention and increased risk data.
Startups tapping into this opportunity include for instance vHealth Lab, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to help cardiac patients monitor their heart at home and make smart therapy decisions accordingly.
Insurtech ecosystem, Breaking Boundaries, Startupbootcamp and PwC
“Three years ago the hype was about startups disrupting traditional insurers. Now the talk, and increasingly the reality, is about startups and insurers working together to create meaningful partnerships,” Jim Bichard, UK insurance leader at PwC, commented on the changing nature of the insurance ecosystem. “All parties are working together and learning from other sectors to solve problems within insurance and react to the changing outside world.”
Given the importance of data in the insurance industry, the report points out the opportunity for startups and solutions that can provide access to new data sources or offer new ways to drive value from data with technologies such as AI, big data, and algorithms set to play a critical role.
Another key finding is that innovation has moved beyond just watch and learn, and insurers are now exploring how to scale proof of concepts into their broader businesses. These are increasingly collaborating with startups to build new products with 84% of surveyed Startupbootcamp partners stating they were interested in finding an innovative solution in cybersecurity, and 80% interested in business models linked to trends attached to the sharing economy.
Last for not least, the report highlights the growing threat coming from players outside of the tech or insurance industries:
“Although startups are increasingly looking to partner rather than disrupt, threats will come from tech giants, telecoms and other industries. Beyond these threats, startups have the potential to scale and collaborate to own the entire value chain – first moving reinsurers are already in pool position to provide the capacity.”

Featured image by Peshkova, via Shutterstock.com.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Innovation
InsurTech

Prudential’s PRU Fintegrate 2018 Taps Scale-Ups For Deeper Innovation

									by Fintech News Singapore
August 14, 2018

5   1

Prudential Singapore’s second edition of its digital innovation programme, the PRU Fintegrate Partnership (PRU Fintegrate) is this year inviting scale-ups from all over the world to join its innovation fray.
The insurance provider is aiming to build synergistic partnerships with scale-ups from 10 targeted areas to build new, end-to-end scaleable digital solutions for the future.
Prudential’s selected partners will win the opportunity to showcase their solutions at Prudential’s booth at the upcoming Singapore FinTech Festival 2018 (12-16 November).
They will thereafter, in 2019, also begin a fully-paid up pilot programme to further develop their solutions.

Prudential’s 10 Problem Statements To Be Addressed By Participating Scale-ups
Areas for disruption
Some of the 10 targeted insurance areas include preventative healthcare, enterprise solutions, customer engagement and underwriting.
Wilf Blackburn, CEO of Prudential Singapore, explained how tapping into new growth channels in these areas would be crucial for Prudential’s transition towards a digital future:

Wilf Blackburn
“We see tremendous untapped opportunities to innovate with the right partners in a number of areas, for example, by using technology to improve preventative healthcare and provide community support for customers with pre-existing conditions. Through such initiatives, we are proud to support Singapore’s Smart Nation vision where people are empowered by technology to lead meaningful and fulfilled lives.”
Scale-ups represent firms that already have a valid business model and who demonstrate readiness to accelerate growth in their business at this point in time.
Prudential is also looking for potential partners with a valid product set, an existing customer base and secured funding. They should also be able to show a proven track record in creating solutions that can be applied at both speed and scale.
Collaboration Is Key

PRU Fintegrate was first launched in 2017 to build an ecosystem of partners from the FinTech, InsurTech, HealthTech and MedTech communities to help solve business challenges with creative solutions.
This year, it will introduce the team challenge, whereby scale-ups will be encouraged to team up and design comprehensive, end-to-end digital solutions together. These solutions will aim to address any of the 10 problem statements laid out by Prudential.
Ms. Kalai Natarajan, Head of Strategic Engagements, Prudential Singapore, noted how collaboration was the essential ingredient towards creating novel, workable digital solutions:

Kalai Natarajan
To develop an end-to-end solution, collaboration between various parties is key. That is why we are introducing the team challenge category this year to encourage the building of more complete solutions that we can bring to market with speed and scale.”
New opportunities
Additionally, this year’s edition of Fintegrate will also feature an open category, whereby firms with solutions that fall outside the stipulated 10 target areas can still present their ideas.
Alternatively, they may also identify a completely different opportunity in the insurance market, and tap into that.
Participating scale-ups will be assessed based on their ability to put forward a value proposition capable of meeting business and consumer needs, taking into account technical and commercial factors as well as prevailing market conditions.
Selected finalists will also have a chance to work with Prudential’s team of experts to help them enhance their value proposition and develop their proof-of-concept.
Prudential will announce its selected partners at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2018 itself.
In the meantime, all applications for the 2018 PRU Fintegrate Partnership programme must be submitted no later than 16 September 2018.
Interested applicants may visit the official PRU Fintegrate Partnership website at www.prudential.com.sg/fintech.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

Asia: 100 Insurtech Companies and Counting

									by Fintech News Singapore
August 29, 2018

421  4

Advances in digital innovations and cutting-edge technologies as well as evolving customer preferences are creating the need for digital agility in the insurance sector.
Insurtech, a subset of fintech that refers to the use of technology innovations to squeeze out savings and efficiency from the current insurance industry model, has received significant traction in recent years with companies in the space raising US$2.3 billion in 2017, according to EY’s Global Insurance Trends Analysis 2018.
According to an analysis by Venture Scanner, there are approximately 1,500 insurtech startups around the world, most of which are based in the US.

Insurtech in Asia
Compared to North America and Europe, the insurtech ecosystem in Asia is relatively small with about 100 startups.
Activity in the region is predominantly centered on Singapore, India and China, but Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have also recently made regulatory provisions to allow for the development and growth of local insurtechs, according to a report by Willis Towers Watson, a global multinational risk management, insurance brokerage and advisory company.
Insurtech Asia Map, Insurtech Asia Association, Oct. 2017
With about 20 companies, Singapore is the region’s largest insurtech hub. Singapore insurtech companies include GoBear, an insurance plans and financial products comparison platform, PolicyPal, an insurance mobile app, Bandboo, a peer-to-peer online platform for people to form communities to co-insure one another, and Singapore Life, a digital insurer specializing in life and health products, specifically for high-net-worth individuals.
Singapore is followed by the Indian cities of Mumbai and Gurgaon, which combine 26 insurtech companies including Coverfox, one of the country’s largest insurtech platforms for insurance products, and PolicyBazaar, an insurance web aggregator and comparison platform.
In terms of funding, it is Shanghai’s insurtech companies that have raised the most funding with US$1.3 billion (including Zhong An’s US$936.9 million funding prior to its US$1.5 billion IPO in September 2017). Besides established insurtech companies, Shanghai has also witnessed an increasing number of new players being established such as CareVoice, China’s first review-based social platform for healthcare, and Ins For Renascence (IFR), which raised around RMB100 million (US$14.5 million) in its series A earlier this month.

As one of the largest underdeveloped insurance markets globally, Asia is perceived as a rising insurtech hub and a key growth region with demand forecast to boom, according to Willis Towers Watson.
Due to the relatively limited suite of current products in the market and the region’s high rate of e-commerce penetration, it is believed that Asia may have the fewest barriers to the successful implementation of emerging technologies in the insurance industry, the report says.
While Asia may be in its infancy of financial development, the region could effectively serve as an incubator for insurtech that ultimately end up transforming more developed markets currently controlled by traditional incumbents, it predicts.

Bigtechs enter the insurance business
Another key trend in the insurance industry is the growing threat coming from bigtechs such as Amazon, and Google. These are taking slow, deliberate steps towards establishing a presence in the insurance industry by leveraging their strong reputation for superior customer experience. In China, tech giants such as Alibaba and Tencent are forcefully expanding into insurance and have all been actively acquiring shares of existing insurance companies and co-funding new insurtech companies.
And the bigtech threat is real: according to the annual World Insurance Report by Capgemini and EFMA, 29.5% of customers globally would buy insurance products from bigtechs if available.
But it is customers in developing regions such as Asia and Latin American who are more likely to buy from bigtechs. 49.4% of customers in Latin America, and 40.1% in Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) said they would consider doing so.
Unsurprisingly, digitally-enabled services and solutions are also appealing to the Gen Y and tech-savvy segments. 32.4% of tech-savvy and 25.4% of Gen Y even said they were willing to share personal data with bigtechs for personalized services.

Featured image: Singapore, Pxhere.com.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech
Travel

Insurtech Firm FWD Expands into Travel Insurance with FWD Flyer

									by Fintech News Singapore
September 4, 2018

11   2

Insurtech firm FWD announced the launch of the FWD Flyer mobile app, which it claims to be an end-to-end digital insurance solution. The app provides FWD customers cashless medical claim functionalities and provides them quick access to their policies and emergency contacts.
Available on both Android and iOS devices, the FWD Flyer app’s goal is for FWD customers to get their medical expenses in Singapore paid without needing to file a claim.
With its eCard, travellers who have fallen ill during or after a trip can receive the necessary treatment at any of FWD Singapore’s panel clinics without needing to pay beforehand.
The app also allows travellers to locate the nearest panel clinics and doctors, making the whole claim experience seamless.

Whilst many conventional insurers in the industry still require their customers to manually download, print and mail their claim forms, FWD claims to have digitalised the entire process.
With the FWD Flyer App, consumers can also:

Choose from more than 500 clinics in Singapore or simply select a clinic nearby
Enjoy cashless medical treatments simply by activating and showing the eCard in the app to the clinic
Access a list of useful contact numbers such as emergency assistance, local police or connect with FWD
Submit other travel-related claims such as baggage delay or flight delay, all within a few clicks
Buy travel insurance for the next trip

Abhishek Bhatia, FWD Singapore’s CEO, and Group Chief Officer of New Business Models, explained that the FWD Flyer app is just one of the many digital initiatives the insurer is taking to streamline its customers’ experience.
Abhishek Bhatia
The launch of the FWD Flyer app follows the insurer’s implementation of electronic claims payments via PayNow. The platform allows customers to receive their claims pay-outs directly in their bank accounts; unlike most traditional insurers who make their payouts via cheques. With PayNow, unnecessary delays such as lost cheques are reduced and the payout time for claims has reduced from 5 days to an industry leading next-day upon successful claim approval.

Featured image via https://www.fwd.com.sg/

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Australia
Open Banking

Swift Brings World Open Banking Sandbox For Fintechs

									by Fintech News Singapore
October 18, 2018

25   1

SWIFT in conjunction with Australia’s New Payments Platform (NPP) have launched a sandbox that allows independent fintechs to test the NPP network—an Australian, industry-wide infrastructure to enable almost real-time, 24/7 payments.
The network is Australia’s bid to replace the clunky legacy infrastructure that permeated the nation’s finance scene.
The NPP API sandbox, hosted in the cloud, will enable independent developers to start learning and testing the benefits and capabilities of the NPP via APIs.
This development follows the introduction of a new NPP API Framework, which hopes to promote standardisation, interoperability and a consistent experience for open banking APIs. Jointly developed by NPP Australia and SWIFT, the API Framework defines the key technical approach and is aligned to ISO 20022 standards.

This newly established sandbox could serve as competition, or complement, to ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) sandbox that is made with collaboration from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
With MAS seemingly favouring a more organic and permissive approach towards open banking, the new sandbox could serve as an additional testing grounds for Singaporean financial institutions.
SWIFTly Tackling Issues of Open Banking Fragmentation
Regulators around the world have identified the need for interoperability among financial institutions as they move towards a more open banking model, but in response, are building their own open banking networks and principles in their own national silos, all with their own differing rules.
In a bid to encourage interoperability between different nations, SWIFT attempts to position itself at the center of efforts around the world in an ambitious bid to avoid fragmentation, isolation, and the needless complexities that could frustrate attempts to build the value-added services.
The initial API Framework for the NPP has documented three sample APIs that NPP participants could make available to the wider fintech and payments community in Australia. These are:
PayID Resolution Request: to determine the bank account related to a particular personal or business identifier such as a mobile phone number or email address;
Payment Initiation Request:  to instruct the NPP participant to initiate a payment instruction through the NPP; and
Payment Status Request: to check on the status of an NPP payment
If not for nothing, the same holds true for any Singaporean fintech that eyes Australia as grounds for expansion.

Bill Doran, SWIFT Head of Oceania, said:
“The API sandbox for NPP will enable fintechs and corporates to develop their NPP solutions in an independent and secure, zero-footprint environment —before taking their prototypes and customer propositions to the broader market. This should support competition in the financial community in Australia.”

Featured image via SWIFT

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Big Data
InsurTech

Why The Next Insurtech Unicorns Are Going to Come From Asia

									by Fintech News Singapore
November 6, 2018

10916  27

We thought 2018 was going to become the year of the blockchain, and while the ledger is still a hot-button topic, the relatively older insurtech scene has risen to the top of the fintech pile thanks to a 2017 boost. It has not stopped since, and in fact,  it has been said that Asia could actually be a strong insurtech pillar, in large parts thanks to China.
This is particularly interesting, Asia hasn’t produced an exclusively insurtech unicorn outside of China yet.
All signs hint at one emerging in the near future.
Insurtech players as of October 2017 (Image Credit: Insurtech Asia Association)
Despite this, it is clear that insurance appetite amongst Asian populations is rising, thanks to increasing welfare across emerging economic markets.
Some areas of interest in insurtech include big data plays, revolutionising underwriting processes, accessibility through mobile solutions, increased customer connection to insurance companies, more personalised premiums, and customised insurance solutions for better value.

With insurance systems that are either inadequate to cater to rising demands or virtually nonexistent, Asian markets provide an interesting opportunity for insurtechs to pave the insurance way in their respective cultures.
Rather than battle it out with incumbent systems, insurtechs are free to shape the direction, culture, and surrounding tech which could, in turn, disrupt players in more established insurance markets.
For now, good old digitisation of a traditionally manual process is making its way across an Asia that is increasingly more mobile-savvy, and mobile-dependent. Insurtech in Asia isn’t quite exactly a blue ocean, but there are still tonnes of opportunities to be had for those with the right ideas.
Digitisation of Insurance
Jin Chen, CEO of ZhongAn (Image Credit: Screenshot of this YouTube video by CGTN)
You can’t discuss insurtech in Asia without bringing up the name ZhongAn, a digital insurer in China formed through collaborations between Ping An Insurance, Tencent, and Alibaba. Often considered something of a pioneer in the specific insurtech field, among many of ZhongAn’s health-related offerings is a service that is run fully online, which helps them widen their net while also lowering operating and distribution costs.
The $10 billion-valued company is said to have sold six billion policies to 460 people. It is also able to process 13,000 policies in a second. Ping An Insurance Group, another trailblazer in China, is said to be the world’s largest insurer by market capitalisation, with shares that have more than doubled in a year.
ZhongAn’s version of insurtech, focused on big data analytics and product customisation (telematics, usage-based insurance, etc) is the second stage for China. The first one began in 2001, which focused on increasing online distribution for major traditional insurers, and was said to accelerate in 2011 when regulators published rules governing the insurance activities of online intermediaries.
ZhongAn is quickly diversifying its services. Its most recent development is a one-stop online employee health management platform for its corporate customers, which encapsulates smart insurance, policy management, quick claims settlement, health intervention, and risk control.
ZhongAn’s insurtech strategy is one that is popular in other Asian regions too, with the likes of Malaysia’s PolicyStreet, Singapore’s PolicyPal, India’s Digit Insurance, among many others offering the ability to buy insurance online without having to go through insurance agents. In the long run, similar types of insurtech could help reduce the costs of insurance for consumers, reach a wider population, while increasing their access to more obscure products that better suit their individual needs.
This trend, overall, means that many eyes are on China to observe the insurtech scene.
However, one cannot discount Hong Kong insurtech scene, with a sandbox launched by a newly minted Hong Kong Insurance Authority which allows insurtech firms to test their insurance products and services in 2017.
The sandbox allows insurtech firms to test their new insurance products and services in a controlled and safe environment without having to achieve full compliance with the IA’s regulatory requirements. Firms can gather real market data and user feedback before the products are released to the general public.
Now with a strong niche and market segment secured, ZhongAn has also received an undisclosed amount of funding to expand its services regionally just last August. And it would do well to consider Southeast Asia as part of those plans because:
Southeast Asia’s High Potential
Image Credit: The Nation Multimedia
Southeast Asia holds potential thanks to the aforementioned blank canvas to paint insurtech solutions into, and in certain countries, thanks to encouraging governments. Singapore’s PolicyPal passed the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s regulatory sandbox by September 2017, Vouch Insurance Group was added to Thailand’s OIC Insurance Regulatory Sandbox, while Malaysia added Jirnexu to its sandbox after the company made plans to build an e-commerce site selling insurance.
Singapore’s insurtech, which is said to be in the midst of a revolution, has a focus artificial intelligence. With a relatively high 2/3 population already insured, Singapore’s existing bigwigs are instead focused on improving on services. Singaporeans are living longer, and this leads to rising healthcare and caregiving costs and dwindling old-age support.
Therefore, Singapore’s insurtech is more focused on web and app development, digital specialists and data scientists to step up to a digital challenge. They have a huge amount of data at their disposal, and can take advantage of the rise of technology and the Internet of Things. According to Patrick Teow of AIA Singapore, the future iicould see insurers being able to collect and analyse this data to enable monitoring of health and risk-taking behavious in individuals. The data could lead to lower premiums for select individuals, while issuers can have more control over their business.
Singapore is also said to be something of an insurtech hub, because it has the highest number of insurtech companies operating in the Asia region.
Thailand’s insurance sector was already nominated as the 8th largest in Asia, with Thais spending approximately $334 on insurance annually. However, this is primarily thanks to its large life insurance sector, which means that other types of insurance, like its ever-growing auto-insurance, is very much still fair game. The aforementioned Vouch Insurance Group falls into this auto-insurace sector, and another, Roojai, received a US$7 million Series A investment just a few weeks ago.
Unfortunately, regions like the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar are still awaiting their insurtech revolution, despite low insured populations. Philippines already has the pinpricks of an insurtech ecosystem forming, but it will be interesting to observe if their insurtech presence will come from in-house, or through market entries.
Movement in other Asian Regions
Image Credit: PolicyBazaar
India’s sector is generally promising for insurtech, though they may not appear in the international consciousness as much as countries like China do. PolicyBazaar, during their last funding round, collected $200 million in a rarely seen Series F. Paytm Life Insurance earned a staggering $1.4 billion in May last year as of their last funding round, thought they began as a wallet that diversified into insurance.
India’s game to fame is microinsurance, to service the low insured numbers in the country. With a nation of people, many of whom are buying insurance for the first time, comparison sites have flourished, such as Policy Bazaar, My Insurance Club, Compare Policy and Policy Bachat, among others. One important segment of insurance that is uniquely important to the region is also crop insurance.
Meanwhile in Japan, incumbents like The Dai-ichi Life group and SOMPO have been forced to make their moves into insurtech, though the general sccene is still doing its usual round of research before jumping into new territories. Dai0ichi Life Group announced in January that it has an Instech strategy which it states, should promote open business development. This is an interesting development, since insurance has always been seen as one of the more entrenched and inflexible industries but now they feel forced to innovate in fear of losing out to up-and-coming startups.
Even though it may seem like big companies are taking up the brunt of attention, in many of these regions it is the movement of startups that paved the way and made the big corporations nervous enough to innovate into insurtech. While movements can seem relatively slow in the Asian region, we think that the board has already been set for the Asian insurtech games that will be coming if not soon, then within the next 5 years.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore