Insurers bet on digital shift to cut costs, boost services

Car buyers can browse through Cheki, a digital secondhand car classified and select the car they fancy and on the same platform sample several insurance policies and buy a cover without interacting with agents.

Cheki has partnered with Hillcroft Insurance Brokers which owns mTek an online platform for buying affordable insurance covers by comparing quotes from several insurers and settle claims faster by filling directly on smartphones.

Following the deal, car buyers will now be able to not only connect to car dealers on Cheki, but also instantly and digitally obtain the matching insurance product through mTek - providing them with a truly end-to-end paperless service.

“We understand obtaining motor insurance can be a headache. So our ultimate goal as mTek is it to provide all our Kenyan customers with choice, outstanding and real-time customer service and most importantly transparency when it comes to this process,” said Bente Krogmann, mTek CEO.

The move by Cheki and Hillcroft to offer purely digital insurance for car buyers is part of the evolution that is increasingly forcing insurance companies to rethink how they offer their services.

Tech platforms that allow customers to sample insurance providers with the click of a button is compelling insurance companies on thin margins to find innovative ways to deliver better services at lower costs.

Insurance firm AAR recently announced a deal with Safaricom to migrate its system to the cloud via Amazon Web Services (AWS) as part of its goal to be a full digital insurance company.

The company has been keen on getting a strategic distribution and payment partner in the digital space as it seeks to improve efficiency and cut costs.

The AWS Cloud service uses the pay-as-you-go model, meaning AAR Insurance will no longer have to deploy expensive hardware infrastructure on premises.

AAR says that digital services will give them an edge through cost savings which it can pass onto its customers to increase its competitive edge.

While their turnaround time has reduced to 48 hours, the medical insurer reckons buying into a technology firm can cut delivery time to under a day.

So far, AAR Insurance has rolled out a number of digital platforms through which clients can enroll and pay for medical, travel and personal accident insurance, manage and track treatment expenses, using phones.

They can also interact real-time with AAR Insurance through WhatsApp.

The medical insurer has recorded a 40 percent increase in uptake of its digital platforms last year as customers sought to avoid physical contact and adhere to restrictions on movement to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Their clients can also access their records electronically via mobile apps and the company’s web portal and pay for services using mobile money platforms such as M-Pesa.

UAP Old Mutual is also automating its medical claims interface with healthcare providers for efficient, paperless medical claims.

This is in partnership with Smart Application International, a healthcare management technology solutions provider.

The digitisation through Smart’s Electronic Data Interchange Solution (EDI) will enable patient access faster treatments by removing the need to fill paper forms.

UAP Health business general Manager Japheth Ogalloh said the innovation, which has been integrated with their backend system, will improve the claiming process by making it more efficient and cost-effective.

“This partnership and innovation underscores our commitment to evolve with the emerging needs of our vendors, intermediaries and customers,” Mr Ogalloh said

“The business environment is changing rather rapidly, and at UAP Old Mutual we are alive to this reality and will continue to innovate as part of our strategy.”

The EDI solution adoption comes at a time when the healthcare space is seeing digitisation in areas such as telemedicine and medical insurance accelerated by the Covid-19’s restrictions.

“Among many other deliverables under the partnership between UAP Old Mutual and Smart Applications International is further automation through implementation of world-class healthcare processes like Straight Through Processing (STP) and Service Based billing, all new in Africa and which will now ride on the EDI framework,” said Smart Applications Group Managing Director Harrison Muiru.