Tag: Insurance

Australia – Insurance provider QBE Australia (QBE) has joined forces with workplace safety technology platform SafetyCulture, to launch a new insurance market entrant Mitti, a technology-first company that combines the provision of risk management insights and insurance.

The formation of Mitti aims to disrupt the traditional insurance model for small to medium businesses (SMEs) focused on risk mitigation to reduce the likelihood of needing to make a claim. By adopting SafetyCulture’s iAuditor digital inspection app, businesses are given access to its technology that enables them to enlist employees – the ones who are in direct contact with a company’s assets – to help maintain a workplace’s safety.

Through the iAuditor app, employees are able to capture through their mobile phones any spotted damages within a property and share the report across their teams. In addition to the access to the app, Mitti will grant rewards to policyholders that are able to effectively manage risk.

Mitti’s insurance packages include protection from property damages, business interruption, broadform liability, and damage on motor vehicles and portable contents, as well as machinery breakdown.

QBE said that with the new venture, it aims to demonstrate its intent to become a more digitally-enabled business.

QBE Ventures CEO James Orchard said that the ways in which customers interact with technology have evolved considerably, which presents a big opportunity for the insurance industry.

“QBE’s joint venture with SafetyCulture has created a unique and compelling proposition that responds to the needs and ambitions of small and medium businesses in Australia. By leveraging big data, AI, and machine learning, we can deliver more tailored solutions that don’t just assess risk but help customers avoid risks altogether and the losses that come with these,” said Orchard.

Meanwhile, SafetyCulture founder Luke Anear said, “Our partnership with Mitti propels our mission to empower businesses to build a genuine safety culture in their workplace. We’re eager to help more Australian
companies improve their risk management and reap the rewards.”

Mitti joins the portfolio of companies sitting within QBE Ventures such as insurance underwriting platform Cytora, and climate change risk management analytics services Jupiter.

Singapore – Fintech Revolut in Singapore has tied up with micro-insurance provider SNACK to offer its products to its customers. 

Developed by direct insurer NTUC Income, SNACK’s main value proposition is “bite-sized” lifestyle insurance products that can be availed through small premium contributions starting at S$0.30. It offers three main types of policies, namely, life, critical illness, and personal accident protection. 

The “lifestyle-based” in their products refers to the unique way in which SNACK enables individuals to purchase a policy whenever they perform a daily activity or its so-called “lifestyle trigger.” These activities include petrol top-ups, groceries, and dining out. Whenever an activity is completed, a micro-insurance policy will be issued and the premium will be charged to the selected payment mode on SNACK. The coverage grows each time the person completes a trigger, and the sum of all effective policies at that point in time becomes the total coverage amount.

In celebration of the partnership, SNACK will be offering a one-time free S$500 insurance coverage to all Revolut customers who will successfully register on SNACK.

On a LinkedIn post, Revolut’s Head of Growth Pam Chuang said that the partnership allows the company to create a better connected digital ecosystem that leverages the strengths of each other’s platform. 

“SNACK’s modular approach to bite-sized microinsurance fitted to lifestyle needs complements Revolut’s all-in-one personal financial super app, optimizing the customer experience to drive greater empowerment with today’s digital-first lifestyle, where convenience, customization, and flexibility are key,” wrote Chuang.

Revolut was first launched in the UK in 2015. It offers services such as money transfer and exchanges as well as budget planning.

Singapore – In collaboration with lifestyle and travel website The Travel Intern and shopping platform RebateMango, Singapore-based insurance company Great Eastern has launched UPGREAT Virtual Vacay, a new virtual travel and booking platform that offers the comfort and safety of traveling from the users’ own homes.

The platform currently showcases three destinations – Japan, New Zealand, and Taiwan through immersive curated virtual tours. Users will be able to customize their travel experience from deciding where to go, what to do, and what to eat. 

For example, virtually going through Japan, users can Go-Kart through Shibuya and visit Tokyo barsMeanwhile, opting to go to New Zealand will enable users to vitually  wander around the Hobbiton movie set, while a Taiwan virtual trip lets users go through the night markets or take a food tour at Jiufen Old Street.

In the Singapore destination, the platform offers customised staycation itineraries designed to encourage users to explore local sights such as Chinatown, Kampong Glam and Downtown Core.

The company said that in the coming weeks, users can expect for more destinations to be added in the platform such as Korea and Taiwan.

UPGREAT Virtual Vacay will be offering  promotions, rewards, and bundles with travel partners such as Booking.com, Hotels Combined, and Agoda. In celebration of the launch, the application’s “Shop & Earn” feature will also be offering double UPGREAT points which can be earned through travel bookings in Agoda, Klook, and Expedia.  

In addition to this, once users register on the platform, they can receive a complimentary one-year GREAT Value Protect plan, which provides a daily hospital cash benefit for up to 14 days if the user is hospitalized due to COVID-19, Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever, Zika, food poisoning, and accidents, as well as death benefits due to accidents or COVID-19.UPGREAT will also make available to  consumers Travel E@sy, which allows them to reserve their travel insurance plan for any future travel from 2021 at a 60% discount onregular prices,

Ryan Cheong, managing director of digital for business at Great Eastern said, “The love for travel is such a big part of our Singaporean DNA. With UPGREAT Virtual Vacay, we aim to bring customized experiences and travel benefits to our hundreds of thousands of UPGREAT members and all who can’t wait to get out and about. As the Life company, we aim to delight our followers on our digital channels in the areas most exciting to them, and UPGREAT Virtual Vacay is a great way to do this.”

Meanwhile, Hendric Tay, co-founder of The Travel Intern said, “With limited opportunities for physical travel, all we wanted was to be transported to our favorite destinations. Collaborating with Great Eastern to design virtual travel journeys was immensely fun for the team. We hope this can bring delight to anyone who has had to cancel their travel adventures this year, regardless of their travel styles.”

The UPGREAT app is not restricted to Great Eastern customers and is free for anyone in Singapore to join.

Singapore – Aon, a global professional services firm which provides a broad range of risk, retirement, and health solutions, and Singapore-headquartered Doerscircle, an all-in-one services platform dedicated for startups, have entered into a collaboration to provide insurance solutions to the often underserved workforce of entrepreneurs, startuppers, and freelancers. The partnership will initially target Asia, and solutions will be offered through Doerscircle’s platform.

According to the information by the companies, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore account for two-thirds of all employment and contribute to close to S$200 billion to the Singaporean economy. 

Meanwhile, on a global scale, despite the World Bank’s recent findings that almost 50% of the global workforce is self-employed, access and affordability continue to be a challenge as traditional insurance plans are not usually designed to fit the needs of the self-employed.

Aon and Doerscircle aim to address these pain points and at the same time, leverage the economical contribution of this demographic of workers. The collaboration will see the development of commercial, risk, and health insurance solutions to answer the needs of smaller enterprises and independent workers, enabling them to focus on growing their business instead of spending time and energy on understanding and managing insurance issues.

Members of Doerscircle will be able to have access to tailored insurance solutions through a streamlined online process on the Doerscircle platform.

Over time, Doerscircle aims to extend these offerings to include more products and countries, leveraging Aon’s broad network, risk management expertise, and global capabilities.

“The current business and economic environment are changing the way people work. We are excited to collaborate with Doerscircle to address the specific insurance needs of this key segment of independent workers,” said Tobias Schneider, head of financial institutions and SME of Affinity Asia unit at Aon.

Meanwhile, Doerscircle founder Helle Priess said, “Doerscircle aims to challenge the status quo and reshape the world for independent doers – entrepreneurs, startuppers and freelancers. We strongly believe that insurance solutions should be accessible, relevant, easy to understand, and transparent. We’re thrilled that Aon has the same vision. We’re confident that together, we will set new standards in insurance offerings for independent doers.”

Singapore – Insurance company AIA Singapore has announced that it will be offering a complimentary insurance plan called AIA #ShareTheLove, specifically dedicated to essential workers, where beneficiaries will be nominated through Facebook or Instagram.

The company said that the new insurance plan is part of its efforts to pay tribute to essential workers. The plan will cover COVID-19 and 21 infectious diseases including dengue fever.

The nomination started yesterday, September 9, where members of the public may nominate a family member or a friend provided that the individual is an essential worker and a Singapore resident.

Those who wish to nominate will be asked to post a photo or video of the essential worker on their Facebook or Instagram page and include a message of appreciation with at least 100 words with a focus on the person’s story of resilience and why the insurance is the best gift for him or her. According to the mechanics, the post, in order to qualify must be set to public, must tag AIA Singapore’s social media accounts, and should include the hashtags #ShareTheLove and #AIASG.

Once a story is selected, AIA will be giving the free insurance to both the person who submitted the story and the nominee.

The initiative is part of a regional AIA #ShareTheLove movement taking place across Asia. The movement also saw the implementation of other assistance programs such as AIA representatives’ pledge to donate a portion of their policy sales towards the company’s adopted charities.

AIA Singapore Chief Customer and Digital Officer Melita Teo said, “These workers have put the communities’ needs above their own health and wellbeing. Aside from COVID-19, the exposure to infectious diseases is not over even after ending their work, as dengue cases continue to plague homes. By engaging the help of the community at large, we hope to play a part in bringing more of these amazing stories of resilience to light and paying tribute to our essential workforce. This is a little gesture of appreciation for the sacrifices that they have and continue to make as we deal with this crisis.”