Swiss Re Corporate Solutions offers to share global programme tech

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions is in talks with a number of brokers and insurers interested in using its multinational insurance platform technology. The move could help standardise technology used to place and manage global programmes, speeding up data flows and service delivery. It could also lower the barriers to entry in the global programme space, giving new players an off-the-shelf technology solution. While rival multinational insurers have developed proprietary platforms and client portals, Swiss Re has developed an “open” technology solution that can be shared and co-developed with brokers and insurers. It can also integrate with corporate client systems and captives. The Switzerland-based insurer told CRE it is now in talks with a number of brokers and insurers that could use the technology to manage global programmes, from placement through to claims. In October, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions announced it is to license its multinational insurance platform to international broker network Brokerslink. The two companies will co-develop a dedicated international insurance programme management platform for Brokerslink, using Swiss Re’s technology. As a relatively new player in the primary multinational insurance programme market, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions set about developing its own platform, launching International Programme Administrator a year ago. Building a platform from “scratch” meant that Swiss Re could address the many bugbears that typically exist in current offerings, explained Fred Kleiterp, chief executive of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions in the EMEA region. “This is not about owning answers but about co-developing solutions with partners to minimise pain points that exist in the delivery of multinational programmes today. We have developed a market-leading system for our own purpose, but we believe there is an opportunity to be open and share and co-develop a solution with the goal of providing a better service for the customer,” he said. Swiss Re’s “open” technology is likely to appeal to brokers and insurers that fall outside the top tier. In recent years, a number of primary commercial insurers have entered the multinational insurance programme market, typically targeting companies with a smaller footprint and/or certain lines of business. “Our partnership with Brokerslink is a proof point and once it is a success, we can open it up to others in 2020,” said Samrat Dua, chief innovation and transformation officer at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. “We are in discussions with a number of carriers and brokers and I am confident we will get traction,” he said. When designing the platform, Swiss Re sought to address numerous concerns of risk managers and inefficiencies in the placement and management of global programmes, according to Mr Dua. For example, risk managers are frustrated by the speed and quality of service for global programmes, as well as the lack of transparency on data. There are also significant inefficiencies and friction in data flows between parties, while risk managers are unable to view all their international insurance programme-related transactions on one platform, he said. “We have started with a clean sheet of paper, reduced inefficiencies and addressed the pain points in multinational programmes,” explained Mr Kleiterp. “We also give risk managers the data they need to manage programmes in a format that can be integrated into their own systems,” he said. The International Programme Administrator platform is integrated into Swiss Re Corporate Solution’s own underwriting, policy administration, risk engineering and claims systems, explained Mr Dua. It uses “smart workflows” for efficient communication and task handovers across the globe. It has a client portal called PULSE to boost transparency. Meanwhile, application programme interfaces (APIs) can enable data to flow into broker systems and customers’ risk management systems. By using an open technology platform and APIs, data can flow between parties faster and more efficiently, without the need for manual rekeying, explained Mr Dua. The open platform also lends itself to more standardised multinational insurance products. Last week, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions launched ONE Form, a globally standardised property policy that uses standardised local and master policy wordings to increase contract certainty and speed up policy issuance. ONE Form is embedded in the International Programme Administrator platform, automating master and local policy issuance.

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions offers to share global programme tech

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