Insurtech Australia features Ok Away
Insurtech Australia features Ok Away
As we brought together this April newsletter it caused us to reflect on how much things can change within the space of one month. There is no doubt every industry is being affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, some more than others, and insurance and insurtech is certainly not immune. As businesses adapt to different ways of working and communicating, the focus on the importance of technology has never been quite so stark and it is likely that once the dust settles, there will be lasting effects on the way businesses and their staff operate in the future.
In this month’s newsletter, we hear from some of our insurtech members around how they are playing a role during this crisis period. For example, the LiveLogik platform by Claim Central Consolidated is being utilised to support government and industries through its virtual collaboration and assessment tools. The Ok Away app has also just launched to provide travel and safety updates and keep loved ones connected – you can read more about this in the interview with Veronica Hey at the end of the newsletter. Coverhero talks about providing support for Australian freelancers and contractors at this time. Evari and JRNY also feature in articles focused on the simplification of insurance and why digitisation is critical now more than ever.
There has also been some positive news over the last month for a number of our members with iaAnyware launching two new broking products, Montoux expanding into the UK and 7 of our members reaching the IDC Financial Insights’ top 50 leading Insurtech companies in the Asia Pacific. On the partnership front, Blue Zebra announced their new partnership with Youi and DXC Technology recently announced their collaboration with corporate health and wellbeing insurtech Springday. We also welcomed two new members in March – JAVLN and Agile Underwriting.
Whilst we will be taking a break from our face to face events over the coming months and have postponed our annual delegation until February 2021, the next few months will see us have a stronger focus on digital activity to continue our support for members, partners and the broader insurtech industry. Most importantly we hope that you, your business and your families are all coping through this difficult period and that we will all come out stronger at the other end.
Regards,
Rita
Remote Interactions tech suddenly under huge demand
Claims Central CEO Brian Siemsen was on Sky News last week talking about LiveLogik.net – and how it is supporting industries and government dealing with the implications of the #COVID19 crisis.
It is suddenly under huge demand as it allows remote interactions with customers in scenarios such as insurance claims assessment, property inspections, think any scenario that requires a conversation with a person in a remote location with the collection and capture of evidence, including built-in digital signing and geotagging.
READ MORE
Ok Away have launched their new travel app
Our member, Ok Away (previously known as Blackbook Traveller), have launched their new travel app. It allows family and friends to connect while travelling via mapped location sharing, itinerary updates, information sharing and travel alerts. The data that Ok Away collects provides a rich picture of travel-related behaviours and risks with the current focus of the app on safety and alerts surrounding Covid-19.
READ MORE
Why Digitising the Customer Experience is more important than ever for Insurers
Offering a personalised and simple online experience for customers is even more important than ever during a stressful and emotional pandemic. From the confines of their home, your customers are wondering what they’re covered for and the uninsured are thinking about buying insurance right now.
Read more from Bindy Egden at JRNY…
READ MORE
Former-Zurich CEO talks about simplifying insurance
Former-Zurich CEO, Daniel Fogarty, says Evari’s attempt to modernise small business insurance into a flexible, adaptable 21st-century product is the aim of the firm. “Customer expectations have changed,” said Fogarty. “They want flexibility and we try to offer that.”
READ MORE
iaAnyware rolls out two new insurance broking solutions
Our member, iaAnyware, has launched two new web-based insurance broking solutions – iAdviser and iBroker. The new iaAnyware software is a fully-integrated solution that utilises APIs and AI to offer brokers complete control and effortless access.
READ MORE
Blue Zebra and Youi confirm new underwriting relationship
Our member, Blue Zebra, is working exclusively with Youi to explore the opportunity to be Blue Zebra’s new underwriting partner for personal lines and SME business, the latter to be launched in the second quarter. This initiative supports Blue Zebra’s ambition to empower brokers to increase penetration of personal lines business and continue to innovate and expand into the commercial market.
READ MORE
PRESS RELEASE
Coverhero takes action to save the nation’s freelancers and contractors
Insurtech disruptor Coverhero has taken the charge to save Australia’s freelancers and contractors from the COVID-19 threat by providing those who contract the virus income protection through its flagship product, Hustlecover.
READ MORE
50 Leading InsurTech Companies in Asia/Pacific in 2020
IDC Financial Insights has released the InsurTech Fast 50 research initiative which details a list of leading InsurTechs in the Asia/Pacific* from 12 key markets, in Innovations in Customer-Centric Product Design and Distribution
Congratulations to our members who made the list: Codafication, Evari, Hello Claims, Cover Genius, Coverhero, Flamingo Ai and Galileo Platforms.
READ MORE
Insurance Business Australia Awards finalists revealed
The Insurance Business Australia Awards finalists for 2020 have been revealed. The event defines excellence in the insurance industry, recognising the achievements of outstanding brokers, brokerages, insurers, underwriters and industry leaders across a range of categories. Congratulations to our members, who have been nominated in these four categories.
Underwriting Agencies Council Australian Underwriting Agency of the Year Blue Zebra Insurance
Best Digital Strategy – Underwriting Agency – Blue Zebra Insurance
Best Service Provider Award – Cover Genius, * InsurX (Part of Claim Central Consolidated)
Brokerage of the Year – (1-5 Staff) Clear Insurance
Winners will be revealed on Friday, May 01.
READ MORE
Congratulations to Digisure
Congratulations to our member, DigiSure, who have been shortlisted for Plug and Play Asia Pacific. Their team will be presenting/participating in the Plug and Play Insurtech Singapore’s Selection week, from April 7th & 8th. (This event has heavily been impacted by COVID-19 and therefore has been changed to a fully virtual event.) It will be an opportunity for DigiSure to exhibit how they use deep understanding to provide automated data-driven solutions for underwriting and distribution in the insurance and financial sectors.
READ MORE
Montoux opening up new UK offices
After months of planning (and sorting out a visa or two) Montoux is thrilled to share that they’re officially opening up their UK office! Chief Customer Officer Shelley Cox is making the leap and moving to Edinburgh to kickstart the office, getting to know some of their UK customers in person, and energizing their presence in the market. She recently spoke with Montoux’s Commercial Director Tim Roots in Wellington about the move and what it means for Montoux and their UK customers and partnerships.
READ MORE
Coronavirus Resources
DLA Piper has set up a dedicated global Coronavirus Resource Centre to assist clients with their responses to COVID-19 including alerts, insights and responses.
RESOURCES CENTRE
Coronavirus Stimulus Packages
Macquarie’s technical services team have released details of the two coronavirus stimulus packages passed in the Australian Federal Parliament on Monday 23 March 2020. Read the breakdown to find out more.
READ MORE
How to get to market faster
So you’ve got an awesome idea, MVP or full product/service offering and are eager to disrupt the market… but don’t know how you’re regulated or how to comply?
READ MORE
Client Choice Awards 2020 Winners
The team at our Legal Partners, The Fold, are delighted to have won Best Law & Related Services Firm (<$30m revenue) - Banking & Finance at the Client Choice Awards. This recognition means a lot, as the awards are based on direct feedback from the people that matter most - their clients. "Thank you to all our clients for supporting us and helping us to continue to improve our service, and congratulations to the entire Fold team on this achievement." READ MORE DXC Technology Announces Collaboration with Corporate Health & Wellbeing Insurtech Springday DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC), the world’s leading independent, end-to-end IT services company, announced the launch of the community edition of Springday, a digital evidence-based wellbeing platform designed to reduce psychological injury claims. The community edition provides employers with a cost-effective online platform that allows employees to proactively manage their physical and mental wellbeing through gamification reducing the likelihood of workplace-related workers’ compensation claims. READ MORE The Evolution of Insurtech The insurance industry is looking to partner with incumbents & to find insurtechs to work with that can solve some of their pain points. Read more in Insurance CIO Outlook, written by our CEO, Rita Yates. READ MORE As per every other organisation across Australia, we have put a hold on running our face to face events until such time as the government and health advice warrants us to review this decision. In place of our events, we have started running webinars for our members (the first last week on the GI Code of Practice 2020) and may look to introduce webinars or similar digital content for the broader public over the coming months. We are even having discussion with some of our global counterparts to potentially bring you something quite unique. Stay tuned. JAVLN JAVLN are leaders in world-class insurance software innovation designed specifically for insurance agents, brokers and insurers. Our modern cloud-based software architecture delivers profitability, compliance, business efficiencies and customers back their time. Visit javln.com for more info. Agile Underwriting An innovative Managing General Agent (MGA) combining traditional underwriting processes with digital distribution and product development. Visit agileunderwriting.com for more info. The Inspire Insurtech Interview’ series are interviewed to inspire your fellow insurtechs. We’d like to share who you are, what you do, what we can expect from you in the future. This month we are talking we talk to Veronica Hey from Ok Away. Enjoy!
Tell us Ok Away’s brief pitch
Ok Away allows family and friends to connect while travelling via mapped location sharing, itinerary updates, information sharing and travel alerts. The data that Ok Away collects provides a rich picture of travel-related behaviours and risks.
So how did Ok Away begin?
After studying Tourism and travelling extensively, I saw increasing incidents impacting travellers overseas and I thought ‘there must be a better way?’.
For nearly eight years, I have been looking into ways that technology could connect the travel community, communicate safety issues and even search for missing travellers.
That was the start of the Missing Pages initiative, amongst the first global initiatives to assist the families of missing travellers with the painful and confusing process of locating loved ones.
Now comes Ok Away.
How has Ok Away evolved since inception?
When I started developing the idea, GPS and geo-mapping technology were in its infancy. Now we can put the power in the hands of travellers through their smartphones. We’ve also extensively researched our audiences. We know what travellers want and we have been ruthless in cutting out anything that does not add value.
With the development of mapping technology, we now have the means to know where our friends and family are, view their travel history and plans, what is going on in their vicinity and be notified if they fail to arrive at a destination.
What is your team currently working on? Any accomplishments you’d like to tell us about?
We are in launch mode, so we’re flat out with continued testing and slowly introducing Ok Away to the market, however, we are really proud of a few firsts.
Our Itinerary feature allows travellers to post their itinerary for a day trip or long trip abroad. Family and friends will be instantly notified when a new itinerary is created and they can view the upcoming trip, travel insurance information and other details. Followers will receive alerts when the traveller arrives and departs each location or if they are late to arrive.
Given the current situation with Covid-19 and the decision of the Australian Government to discontinue the ‘Smart traveller’ App, we also decided to link to official Australian Smart Traveller warnings. We are also looking to link to the U.K Government Travel warnings. We can add other Countries as we see demand.
How does Ok Away give back?
During the last 8 years, we’ve conducted over 30 online location-targeted ad campaigns for missing travellers at no cost to families via our Missing Pages initiative. We follow up on any credible leads provided and pass this information onto relevant authorities as well as encouraging missing person poster distribution with locals.
Families can now post missing loved ones through the Community section of the App and members nearby will receive a notification.
What is Ok Away’s the biggest challenge in today’s markets?
The global response to COVID-19 has hit travel hard.
We believe when the global community returns cautiously to travel we can offer a little peace of mind and play our role in creating a safer and better-connected world.
Now more than ever travellers are acutely aware of the importance of travel insurance and being across what is included in their policy.
Anything else that you would like to say that we haven’t asked?
The Ok Away app is available free on both iOS and Android. Ok Away also sells a collection of travel safety products, with a percentage of proceeds going towards supporting our Missing Pages Initiative and the Ok Away app.
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Insurtech Australia is helping make Australia a world leader in Insurtech by fostering a diverse community of insurance innovation and collaboration by bringing together insurtechs, insurance practitioners, entrepreneurs, technologists, innovators, and industry stakeholders across Australia.
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