The Singapore-based Applied Innovation Institute (Aii), in partnership with Quest Ventures, this month released the inaugural Applied Innovation Institute Singapore Insurance Innovation and Digital Benchmark, which ranked the innovation and digitisation efforts of 25 insurers in Singapore.

In the benchmark ICMIF member NTUC Income, a home-grown Singapore insurer, ranked first in innovation, online, and overall. In response to the benchmark, Mr Peter Tay (pictured), Chief Operating Officer of NTUC Income, said: “We are delighted to be ranked first on the Index. It is a testament to our strength as Singapore’s leading digital insurer and we are heartened by the recognition particularly with our lead position in innovation and online. Our impetus for innovation and digitization has always been customer-centricity as we strive to offer our customers choices when they engage with us. We understand that customers are accustomed to quick gratifications from online transactions that are often supported by a seamless user experience. As such, we are constantly challenging ourselves to ideate insurance propositions that play to the way customers access, engage and use information digitally these days. To sharpen our offerings and engagements with our customers, we have also made calculated decisions to embark on and leverage specific customer engagement strategies and channels. With an agile mindset, we are set to tweak our digital strategies and tactics to enhance customers’ experience with us constantly. We look forward to reimagine our collective future via insurance.”

This benchmark was the first in Singapore to measure the ability of corporations to cope with disruptive innovation. Researchers at the Applied Innovation Institute recorded and analysed more than 80 data points across social, online, and innovation metrics to benchmark the progress of insurers towards key industry innovation and digitalisation goals.

The goal of the benchmark is to help insurers in Singapore understand the effectiveness of their innovation initiatives and drive innovation and digitalisation amongst insurers. Insurers such as NTUC Income have all set up innovation initiatives in Singapore. Following the release of the benchmark, the Applied Innovation Institute will continue to pen insights specific to the region.

Professor Paris de l’Etraz, Chairman of the Board at the Applied Innovation Institute said: “In a world where disruption is the only constant, we believe that it is even more important for corporations to understand the incredible challenges that lie in their strategy roadmaps. Singapore is a key hub for innovation in the region. The Applied Innovation Institute looks forward to being a key partner for leading corporations in Singapore and help foster innovation and disruption in the region.”

Mr James Tan, Managing Partner at Quest Ventures said: “Singapore is a perfect innovation hub for insurers. Global and regional insurers have set up innovation labs and innovation initiatives in Singapore to cope with impending disruptions. With thousands of startups around the world hot on the heels of incumbent insurers, understanding disruption today is more than just an insurance policy for insurers.”

Overview of the methodology:

• Insurers were benchmarked based on three categories: online, social and innovation. The categories contributed to the overall score and were weighted 40%, 30%, and 30% respectively.
• Online: Insurers were evaluated based on their online user experience and efficacy of acquisition channels. Google’s Knowledge Graph was taken into account and the web optimization of insurers, including their search optimization and website quality.
• Social: Insurers were evaluated based on average engagement rates and follower growth across five key platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and Snapchat). Absolute numbers from an insurer’s follower pool were used to fairly benchmark the relative engagement rates of insurers. Frequency of social media posts do affect the score.
• Innovation: Insurers were evaluated based on their foray into and success of incremental and disruptive innovations. Key categories included direct-to-consumer (DTC) insurance, online claims processing, personalized insurance, on demand insurance, rapid claims processing (<5 Minutes), service first mind-sets, fee-driven insurance, innovations to improve user behaviour, and data collection to improve risk underwriting. DTC only or DTC heavy insurers received a slight boost.

Key insights from the report:

• NTUC Income, a home-grown insurer in Singapore, ranked overall first in the benchmark.
• Income’s performance was the result of strong sub-section scores in the online and innovation. Income, for example, ranked on the first page of Google Singapore’s non-personalized search results in 7 of 7 relevant categories (Travel, Personal Accident, Health, Home, Motor, Maid, and Life).
• Regional and local insurers, which included NTUC Income, ranked in the top 10 of the overall benchmark.
• Insurers with strong customer-centric mind-sets and comprehensive innovation strategies succeed.

For more information on the 2018 Applied Innovation Institute Singapore Insurance Innovation and Digital Benchmark, please visit http://go.appliedinnovationinstitute.org/sginsurers.