South African-based life insurance company Sanlam has entered into a partnership with global innovation platform Plug and Play, headquartered in Silicon Valley.
Sanlam says it's the first South African partner in the Plug and Play Insurtech programme.
The life insurance company joins Plug and Play Insurtech to tie the South African insurtech ecosystem to Silicon Valley.
Through the implementation of start-up technology into Sanlam, the company aims to transform the customer experience, automate processes within its organisation for a better experience, and leverage the data it has to boost growth, it says.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Plug and Play Insurtech is an innovation platform bringing together corporations, start-ups and investors to work on improving the industry. Its successful portfolio exits include PayPal and Dropbox.
Since inception in 2006, the innovation platform has garnered over 6 000 start-ups and 220 official corporate partners. Its programmes have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 20 locations globally.
Sanlam joins Plug and Play to tie the South African insurtech ecosystem to Silicon Valley, says the local company.
"Insuretech is fundamentally changing the way we present insurance solutions to our clients. Sanlam is a client-centric company and joining hands with Plug and Play is a natural fit as we look for ways to enhance our business models and technology layers to improve our offering to our clients," says Ahmed Banderker, chief executive of Sanlam Business Development.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sanlam to Plug and Play Insurtech. Their expertise will be hugely valuable to start-ups and our ecosystem at-large. As our first African partner, we have much to learn and are looking forward to tackling innovation together," says Ali Safavi, global head insurtech and principal Plug and Play Ventures.
"To kick off the partnership, Sanlam will be co-hosting an event with Plug and Play in South Africa. This October event will celebrate compelling insurtech start-ups and highlight Sanlam's innovation initiatives. Together they are working to bridge the gap between Silicon Valley and South Africa."
While insurtech companies are yet to challenge the dominance of incumbent insurance providers, the emergence of these new competitors highlights the disruptive potential digital technology combined with the right mind-set hold, says Deloitte.
Digital plays an important role in product design, product distribution and service delivery in the insurance industry, it says. It can speed up the time-to-market for new products, reduce the cost of the service and unlock markets which were previously perceived to be unviable, adds Deloitte.
The consulting firm urges organisations to look at how they can shape business culture to fully leverage digital technologies and to unlock new opportunities.
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