Hong-Kong headquartered life insurance company Prudential announced that it has entered into a regional agreement with HælthTech, a specialist provider of technology solutions and operating platforms for insurers. Under the agreement, Prudential will integrate HælthTech’s OMNI cloud-computing technology into PRUWorks by Prudential, a one-stop platform that offers small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) a range of insurance products, employee benefits and business services that match their size, needs and budget.

HælthTech’s OMNI technology will enable straight-through processing of transactions and accelerate automation of core processes for PRUWorks, enhancing the customer experience from insurance underwriting to policy servicing and claims management.

Prudential and HælthTech will work together to deploy the integrated administration platform in all markets where PRUWorks will be launched. PRUWorks was first launched in Singapore in 2018 and was recently launched in Indonesia this month. 

THE LARGER TREND

Insurtech companies, which are technology-led companies that enter the insurance sector, taking advantage of new technologies to provide coverage to a more digitally savvy customer base, are disrupting the business models of more traditional insurance companies in the industry. In China, for instance, insurtech startup StartupCare was launched in December 2018 to serve the growing startup community in the country.

Traditional insurance companies have responded to the disruption to provide better value and services to their clients through collaborations with digital health companies or other digital platforms. For instance, AIA partnered with digital managed care platform MyDoc in Singapore last December and Prudential also entered into a partnership agreement with UK’s Babylon Health to pioneer AI-powered digital health services in Asia last August.

ON THE RECORD

“As a leading insurer and asset manager, Prudential is committed to supporting the growth of SMEs, which are the backbone of Asia’s economy. By broadening and simplifying access to insurance and employee benefits, PRUWorks enables business owners to focus on what matters most - growing their business,” said Nic Nicandrou, Chief Executive of Prudential Corporation Asia in a statement.

Simon Spratt, Chief Executive Officer of HælthTech, said, “Prudential and HælthTech have a shared vision to create customer-centric solutions using innovative technology. With the fully integrated and versatile OMNI platform, PRUWorks will give SMEs centralised, easily accessible digital services that deliver great value and an enhanced user experience.”