Artificial intelligence was a hot topic at recent start-up event at Sun Life HQ
Last week, Sun Life Financial welcomed a selection of start-ups in insurtech to its new global HQ in Toronto. The firms in attendance were all broadly focused on digital technology, be it client distribution and engagement, early disease detection, artificial intelligence, or predictive modelling and analytics.
Speaking to LHP in September, Sun Life Financial CEO Dean Connor outlined how the firm’s digital footprint was a priority. His comments came on the heels of the launch of Ella, an interactive digital coach platform that assists consumers with their benefits and pension plans.
Connor believes strongly that his company is an innovation leader in the space, and it’s a belief shared right throughout the institution.
Fred Tavan is global head of Innovation Lab, Reinsurance and Insurance Risk at Sun Life and oversees corporate underwriting and medical functions. For Sun Life, innovation comes in a variety of forms that should extend across all business lines.
“The definition of innovation is important and for us it’s pretty broad – any positive change,” he says. “We ask how does the Lab accelerate our business unit. We do that in three very distinct ways. One is through advanced analytics, the second is through partnerships; the third through our global medical experts.”
That commitment towards forging partnerships with smaller firms was the incentive behind inviting the start-ups to Toronto last week. As Tavan explains, it’s part of an overarching strategy that Sun Life has put in place.
“Our approach is to think about partnerships rather than investing in these companies or buying them out,” he says. “I know some of the other big insurers like to invest and maybe have a seat at their board, but our approach is to look for alignment and how to leverage the partnership.”
Sun Life’s global reach is another important part of optimizing the Innovation Lab, especially when it comes to product development.
“The chief medical director at Sun Life also reports to me, and we are able to use the team of global medical experts we have,” says Tavan. “We are starting to move them away from doing traditional case underwriting and they now contribute a lot more of their medical knowledge and expertise to product innovation. They are bringing in ideas like pharmacogenomics and we are getting smarter about how we underwrite diabetes.”
In terms of what insurtech will mean for consumers, most providers are only really starting to scratch the surface. Technology continues to advance at a rapid rate and artificial intelligence has become the next great frontier for companies. Sun Life is no different, although it is baby steps at this stage, explains Tavan.
“We have a PhD in our team that is an AI expert, but what we are trying to do is really leverage what already exists. We keep in close contact with the Vector Institute and we are making sure that we are using the latest technology that is practical.”
In terms of its digital offerings, security is another prerogative. Data breaches and identity theft are a real risk for insurance companies, but one they are acutely aware of.
“We invest a lot of money in security and we rely on those investments to keep us protected,” says Tavan. “It’s ongoing and we have a very rigorous process to get clearance for certain technologies. We need to go through our privacy people, compliance, to make any changes to products. There is a big apparatus to keep the company safe.”
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Speaking to LHP in September, Sun Life Financial CEO Dean Connor outlined how the firm’s digital footprint was a priority. His comments came on the heels of the launch of Ella, an interactive digital coach platform that assists consumers with their benefits and pension plans.
Connor believes strongly that his company is an innovation leader in the space, and it’s a belief shared right throughout the institution.
Fred Tavan is global head of Innovation Lab, Reinsurance and Insurance Risk at Sun Life and oversees corporate underwriting and medical functions. For Sun Life, innovation comes in a variety of forms that should extend across all business lines.
“The definition of innovation is important and for us it’s pretty broad – any positive change,” he says. “We ask how does the Lab accelerate our business unit. We do that in three very distinct ways. One is through advanced analytics, the second is through partnerships; the third through our global medical experts.”
That commitment towards forging partnerships with smaller firms was the incentive behind inviting the start-ups to Toronto last week. As Tavan explains, it’s part of an overarching strategy that Sun Life has put in place.
“Our approach is to think about partnerships rather than investing in these companies or buying them out,” he says. “I know some of the other big insurers like to invest and maybe have a seat at their board, but our approach is to look for alignment and how to leverage the partnership.”
Sun Life’s global reach is another important part of optimizing the Innovation Lab, especially when it comes to product development.
“The chief medical director at Sun Life also reports to me, and we are able to use the team of global medical experts we have,” says Tavan. “We are starting to move them away from doing traditional case underwriting and they now contribute a lot more of their medical knowledge and expertise to product innovation. They are bringing in ideas like pharmacogenomics and we are getting smarter about how we underwrite diabetes.”
In terms of what insurtech will mean for consumers, most providers are only really starting to scratch the surface. Technology continues to advance at a rapid rate and artificial intelligence has become the next great frontier for companies. Sun Life is no different, although it is baby steps at this stage, explains Tavan.
“We have a PhD in our team that is an AI expert, but what we are trying to do is really leverage what already exists. We keep in close contact with the Vector Institute and we are making sure that we are using the latest technology that is practical.”
In terms of its digital offerings, security is another prerogative. Data breaches and identity theft are a real risk for insurance companies, but one they are acutely aware of.
“We invest a lot of money in security and we rely on those investments to keep us protected,” says Tavan. “It’s ongoing and we have a very rigorous process to get clearance for certain technologies. We need to go through our privacy people, compliance, to make any changes to products. There is a big apparatus to keep the company safe.”
Related stories:
Digital platforms an ‘amazing opportunity’ for advisors, says Sun Life CEO
Sun Life Financial announces 3Q 2017 results
