MetLife has started tests on an automated insurance solution that will see enrolled pregnant women in Singapore get an automatic payout in case they are diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
Developed by LumenLab, the innovation center of MetLife Asia, the experimental product known as ‘Vitana’ will make it unnecessary for enrollees of the insurance cover to file a claim. According to MetLife, this is the world’s first automated insurance solution that employs blockchain technology in a pilot phase. Additionally, Vitana is the first insurance product focusing on gestational diabetes in Singapore where 20% of expectant mothers suffer from the condition.
“In today’s world, people expect experiences to be simple, automated, and digital,” the CEO of LumenLab and the chief innovation officer of MetLife Asia, Zia Zaman, said in a statement. “We saw an opportunity to test how blockchain can make insurance more seamless and we’ve partnered with some of the best companies in their fields to create a blueprint to launch new parametric insurance products in the future.”
Fast and Convenient
With Vitana the electronic medical records of customers are securely connected via a mobile device before an insurance policy is issued within minutes. All that pregnant women in the first six months of the pregnancy need to do is download a mobile app. During the pilot phase, the maximum insurance coverage offered is SGD 2,500 (approximately $US 1,830). Vitana was developed within the regulatory sandbox of Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Some of the firms that partnered with LumenLabs to develop Vitana included electronic medical records provider Vault Dragon, blockchain tech firm Cognizant and reinsurer SwissRe. Additionally, LumenLab is also partnering with the Singapore Medial Group Women’s Health besides other clinics.
@MetLife ,#LumenLabSG & its partners @SwissRe , @Cognizant , #VaultDragon, #SMGWomenHealth launched an experimental insurance product #VitanaSG using #blockchain to eliminate claims https://t.co/WLEODoEH05 #innovation #collaboration #Singapore pic.twitter.com/v8qoHIPpuJ
— LumenLab (@lumenlabsg) August 20, 2018
Member of R3 Blockchain Consortium
MetLife Inc, the parent company of MetLife Asia, has been experimenting with blockchain technology now. Roughly two years ago, the New York-based financial insurance firm which was founded in 1868 joined the R3 blockchain consortium. As CCN reported at the time it was the first multinational insurer to join to the blockchain consortium led by R3, a tech startup.
MetLife’s Vitana is similar to an initiative by South Korea’s Kyobo Life where efforts were announced last year in April to develop blockchain applications that would see automatic claims payouts to medical insurance policyholders. In the South Korean initiative, the state-backed Kyobo Life partnered with a blockchain firm and a medical records firm as well as South Korea’s National Information Agency.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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