4 Singapore insurers sign pact with authority

Singapore’s media development authority signed a memorandum of intent, or MOI, with four insurance companies – Great Eastern, LumenLab (MetLife’s Innovation Centre in Asia), NTUC Income and Prudential Singapore – to improve the digital capabilities of the country’s insurance sector.

The emergence of new technologies is disrupting the insurance industry, but incumbents are not doing much to adapt. While 74 percent of insurance companies predict disruption of their businesses, only 14 percent actively participate in relevant programs, according to a report by PWC.

Meanwhile, insurtech firms have raised USD2.3 billion worth of investments in 2017, according to EY.

Under the pact, Singapore-based technology companies can partner with established insurance companies to co-develop innovative solutions for the industry. But first, they have to be  accredited under the government’s Accreditation@SG Digital program.

“This partnership with Great Eastern, LumenLab, Income and Prudential is an exciting effort to identify problem statements in the insurance industry and co-develop innovative InsurTech solutions,” said Tan Kiat How, chief executive of Infocomm Media Development Authority, or IMDA, said in a statement.