Swiss Re, OneConnect enter auto insurance agreement

Swiss Re and OneConnect Financial Technology, a unit of Ping An Group, have announced a collaborative agreement to bring a digital end-to-end solution designed to make motor claims faster, easier and more accurate to process.

The bespoke solution, Swiss Re Smart Claims, is designed to simplify and speed up motor accident claims. Within minutes of receiving a picture of incurred damage, it identifies an appropriate repair strategy and cost.

It will be able to offer optional immediate cash payouts as well.

"Under the 2 = 1 philosophy we aim at creating new solutions that will accelerate the transformation of our industry toward a more digital world, supporting our ambition to make insurance more accessible with frictionless interaction," said Pravina Ladva, group digital transformation officer at Swiss Re.

With the solution, consumers will be able to take a picture of the damaged parts of their vehicle. Proprietary image-based recognition technology and cost prediction algorithms will yield to the adequate repair strategy and approximate repair costs.

Insurers will have the possibility to offer direct cash payouts or direct the driver to a workshop of their choice within minutes of any accident. This saves time and claims processing costs.

For policyholders, the process becomes easier, faster and more transparent. At the same time, insurance companies benefit from process efficiency and services around the analysis of repairs for analytical insights.

Smart Claims will be piloted in Italy and Switzerland in the fourth quarter of this year before a wider roll out in 2021.

Discussions are also ongoing with clients in Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

Both Swiss Re and One Connect also agreed to explore more business opportunities in the smart insurance space.