GraceKennedy Group and American insurtech firm Haven Technologies recently announced a partnership that will shift some of the accounts of insurance clients to a new online processing platform.
The conglomerate has several insurance businesses that are held under GraceKennedy Financial Group Limited and serve markets in Jamaica and around the region.
“We will be launching a number of new products. And they will see a big difference and innovation,” said GraceKennedy Group CEO Don Wehby.
Wehby explained that the initial batch of customers transitioning to the new platform will not experience changes. But this will change with new products.
Haven offers cloud-based software that allows the processing of client premiums from ‘quotes to claims’. The arrangement will first be rolled out in Antigua & Barbuda then spread to other regional markets.
“What stood out for us from a technical point of view was that Haven’s platform is cloud-native, end-to-end, and built from the ground up. Having cutting-edge technology was a baseline expectation of any insurtech (insurance technology) we selected. We really prioritised finding a long-term partner that could collaborate and stay with us through integration and implementation. It was clear from our conversations with Haven Technologies that they filled that need, and we have already hit the ground running,” said Deputy CEO of GraceKennedy Financial Group, Steven Whittingham, in a joint press release with Haven in January.
GraceKennedy’s insurance portfolio currently accounts for about 10 per cent of total revenue and 12 per cent of pretax profit. Over nine months ending September 2022, the segment reported a small decline in earnings to $940 million but a rise in revenue to $10.3 billion.
“Our engagement with Haven Technologies is aligned with GraceKennedy’s 2030 Vision, which will see us expanding our services via world-class, digital solutions,” said Wehby in the press release.
Haven will offer to GK its solutions known as: advisor new business, underwriting, policy administration, front-end advocate, claims and migrator.
“Specifically, the partnership between Haven Technologies and the GraceKennedy Financial Group will focus on supporting the rollout of the insurtech’s platform for three GraceKennedy Creditor Life products to the insurer’s current Antigua bancassurance partner. Additionally, Haven Technologies will migrate 3,500 existing GraceKennedy in-force policies to Haven Technologies’ policy admin system,” Haven said.
Once the first phase is completed, the partnership will focus on implementing the GraceKennedy Creditor Life products in additional countries, as well as the implementing of new products.
GraceKennedy’s insurance businesses include GK General Insurance, Key Insurance, GK Insurance Eastern Caribbean, GK Life Insurance Eastern Caribbean, as well as a joint stake in health and life insurer Canopy.
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