Aligned has landed its flagship digital insurance platform – Origami in Malaysia and is in the process of landing it in South East Asia, China, UK, Europe, and the USA. An online Software-as-a-Service Platform, Origami is a white-labelled insurance sales and administration solution for all insurance products and geographic diversities. It enables each product configuration, including benefits, terms, rating algorithms, and policy documents setup for instant sales and policy lifecycle servicing in any language and currency in just a couple of weeks. This is revolutionary, giving insurance companies a competitive advantage to:
Since releasing Origami, Aligned:
Has formed a Joint Venture company in Malaysia where we have launched ORIGAMI with the first product via an affinity channel and are in the process of launching additional products for mass market distribution channels. Malaysia is undergoing de-tarification and deregulation of its insurance market and this strategically positions Aligned as the frontrunner to help local insurance industry increase their competitiveness via product innovation and high standards servicing deliveries with low investment costs .
Is in the process of finalising distribution agreements in China and have at least three major opportunities that have expressed interest in Origami platform, of which two have signed Heads of Agreements to begin defining detailed implementation plans.
Finalizing production release for a series of Accident and Health Insurance products for distribution.
Aligned’s marketing strategy is to collaborate with companies and individuals who are well connected in the insurance circle in each target market to spearhead our business expansions globally. At this time, sales are based on two models: a software purchase with licensing agreement, or revenue share based on transaction volumes or generated premiums. These two models support payment by both the insurance provider (B2B) or policyholder (B2C).
Aligned is an international company with offices in Sydney, Singapore, Denmark and (soon) China.
The company’s principals include: Kevin Jin, a former principal architect for QBE with extensive background in Financial Services industry; Nick Barlow, former principal architect for CSC Financial Services Group Oceania and also prior principal in 5 other successful software based start-ups; Susan He, senior executive for multinational insurers (QBE, AIG, IAG) with a broad range of international insurance product management experience.
With the deep knowledge and rich experience in insurance products and insurance IT solutions, Aligned offers not just a Technology Solution but adds significant value in building Insurance Product Innovation in the digital insurance field.
Our core business objective is to provide innovative digital solutions for successful insurance business generation and profitability. Instead of being an IT company like most of our peers with traditional build on request business model, Aligned decided 3 years ago to invest in building a truly innovative insurance platform – Origami, that can alleviate many insurers’ pains of facing IT investment costs accumulation due to market demand for automation and continued expenses hike from manual processing and servicing of non automated products.
To address these challenges, Origami is built with two key components: a) Digital Insurance Product Manufacturing, revolutionary in digitising all insurance products for distribution and service automations; and, b) All product end-to-end Policy Administration Processing Automation.
Origami’s Digital Product Management Function enables:
Origami will help both life and non-life insurers and insurance intermediaries to dramatically reduce operating expenses while opening up distribution opportunities with highly innovative means for tailored product sales and seamless policy lifecycle services either at first customer contact or via intermediaries.
After completion of building a global eCommerce platform for QBE, we tested our revolutionary SaaS (Software as a Service) product Origami in a number of different markets before releasing it in May 2016 in Malaysia.
Headquartered in Australia and with a development center in Singapore, we’ve been granted an Australian software patent, and have began negotiations with companies worldwide, from China to Scandinavia.
At Aligned Business, we believe in Simpler Solutions, Faster Service, and Smarter Technology. With Origami, we’ve created exactly that. Read on to find out how we’re enabling insurance industry innovation!
Insurance companies struggle to introduce new products and respond to competition in part due to legacy, outdated systems, and sporadic and disintegrated product automation solutions which are often expensive to develop, slow to market, and do not meet customer needs.
In today’s world, private and commercial customers are demanding automated quotes and policy services in keeping with their habits of purchasing other products and services online.
But insurers face two major challenges for the digital transition from an operational aspect:
Systemize all products’ underwriting and pricing in order to automate different product sales processes via different distribution channels and geographics. So far automation is still limited at direct to market consumer products like car, home, and travel insurance and/or limited at ad hoc commercial product automation.
Reduce per product, per channel, per country system development costs where IT expenses eat deep into underwriting profit. Further more, many automation investments have not yielded expected sales volumes due to product rigidity as a result of IT hard coding.
The entire marketplace is going digital and insurance companies need to be able to offer automated sales of all insurance products via diverse distribution channels on any digital device — and in an easy way that doesn’t further bog down perpetually overloaded IT costs.
The answer: Aligned Business’ Origami.
Origami, the Aligned’s flagship digital insurance platform, addresses the global consumer purchase trend and key operational challenges. Origami has many unique advantages:
Streamlined
Origami enables immediate, comprehensive and tailored insurance product configuration on one central platform for all insurance products in any sales process, via any distribution channel, in any country, currency and language, and accessible on any digital device.
Flexible
Highly flexible quotation process, dynamic rating (pricing) algorithm and documentation set-up that caters to any product automation requirements and underwriting complexity.
Dynamic
Dynamic product configuration, document generation and sales UI processes that allow drag and drop elements and steps. This ensures implementation of different products / sales strategies, segments, and channel needs.
For example:
Automated
Origami allows white labeling for different sales channels, self-service for intermediaries (check their quotes, commission, customers,) and for customers (check quotations, policies, invoices, make payments) that enables instant and transparent sales performance and management processes.
Plug-and-Play
Origami is an immediate SaaS solution — immediate purchase with immediate access. No need for IT investment or installation, we can launch the product for new clients within 3 to 6 weeks.
Comprehensive
Origami is an end-to-end product & policy administration system. Our comprehensive solution includes sales channel and product management tools, a policy admin platform, and underwriting that can interact with the system in order to approve policies and set parameters or guidelines for what policies are approved or not. Origami is a comprehensive solution for insurance businesses.
Aligned Business has also configured a unique solution on Origami platform to help Malaysian insurance companies remain competitive in anticipation for the deregulated car and home insurance market later this year. Because of the current tariff-based market condition, many insurance companies lack the ability to quickly roll out new insurance products and distribute to customers via multiple channels.
On May 1st, we launched quickqot.com, which gives customers an indicative private car insurance quote by simply answering two questions. Not only will quickqot.com accelerate insurance companies decision to utilize the Origami platform, it has standalone capabilities of its own. Quickqot.com is fully supported by eTiQa insurance, a member company of Maybank group, the largest financial service institution in Malaysia.
Origami will help local insurers compete in the upcoming deregulated insurance market, as the most cost effective and flexible platform for yielding sales success to processing efficiency.
We are currently in discussions with many mid-sized insurance companies and affinity partners, e.g. telcos, in Malaysia who anticipate the upcoming change in Malaysia’s auto and home insurance deregulation and foresee the need for digital insurance platforms that meet the rising consumer demand for faster insurance service, winning competition via pricing, and benefits transparency. Quickqot.com and Origami can deliver exactly that.
In addition to our Malaysian customers, we have been building a tailor made digital insurance platform for QBE USA, a global insurer, to roll out two new Accident and Health products initially, QBE chose to work with Aligned Business because of our:
Ability to quickly and cheaply configure products
Online sales capability,
Intermediary self-service capability, and
Low cost of insurance product release.
QBE gives us unique access to the USA insurance legislation and rules, and provides us an excellent reference as to the capabilities of the software.
Our strategic primary business focus is to acquire ORIGAMI clients across all geographics. We believe we are able to build a strong pipeline of clients: we have showed more than 15 insurers and insurance intermediary companies around the world in the past 12 months via live demos of over a dozen consumer as well as commercial insurance products using actual underwriting rating logics and premium calculation algorithms adopted by underwriters for different products in different companies/countries. As a result, we have attracted strong interests and are in progressive talks for provider contracts with several MNC insurers and brokers in Europe / UK, China and Australia. We believe we will get US client interests for ORIGAMI leveraging on our experience servicing QBE’s North Amerca operation.
We have signed MOU with a vehicle aftersales service company that has nationwide repairer network with million plus customers in China to use ORIGAMI as their financial service product distribution platform, and are in the process of confirming two auto insurance sales platforms for brokers and a separate Chinese joint venture where the heads of agreement are already in place.
We are also close to signing a provider contract with an aviation insurer in Europe to pilot launch drones insurance scheme, eying the growing market trend in this sector.
Establishing distribution networks and local servicing capabilities in different countries is a major priority for us which is why we are keen on forming joint ventures wherever possible.
Fast forward, by analyzing and monetizing data information, Aligned Business can further enable insurance companies gather detailed intelligence to sell highly “personalized” insurance products meeting rapidly changing market demand, while further shifting Aligned Business into a Big Data driven service company.
Our strategic aim moving forward is to position Origami as the solution of choice for new insurance products. Strategically, Origami will allow insurance companies to self-service develop and release products quickly and painlessly, dramatically changing the current insurance paradigm.
Kevin is responsible for Origami product development, system solutioning for all insurance product configuration and sales process on Origami, and client implementation rollout management. He has 15 years of experience working for large insurance companies as lead technologist, and is familiar with all insurance front and backend system architecture and technologies. Kevin taught at the University of New South Wales.
Nick is responsible for technology direction and design to ensure Origami’s high degree of flexibility and adaptability to all countries and distribution channels. He has 25 years experience in IT industry, with consulting experience in IT strategies, processes, technologies, and systems design & development. Nick has started six successful IT ventures, including a software product and consulting businesses, in addition to being the Chief Technologist at CSC FSG Asia Pacific.
Susan is the key link between insurance businesses and IT. She is responsible for sales / marketing, business development, accurately understanding client requirements for underwriting, sales and processing automation, and leading clients’ insurance product marketing, underwriting and rating configuration efforts onto Origami. Susan spent 18 years as a senior executive in multinational insurers (QBE, AIG, IAG) with broad international experience. She has extensive knowledge in both individual and commercial product underwriting, development and sales via diversified distribution channels.