Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), NTUC Income (Income) and
LumenLab, MetLife’s Asia innovation centre, are embarking on an
industry-first collaboration to simplify life insurance claims for
bereaved families.
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the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190617005372/en/
(L-R): CEO LumenLab Zia Zaman; SPH Chief
of Digital Business Julian Tan; NTUC Income Chief Operating Officer
Peter Tay, at SPH News Centre on June 10, 2019. Singapore Press
Holdings (SPH), NTUC Income (Income) and LumenLab, MetLife's Asia
innovation centre, are embarking on an industry-first collaboration
to simplify the life insurance claims process for bereaved
families. When a death occurs, placing an obituary is one of the
first tasks handled by family members, while more involved tasks
like discovering if the deceased has valid life insurance policies
and making claims are put on the backburner. Since these tasks
require the same information about the deceased person, SPH, Income
and LumenLab see an opportunity to use blockchain technology to
automate the life insurance claim verification process for these
families. (ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH)
When a loved one passes on, placing an obituary is one of the
first tasks handled by family members, while more involved tasks
like finding out if the deceased has a life insurance policy and
filing for a policy claim are put on the backburner.
Given that both tasks require a lot of the same information
about the deceased person, SPH, Income and LumenLab saw an
opportunity to apply blockchain technology, ‘Lifechain’, to
automate the life insurance claim process for grieving families.
Developed by LumenLab, ‘Lifechain’ enables SPH to securely encrypt
and share verification data used for obituary placement with Income
to kick-start the claim process.
‘Lifechain’ will begin piloting this month targeting 1,000
randomly selected Income life insurance policyholders.
During the pilot, family members of the deceased who place
obituaries in The Straits Times will be informed about ‘Lifechain’.
Upon their consent, the deceased’s National Registration Identity
Card (NRIC) number will be submitted into ‘Lifechain’ as hashed
data1 to trigger a search for a matching life insurance policy.
When a match is found, SPH will inform family members within one
working day, while ‘Lifechain’ will send an automatic notification
to Income via email to initiate the claims process.
Family members will also be informed by SPH when a match is not
found so that they can proceed to make checks and file claims with
their life insurers accordingly.
Mr Julian Tan, Chief of Digital Business of SPH, said: “SPH
hopes to expand ‘Lifechain’ to include more insurers in time to
come to bring greater convenience to family members attending to
the deceased’s administrative matters securely. This initiative is
also in line with our push for the digital business, tapping on
innovation and growing our partnerships to serve our customers
better. SPH aims to be the go-to partner for insurers to reach
policyholders’ beneficiaries, as soon as advertisers place an
obituary in the future.”
Mr Peter Tay, Chief Operating Officer, who heads Income’s
Digital Transformation Office (DTO), said: “At Income, we are
constantly looking to enhance customers’ experience with insurance.
Through technology and innovations, we aim to influence the way
that customers fact-find, enquire, purchase, claims and engage with
us. Blockchain technology offers greater transparency, enhanced
security, improved traceability, efficiency and speed of
transactions. These value propositions resonate with Income and we
are excited to be the first insurer to come on-board Lifechain. We
believe it will empower us to offer optimal protection of our
policyholders’ personal information while enhancing their customer
experience with Income.”
Mr. Zia Zaman, Chief Innovation Officer, MetLife Asia and CEO of
LumenLab, said: “By making the customer experience simpler, this
SPH - NTUC Income - LumenLab pilot yet again demonstrates the
potential of blockchain to shape the future of insurance.”
1 Hashed data is generated by an algorithm and maps an original
string of characters to data of a fixed length. This ensures the
secure encryption of information submitted into Lifechain.
About Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
Incorporated in 1984, main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings
Ltd (SPH) is Asia's leading media organisation, engaging minds and
enriching lives across multiple languages and platforms.
SPH's core business is publishing of newspapers, magazines and
books in both print and digital editions. It also owns other
digital products, online classifieds, radio stations and outdoor
media.
On the property front, SPH owns 70% in a real estate investment
trust called SPH REIT which comprises Paragon, a premier upscale
retail mall and medical suite/office property in Orchard Road, The
Clementi Mall, a mid-market suburban mall and The Rail Mall, a
stretch of shopping and dining outlets along Upper Bukit Timah
Road. SPH REIT also holds 85% equity stake in Figtree Grove, a
freehold sub-regional shopping centre in Wollongong, New South
Wales, Australia. SPH owns and operates The Seletar Mall. It is
developing a new commercial cum residential site at Woodleigh. It
also has a stake in Chinatown Point and acquired a portfolio of
Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) in the United
Kingdom.
It is in the aged care sector and owns Orange Valley,
Singapore's largest private nursing home operator.
SPH runs a regional events arm and a chain of Buzz retail
outlets. It also invested in the education business. For more
information, please visit www.sph.com.sg.
About Income
Income was established in 1970 to provide affordable insurance
for workers in Singapore. Today, two million people in Singapore
look to Income for trusted advice and solutions when making their
most important financial decisions. Our wide network of advisers
and partners provide life, health and general insurance products
and services to serve the protection, savings and investment needs
of customers across all segments of society.
Right from the start, Income was made different. Our social
purpose of maximising value for our policyholders defines us as a
social enterprise as we continue to make insurance accessible,
affordable and sustainable for all.
In 2017, Income had over $36.3 billion in assets under
management. Our financial strength and diversified investment
portfolio is reflected by our strong credit ratings which underpin
the delivery of our commitment to customers.
Income’s corporate social responsibility initiative, OrangeAid,
is committed to empower a better future for children and youth from
disadvantaged backgrounds.
About MetLife & Lumen Lab
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and
affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the world’s leading financial
services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee
benefits and asset management to help its individual and
institutional customers navigate their changing world. Founded in
1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 countries and holds
leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin
America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information,
visit www.metlife.com.
As MetLife’s pioneers for disruptive innovation, LumenLab is
charging ahead to create new businesses in health, wealth and
retirement. Lumen, a measure of light, symbolizes our commitment to
illuminating a new path for solving the problems that the people of
Asia face today. Through our focus on building new products and
services grounded in technology and data, we aim to help people
achieve richer and more fulfilling lives. For more information,
visit http://www.lumenlab.sg
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190617005372/en/
For more information, please contact:
Neal AngProduct ManagerDigital Media ProductsSingapore
Press Holdings LimitedDID: +65 6319 5895Email:
nealang@sph.com.sg
Rebecca CheeSenior ExecutiveCorporate Communications
& CSRSingapore Press Holdings LimitedDID: +65 6319 1124Email:
rchee@sph.com.sg
Elaine Chrysta TanExecutiveCorporate Communications &
CSRSingapore Press Holdings LimitedDID: +65 6319 1613Email:
elainect@sph.com.sg
Yvette Marmur (LumenLab/MetLife)Head of Business
CommunicationsMetLife, AsiaPh: +852 5716 8533Email:
ymarmur@metlife.com
Tan May ChinExecutive, Strategic CommunicationsNTUC
IncomeDID: +65 6202 6233Email: maychin.tan@income.com.sg
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