Written by James Alexander
Sales Director, Financial Services
Year Published: 2021
How Ki Insurance Built a Fully Digital Lloyd’s of London Syndicate with Google Cloud
THE CHALLENGE
Lloyd’s of London is the oldest financial market in the world, at 333 years and is home to some of the world’s best technical underwriting capabilities; arguably unrivalled in its ability to price and insure complex risk. However, as seen across other financial services, there are opportunities to digitally transform the way transactions are completed and improve client service.
Whilst it would be possible to be more efficient with a non-digital solution, the scalability and speed of a digital model are fundamental advantages. Given the direction of travel for the market, Ki saw an opportunity to move away from face-to-face business and be a first-mover in defining digital trading for the market, creating sustainability in Lloyd’s of London, and driving never seen before innovation.
THE SOLUTION
The solution was to introduce a data-led, rather than document-driven system, underpinned by automated processes and an algorithmically driven underwriting model.
Ki’s broker platform (www.ki-insurance.com) offers real-time risk capacity at anytime, anywhere to brokers, a true step-change from the current manual and time-consuming process available in the market; providing unprecedented service to brokers and clients.
Ki chose to work with Appsbroker, to support them building out the broker portal, due to their credentials in application development and understanding of the wider vision for the business.
“We chose Appsbroker because we could tell the team really “got it” – they understood our problem from a technical perspective, grasped the commercial challenges and were able to offer clear expertise in presenting a solution.”
“Cultural fit was also really important to us. There was clear respect between both parties, and the teams gelled together as one… We believe you can only build a good solution if you have a great working relationship, and the Appsbroker team has been amazing on the project.”
James Birch, Development Director, Ki Insurance
Appsbroker developed a custom application with Ki on the Google Cloud Platform architecture that supported in revolutionising the broker service model that exists today. The application simplifies the broker experience, being quick and easy to use, enabling brokers to assess risk capacity at any time.
By eliminating the need for complex series of face-to-face interactions, the solution cuts transaction times from months to minutes.
Ki leverages an algorithmically driven approach to underwriting, evaluating risk in real-time to automatically provide a quote to brokers instantly. Algorithmic trading is a relatively new concept for insurance, but it is something that has been applied successfully in financial markets many times before.
THE RESULTS
The solution Ki has built takes a first mover advantage and defines digital trading for Lloyd’s of London, deploying a solution that creates a roadmap to sustainability for the market. Ki raised $500m from Blackstone and Fairfax in July 2020.
FEEDBACK
“It’s more than just code, the way you challenge our thinking means you are deeply considering what the end user needs which is the mark of a quality development team.”
“Your open and supportive culture is admirable and comes across strongly with every interaction, making your problem-solving ability very impressive and your ability to deliver unquestionable.”
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