On 15 October Gen Re MENA welcomed over
150 guests from 14 destinations, namely: Algeria, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Germany, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, the UK,
US, and of course the UAE, for a thrilling “Digital Innovation Journey”. The event was centered around Gen Re’s pioneering Life and Health integrated digital “ecosystem” and took place aboard the famous 1960s Queen Elizabeth II ocean liner, now permanently docked at Mina Rashid Harbor.
This was the first visit to the Middle East for
Mr. Charlie Shamieh, Chairman of General Re Corporation and he greeted the audience warmly, welcoming them to the event and emphasizing
Gen Re’s commitment to the MENA and East Mediterranean market – and to innovation.
Dr. Mazen Abouchakra, Gen Re’s Managing Director MENA & East Mediterranean, and Mr. Ross Campbell, Gen Re’s Chief Underwriter, Research & Development, then brought this commitment to innovation to
life, focusing on the question: How can we build
the industry’s fitness for change in a way that
will help it successfully and innovatively navigate “unpredictability”?
Equipped with a special “Protect and Prevent” lifestyle management app designed especially for the occasion by Gen Re and powered by BSynchro, participants were then encouraged to try out the different components in the digital ecosystem. The app recorded the individualized participants’ scores dynamically as they completed all three major phases of the journey:
Phase 1: NowQ: facial analytics (powered by Lapetus) and biometric markers record-keeping
Phase 2: COMPASS and LiveSmart testing and coaching Phase3: Interactivedigitalecosystem
In addition to Gen Re’s own underwriting tools, COMPASS and digital tool NowQ (powered by Lapetus), seven independent insurtechs showcased their digital solutions as part of the journey, offering scoring and monitoring advice on elements including, heart age status, psychological risk factors, lifestyle management, preventive care, physiotherapy and diabetes prognostication. The result was a clear
demonstration of the potential of digital tools to support real time protection and prevention life and health prospecting and to inform behavior led product design.
After all three phases were complete, Mr. Ross Campbell presented on future thinking, contrasting the retrospective analogue approach with digital predictive thinking. This was followed by a thought- provoking talk from Dr. Campbell Murdoch, Chief Medical Officer of Diabetes Digital Media, who examined metabolic health transformation, with a particular focus on homeostatic metabolic health.
Dr. Mazen Abouchakra wrapped up the event by sharing his prognosis for the industry as it navigates away from traditional analogue thinking towards lifestyle and client-centric real time protection product onboarding.
The days’ activities were followed by a VIP dinner in the Queen Elizabeth II’s Grand Lounge restaurant, where over 60 leading insurance industry figures gathered to hear Dr. Mazen Abouchakra reveal the results of the Digital Innovation Journey.
Individual participant scores were combined and actuarially weighted to produce a unique Gen Re Digital Score (GDS), allowing a comparative
analysis between digital versus traditional electronic underwriting to be made. The results highlighted
that credible, real time, customer-centric insurance products are now just a heartbeat away and being made possible by the strong cooperation between forward-thinking insurers, knowledgeable reinsurance partners and agile insurtechs.
Dinner was then served to Gen Re’s distinguished guests, to the sounds of live music on the decks of the enchanting Queen Elizabeth II, which experienced its own very real transformation on this vibrant night.
