IBM is building an “industry-first” data analytics platform on the IBM Cloud to help insurance companies enhance their product mix and customer experience -- to better compete with InsureTechs.

Built in collaboration with MetLife and insurance technology software provider Majesco, the IBM Insurance Platform will feature cognitive computing, data analytics and integration and security capabilities. Delivered as a service, the cloud-based platform will also help insurers reduce IT infrastructure and maintenance costs.

“Our industry platforms are designed in collaboration with our clients and partners and intended to dramatically improve traditional business models using deep industry expertise and advanced technologies such as AI, cloud and blockchain,” says Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president, IBM Industry Platforms.

MetLife will be the first insurer to use the platform beginning with its small business customers, enabling both customers and brokers to have access to a broader selection of group benefits.

“We’re excited this platform will give our customers greater access to the benefits they need through a simpler, affordable experience,” says Michel Khalaf, MetLife’s president of U.S. Business and EMEA.

IBM also plans to eventually add new capabilities to the platform, including the ability to integrate with blockchain networks and the option to incorporate regulatory compliance data and third-party software.

While IBM’s new platform has “a strong value proposition” and can help traditional insurance companies better compete with InsureTechs like Lemonade, adoption may be slow because it’s cloud-based, according to Business Insider.

“Research still shows that financial institutions in all sectors are wary of using the cloud for core operations, largely due to security concerns, which could dampen adoption,” Business Insider writes. “That said, with a heavyweight insurer like MetLife willing to trial the platform, and the cloud being hosted by a player as trusted as IBM, it may be able to overcome such reservations.”

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IBM turns sights on insurance industry with new cloud platform

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