Allianz Forms Partnership with Microsoft, Aiming to Transform Insurance Processes

Allianz SE and Microsoft Corp. announced a strategic partnership focused on digitally transforming the insurance industry, making the insurance process easier while creating a better experience for insurance companies and their customers.

Through the strategic partnership, Allianz will move core pieces of its global insurance platform, Allianz Business System (ABS), to Microsoft’s Azure cloud and will open-source parts of the solution’s core to improve and expand capabilities.

Microsoft will partner with Syncier, the insurtech firm founded by Allianz, which will offer a configurable version of the solution called ABS Enterprise Edition to insurance providers as a service. This insurance platform will benefit customers by reducing costs and centralizing their insurance portfolio management, increasing efficiencies across all lines of insurance business, said Allianz in a statement.

Syncier’s ABS Enterprise Edition can handle insurance processes across all lines and it can be customized for any insurance company, country and regulatory requirements, the company continued.

Insurers, brokers and agents adopting the platform can service clients and manage entire portfolios end to end in one system, gaining a unique 360-degree view of each client and the business, Allianz said.

“Teaming up with Microsoft and leveraging Azure’s secure and trusted cloud platform will support us in digitalizing the insurance industry,” said Christof Mascher, COO and member of the board of management of Allianz SE.

“Through this partnership, Allianz and Syncier strive to offer the most advanced insurance as a service solutions on Microsoft Azure,” Mascher added. “The ABS Enterprise Edition is an exciting opportunity, both for larger insurers needing to replace their legacy IT, and smaller players — such as insurtechs — looking for a scalable insurance platform.”

“Together, Microsoft and Allianz are offering a solution that combines Allianz’s deep knowledge of the insurance sector with Microsoft’s trusted Azure cloud platform,” said Jean-Philippe Courtois, EVP and president, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing & Operations. “By delivering an open-source, cloud-based insurance platform and software application marketplace, we will support innovation and transformation across this sector.”

To accelerate industry innovation, Syncier will also offer an Azure cloud-based marketplace for ready-made software applications and services tailored to the insurance sector. Such solutions could include, for example, customer service chatbots or AI-based fraud detection. The marketplace enables insurance providers to easily and quickly implement the available solutions in a plug-and-play manner.

Allianz uses ABS globally as a platform for all lines of business and along with Microsoft is committed to supporting the ABS Enterprise Edition long term as an industry solution. Today, ABS handles around 60 million insurance policies in 19 countries and is being rolled out to all Allianz entities.

Source: Allianz and Microsoft