Unirisx is a very flexible, function-rich platform with features that appeal to many lines of business as well as insurers. Today, we have clients across many segments of the insurance industry and support over 50 different lines of business. Our Business Solutions have been customized over time to meet the unique business needs of each segment.
Please click a business segment in the image below for a description of how Unirisx serves that business segment.
Accident and Health Insurance (A&H)
Accident and Health Insurance or A&H is a major line of business within Life Insurance. A&H policies cover accidental injury, accidental death or sickness. Benefits generally include paid hospital expenses, medical expenses, surgical expenses, and income payments.
The Unirisx platform provides many benefits to A&H Insurance companies including the ability to monitor risk and distribute products across multiple channels, calculate premiums, write policies and renewals as well as launch products quickly in new markets, requiring multiple languages and currencies.
Affinity/Private Label Insurance
Affinity and Private or “White” Label products have become very popular for insurance. It is an efficient way to package and distribute products to a target market or even a charity, which may receive a percentage of the premium. This is more about offering a service to their affinity group, branded as the client, but with the backing of major insurance names, and usually offering discounted rates from well known insurers.
Integration into their current systems is also a bonus, single sign-on through their existing portals, etc. Because Unirisx is the leading low cost configurable platform, we are able to help an affinity group or private labeler rapidly create and launch into new markets in any language or currency. In addition, Unirisx provides the ability to process and mange polices in real time across multiple channels.
Bancassurance
For a number of years, banks have partnered with insurance carriers to cross sell insurance products to the bank’s customer base. This is often referred to as bancassurance. Bank staff, rather than an insurance salesperson, becomes the point of sale/contact for the customer. Bank staff are advised and supported by the insurance company through product information, marketing campaigns and sales training. Banks become an efficient channel to reach current customers and new prospects.
With increasing pressure on margins, banks executing a bancassurance strategy can increase revenue per branch, earn fee based income and gain enhanced customer loyalty through increasing the number of products the client holds with the bank.
To execute a bancassurance strategy, a technology platform is required that links the bank with the insurance carrier, and the bank with the prospect or customer. Unirisx provides a comprehensive platform for banks to implement a technology platform for bancassurance, including a portal which will allow banks to access insurance products from one or several insurance carriers.
Distributors
The term “distributors” generally refers to a type of insurer who sells or distributes insurance products. For example, insurers give Managing General Agents or MGAs the authority to perform certain functions, such as underwriting, adjusting or even appointing a sales agent. Insurers may also give “delegated authority” to their distribution chain who then have the authority to put polices into force directly – and Unirisx can help manage this whole structure to enforce the strict rules around which these operate. Real-time automated exposure monitoring is crucial in this area to give comfort from an insurer point of view that they are not going to be over exposed. Real-time MIS throughout the distribution chain ensures visibility across all parties including automated bordereaux production.
MGAs also act as brokers for excess and surplus lines in the wholesales insurance market (only in the US). These are specialty risks not generally covered by standard personal or commercial policies.
Many large insurance brokers have acquired smaller insurance brokers to expand their customer base, grow their product line and to reduce overhead. A distributor needs to manage information throughout various channels, regardless of complexity.
Unirisx provides a comprehensive platform to manage information and risk across channels, regardless of geography, language or currency. As a web-enabled suite of components, Unirisx is truly “agnostic”, providing a neutral aggregation platform.
Emerging Markets
Emerging Markets account for 85% of the world’s population, but generate around 10% of the world’s insurance premiums. For example, the penetration rate in India is about 0.6% of GDP, lowest in Asia. General Insurance, SME and rural insurance are cited as the faster growing areas, followed by travel and marine.
Risk management is a high priority for insurers operating in emerging markets. The ability to stay on top of risk exposure in real time is a basic requirement for those doing business in these markets. Additional requirements include multi-language, multi-currency and multi-channel capabilities.
Unirisx provides an ideal solution for emerging markets. Unirisx has worked with Global Doctor to improve interactions between Global Doctor’s healthcare partners and its distribution networks by enabling the sharing of real time information via the internet platform.
Please read our press release on Global Doctor and Unirisx.
London Markets
Lloyd’s, or Lloyd’s of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. Insurance has been transacted in London since the late 1600’s. Business in the London Market continues to be brokered, for the most part with face-to-face manual transactions. The desire to modernize and streamline this market is clear. But, how do you streamline a process that involves a number of steps and parties—Producers, Agents, Coverholders, Lloyd’s Brokers, Underwriters and Bureaus? What is the risk when underwriters are not involved on a timely basis? What is the cost of manual processes?
There are many features and capabilities of Unirisx which respond to the complex needs of the Lloyd’s Market: Binding authority management, product design and configuration, distribution and channel management, commission reporting and management, risk and exposure control and reporting, real time data on all facets of the business and managing delegated authority/underwriting rules are some of the core features of Unirisx’s solution.
Micro-Insurance
According to a recent Lloyd’s report, the market for insurance in developing countries is projected to be between 1.5 and 3 billion policies. Micro-insurance currently covers roughly 135 million people or a mere 5% of the potential market. Today, most international insurers and reinsurers are involved in micro-insurance products along with NGOs and governments who are the facilitators.
An insurer involved in micro-insurance has multiple system or platform needs, specifically a real time solution to monitor and manage billing, payments and collections across multiple distribution channels.
The challenge is to deliver robust functionality at a minimal cost. Unirisx has a best-in-class solution for organizations that are pursuing a micro-insurance strategy. Our technology provides an end-to-end solution. Unirisx recently completed a proof of concept field test of off-line data capture using digital pen technology for IFFCO Tokio Marine with full on-line integration into the Unirisx back office without rekeying. Sixty-five policies were written in less than 10 days in rural India. Contact us for more information on how to tap into this fast growing market. Please refer to our recent announcement about the digi pen with IFFCO.
MIN
Technology Group
Review of Unirisx.
General / Property and Casualty Insurance (P&C)
P&C is a US term used to describe non-life or health insurance. Typical P&C insurance lines include auto, homeowners, and worker’s compensation. Most P&C insurers make a distinction between personal and commercial lines, based on the disposition of the buyer. The P&C market is dominated by the United States, Germany, United Kingdom and Japan, where 57% of all premiums are written.
Companies in the P&C insurance market look to Unirisx for low cost, high speed solutions. Our solution suite enables insurers and intermediaries to write, sell and manage any insurance product in any market and any distribution channel. Internet-enabled technology ensures that “end to end” processes are adopted and that all stages of the process are interconnected in real time.
Small Medium Enterprise Market (“SME”)
The Small Medium Enterprise market or “SME” is a growing insurance segment, especially within Europe, the Middle East and Asia. A Small Medium Enterprise is generally defined as a business with between 1 and 250 employees. Insurers involved in the SME market require premium reporting, risk controls, access to broad distribution channels and of course, speed to market.
Unirisx has helped several clients quickly enter this market for multiple lines of business. Learn how Unirisx helped ACE launch thirteen (13) lines of business within three months.
Click here to see our ACE SME Case Study.
Takaful
Takaful is an Islamic insurance concept wherein the insurance provided is compliant with Shariah Law. The principles of Takaful are as follows: Policyholders cooperate among themselves for their common good; Every policyholder pays his subscription to help those that need assistance; Losses are divided and liabilities spread according to the community pooling system; Uncertainty is eliminated in respect of subscription and compensation; and No one can take advantage at the cost of others.
Takaful – derives from the Arabic word for “sharing” – is founded on the cooperative principle and on the principle of separation between the funds and operations of shareholders, thus passing the ownership of the Takaful (Insurance) fund and operations to the policyholders. The contributions collected from policyholders are treated as donations and they constitute the Tabarru fund from which all claims are reimbursed.
At the end of each financial year, after deduction of expenses, any remaining cash surplus will not be retained by the company or its shareholders, but returned to the policyholders in the form of cash dividends or distributions.
There are basically two methods which can govern this distribution: Mudarabah or Wakalah. In this respect, Takaful business is different from the conventional insurance in which the policyholders, rather than the shareholders, solely benefit from the profits generated from the Takaful and investment assets.
The investment assets representing the Takaful fund that accumulate over the retained reserves, surpluses and provisions are invested by the shareholders who manage the company on behalf of the policyholders. The shareholders are rewarded with a percentage of the profit on these investments.
Unirisx can handle both Wakalah and Mudarabah methods and we can provide a wide range of Takaful products which conform to the principles laid out by the Shariah Board e.g., transparency of pricing. Moreover, the cost-effective straight through processing within Unirisx reduces administration overheads so retaining more monies in the Tabarru fund.
