The Dai-ichi Life Group coined the term “InsTech” as a name for its initiatives to create innovation unique to the life insurance business from both the insurance and technology perspectives. As part of our initiatives, we launched the KENKO-DAIICHI (health first) app in March 2017. For this special feature, we interviewed Takako Kitahori, chief of the Marketing Strategy Unit, who headed this project, and Takero Hayashi of development partner Accenture Japan Ltd.
Release of the KENKO-DAIICHI App for Encouraging People to Take the Lead in Their Health
──What does InsTech involve?
Kitahori “InsTech” is a phrase coined by Dai-ichi Life that combines the words “insurance” and “technology.” We are currently developing products and services and ushering in business innovation in the three fields of “healthcare,” “underwriting,” and “marketing” with the goal of creating innovation unique to the life insurance business by harnessing technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). Such initiatives are already being implemented by insurance companies in Europe and North America, so we decided to work with Accenture in promoting InsTech because of its global network and wealth of knowledge in best practices within various industries.
Hayashi Since Dai-ichi Life contacted us in 2015, we have visited leading companies outside of Japan together to observe their approaches and also exchanged ideas through a close-knit partnership. After clarifying the concept of InsTech, we set up a cross-functional project team, which resulted in the release of KENKO-DAIICHI, a dedicated smartphone app, as part of our efforts in the healthcare field.
Kitahori Life insurance companies must complement the social security system. This is why the basic concept behind the app was to create motivation for many people, not just customers of the Dai-ichi Life Group, to maintain or improve their health. We hope the app will serve as a gateway for people to maintain an interest and to take the initiative in their health.
Sped up Development Using an Eco-system Involving Many Companies
──How did you go about developing the app?
Kitahori One of the strengths of the Dai-ichi Life Group is its access to medical-related big data from its customer information data base. To utilize this and introduce InsTech, the project needed to bring together the strengths of many different companies and groups from inside and outside the Dai-ichi Life Group. Or, in other words, we needed to build an eco-system. In this sense, Accenture’s network and coordinating abilities were extremely powerful.
Hayashi One of Accenture’s strengths is its ability to deliver the same high-quality problem-solving services anywhere in the world. We work side by side with customers, including not only consulting, but also the selection of companies to promote strategy and the provision of specific IT solutions, to achieve highly visible results.
Kitahori One of the things we emphasized in developing the app was speed. After closely examining strategy and functional requirements internally, Accenture informed us about good practices and failures from other industries and outside Japan, which helped to elevate our planning.
Hayashi Later, Accenture took the lead in building an eco-system involving other industries and in app development. Harnessing our expertise and know-how, we completed development in the space of four months after taking a keen and nimble approach. Dai-ichi Life has a flat organization, so the fast-paced decision-making concerning all processes enabled this fast-paced timeline.
Paving the Way for a Better Future with the Concept of “Living Healthier and Happier Lives”
──What’s next for the future?
Kitahori First, we would like to enhance KENKO-DAIICHI so that it meets the needs of users. At the same time, we would like to develop new products utilizing the big data of the Dai-ichi Life Group. For example, we will take an initiative to analyze the correlation between data on the number of steps and sleep time with data of medical exams and medical practitioner receipts by having Group employees use wearable terminals starting from October 2016. Also, we want to step up information sharing with our Group companies in the United States and Australia, which were among the first to use InsTech.
Furthermore, we hope to expand our partners. Recently, we concluded a business partnership with Nihon Chouzai Co., Ltd. and are working to deepen this relationship through the sale of insurance products and the development of apps for prescription drugs. In the future, we will consider developing solutions utilizing both companies’ big data. We have also begun joint research with the National Cancer Center Japan and others.
Hayashi Through our work with Dai-ichi Life, Accenture recognizes that the concept “living healthier and happier lives” occupies an important meaning for the promotion of InsTech. Looking forward, we hope to create a better future by working together and capitalizing on our strengths.
