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AXA has opened an innovation-focused facility in Hong Kong, in response to changes in customers’ insurance needs and the market’s push towards financial technology (fintech).
Known as the AXA Design & Experience Centre and located at One Island East in Quarry Bay, the facility was developed in collaboration with global professional services company Accenture. AXA Group CEO Thomas Buberl, AXA Asia CEO Gordon Watson, and AXA Hong Kong CEO Etienne Bouas-Laurent, together with members of the AXA Hong Kong Executive Committee, were present at the centre’s inauguration.
“AXA Hong Kong is rapidly transforming to become a tech-led company,” said Bouas-Laurent. “An important milestone of this strategy is the launch of the AXA Design & Experience Centre, which can quickly turn new ideas into prototypes for evaluation. This significantly reduces the time to market for our products and services, and greatly fosters innovative insurance solutions, as well as humanising the customer experience.”
The insurer has announced that it will invest approximately HK$200 million (US$25.5 million) in fintech development this year, tripling its 2017 commitment. It will focus on big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies to provide simpler and more personalised services to its customers. The opening of the AXA Design & Experience Centre helps enhance the total customer experience, and reinforces AXA’s business advantage in the market. AXA Hong Kong will work to incorporate the results of its research into the rest of its products and services.
“The collaboration with AXA Hong Kong will be a powerful tool in co-creation and digital innovation enablement,” said John Mefford, director of Accenture Interactive Studio. “The Accenture teams are laser-focussed on putting customers at the heart of everything we do, so our aim is to accelerate the development of truly fun, enjoyable and loveable digital products and services across AXA Hong Kong’s businesses.”
