Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK) has launched One TMK, a new online broker portal designed to reach brokers on an international scale, speed up their service and cut out legwork at Lloyd’s. Head of innovation at TMK Tom Hoad spoke to
Insurance Business UK about the reasons behind the development of the platform and how it is expected to help brokers deliver better service.
Hoad said in essence the platform is a way for brokers to access TMK’s specialist products through a digital exchange.
“The platform itself is an automated quote and buy process,” Hoad explained. “It can make policy documentation and it can cope with things like mid-term adjustments and renewals.
“What I think is really exciting and unique about our proposition is that we’re a specialist insurer, and typically we’re dealing with business to business, commercial type transactions.” said Hoad. “A lot of companies are trying to do things in this space, but we’ve got a system here that we’ve set up that can migrate product in a very short time frame.”
One TMK has initially launched with just one product, ‘Cargo 10’. From just 10 questions the program is capable of producing a cargo insurance quote to a broker. More products are launching soon, with a construction and unmanned aerial systems product to be rolled out by the end of the year. A further six to 10 products are planned for an online launch during 2017.
Hoad said with the cost of transactions potentially going up, One TMK is a way of making sure customers gets the truest representation of the cost of risk.
The program also makes international transactions far more straightforward. Instead of a broker getting in contact with a London counterpart who has to physically traverse Lloyd’s to meet underwriters and try to get the best possible price, the software automates the process.
“In this new model, the London broker can still be involved, but the process doesn’t involve all that traipsing around,” said Hoad. “We like our brokers to be involved because we like the specialist advice that they give for all our products, but we’re just thinking of being as efficient and as slick as possible.”
Hoad said the new product is taking TMK’s specialist and flexible approach to insurance to a new form of distribution.
“The really exciting thing is, I’ve been in product development in some way shape or form as an underwriter, and now doing it through ecommerce, I think it’s quite an exciting way of getting a new product out for the market in a way that can go almost everywhere, almost immediately if needed to be,” he said.
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