{"id":17869,"date":"2016-11-18T14:43:21","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T19:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/how-digital-technology-is-breathing-new-life-into-manulife\/"},"modified":"2016-11-18T14:43:21","modified_gmt":"2016-11-18T19:43:21","slug":"how-digital-technology-is-breathing-new-life-into-manulife","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/how-digital-technology-is-breathing-new-life-into-manulife\/","title":{"rendered":"How digital technology is breathing new life into Manulife"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2014, Americans purchased $2.8 trillion in new life insurance and life insurers held more than $6 trillion in assets under management. [1] As immense as these numbers are, life insurers are facing an uncertain future. For the last half century, customer adoption has steadily fallen \u2013 in 2014, only 44% of consumers owned life insurance policies compared to 72% in 1960. [2] At the same time, customer expectations are rapidly transforming. Conditioned by experiences in industries like retail (e.g., Amazon) and entertainment (e.g., Netflix), life insurance customers now expect to be serviced where, when, and how they want. Technology companies \u2013 established and emerging \u2013 have recognized this growing customer dissatisfaction and are rapidly entering the space, eager to use their data and digital prowess to disrupt the industry.<\/p>\n

The traditional business model of life insurers is changing.<\/strong> No longer are customers willing to be hard-sold into confusing policies, requiring invasive medical tests and lengthy application times. No longer can insurers afford distant, low-touch relationships with their clients. Life insurers are ready to embrace new business models (Figure 1) and digital transformation \u2013 from mobile apps to wearable devices \u2013 has ushered in new opportunities to deliver unprecedented value to customers anytime, anywhere.<\/p>\n

Figure 1. Readiness to innovate and adopt new business models. [3]<\/p>\n

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Manulife is one of the largest life insurers in the world, with operations in Canada, the U.S. (under the John Hancock brand), and Asia. It is at the heart of the industry\u2019s digital evolution and is transforming its operating model in response. The firm has taken a top-down approach to becoming more digital-centric. It recently hired a Chief Innovation Officer, reporting directly to the CEO, to ensure that technology and innovation are key components of its business strategy. To fully embed digital into its operations, Manulife is engaging both employees and the broader technology community. For example, the company recently launched innovation labs in all major markets, tasked with finding creative ways of using digital technology to create value for customers and for the company.<\/p>\n

Figure 2. Manulife\u2019s Innovation Lab in Singapore [4]<\/p>\n

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Figure 3. Employees in Manulife\u2019s Innovation Lab participating in a hackathon [5]<\/p>\n

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To achieve its strategy \u201cto develop more holistic and long-lasting customer relationships,\u201d Manulife is focusing its digitalization on three areas. [6]<\/p>\n