MetLife Asia’s Singapore-based innovation center, LumenLab, has begun testing the world’s first, automated insurance solution using blockchain technology to offer pregnant women financial protection in case of gestational diabetes, without ever needing to make a claim.
The experimental product, known as “Vitana,” is Singapore’s first dedicated insurance product for gestational diabetes. Vitana securely connects to customers’ electronic medical records via their mobile device to issue a policy within minutes. It triggers an automatic payout upon diagnosis, without the need to make a claim.
Zia Zaman, MetLife’s Chief Innovation Officer in Asia and Chief Executive Officer of LumenLab said:
“Vitana embodies MetLife’s commitment to its customers. In today’s world, people expect experiences to be simple, automated, and digital. We saw an opportunity to test how blockchain can make insurance more seamless and we’ve partnered with some of the best companies in their fields to create a blueprint to launch new parametric insurance products in the future.”
Vitana was built with partners: SwissRe, which helped drive product design and reinsure the risk; Cognizant, which provided the underlying technology and blockchain expertise; and Vault Dragon, an electronic medical records provider which supported on-the-ground implementation with forward-thinking doctors and clinics. Vitana was developed within the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) regulatory sandbox.
The insurance cover under Vitana product is available up to SGD 2,500 for medical expenses associated with gestational diabetes. The experiment will run over a six-month period and LumenLab is working with the Singapore Medical Group Women’s Health as well as other select clinics to offer the solution to Singapore-based patients in their first 23 weeks of pregnancy.