asia risk transfer solutions
Safekeeping Asian Masses from Natural Catastrophe and Livelihood Risks

Natural catastrophes are unpredictable and evastating. They come as a shocker to the economy, which often takes years to recover in the aftermath. Worryingly, Asia is considered the world’s most vulnerable disaster zone, accounting for nearly 90 percent of the world’s total affected population and 48 percent of economic losses from 2002 to 2011. However,in spite of facing such harsh vagaries of nature, most Asian citizens are unable or unwilling to protect their assets and livelihoods through insurance. Lack of technical awareness about insurance terms, biased agent recommendations, lack of transparency in payout conditions, lengthy settlement processes, and prohibitive premium levels also act as dampeners to consumer sentiments in purchasing insurance. Realizing the widespread challenges in establishing mass-market insurance schemes, Asia Risk Transfer Solutions (ARTS) was established with a holistic goal of advancing risk protection to the masses from natural catastrophe and livelihood risks.

ARTS has conducted extensive research in risk mitigation policies and developed an end-to-end technology system to help insurance companies create and manage their new breed of parametric-based insurance products known as Insurance for the Masses (IFM). Alex Chen, Founder and CEO elucidates, “Our technology system helps insurance companies to bring transparent, convenient and affordable insurance products to the masses.” The company’s key technology modules include a cloud-based platform, a risk quantification module, and distribution technology and tools.

ARTS’s cloud-based platform provides insurers with the tools to price and create new IFM policies using state-of-the-art risk models from the risk quantification module. In addition, the platform monitors and manages all‘live’insurance policies on a single portal and automates parts of the underwriting and settlement processes, there by increasing efficiencies and reducing administrative costs. This nimbly designed software platform helps insurers to scale up their operations effortlessly with minimal marginal costs involvements. It also empowers insurers to expand their reach and distribution of insurance, thus creating sustainable and diversified risk portfolios.

ARTS' risk quantification module—which consists of advanced multiple parametric trigger-based models developed from existing risk models via an in-house proprietary process—is sophisticated in design and robust in performance in comparison to its predecessors. It allows insurance companies to create parametric-trigger based insurance products that are simple to understand, affordable in pricing and transparent in payout conditions. Additionally, the company integrates advanced technology tools to help insurers improve their distribution, underwriting and settlement processes with minimal marginal costs. These tools convert conventional offline underwriting processes into efficient digital underwriting processes, thereby reducing significant administrative and operational costs. Distribution tools are also tailor-made to suit local market conditions. When operating in specific markets, localized tools help conduct under writing checks and premium payments with minimal physical administration.

Headquartered in Singapore, ARTS is the world’s first and leading innovator of parametric insurance management systems. Its proficiency lies in the integration of latest technologies, risk modelling capabilities and insurance know-how to deliver viable mass-market technology solutions to insurance companies and the industry. Extensive experience and focus in the Asian insurance industry gives ARTS a competitive edge. In recent years, Asian governments have also shown a keen interest in developing catastrophe risk transfer solutions, opening up a wide range of business opportunities for insurance companies and firms like Asia Risk Transfer Solutions. To bring greater value to the industry-at-large, ARTS is growing its product offerings, technology integrations, and model capabilities to assimilate multiple catastrophic risks such as earthquake, cyclone and flood, and also agricultural risks into its system. “By integrating our knowledge and understanding of various domains, we constantly strive to push the boundaries of innovation and develop breakthrough risk transfer solutions for our society at large,” concludes Alex.