French insurance firm AXA SA announced that it will be making huge investments in Hong Kong before the year ends to boost its digital capabilities. The multinational insurer revealed that it will be heavily investing in data analytics and artificial intelligence technologies, which it plans to use to enhance its health outcomes and lower its medical costs.
According to the company's chief data officer and head of customer experience in China, Ashok Krishnan, AXA will be spending around HK$220 million on tech investments over the remaining two months of this year. The investment will equate to a 10 percent increase in tech spending when compared to the previous year.
Krishnan stated that Hong Kong is currently the best platform for it to utilize its various tools. The city has a relatively large market that is concentrated in a small geographic area. Rolling out new technologies and tools will be much easier because of this fact, which is why AXA plans to roll out various pilot projects in the coming months.
Another big advantage of trying out new technologies in the city is due to the fact that most people living in Hong Kong are already online and heavy users of online social media platforms. Hong Kong also has access to new technologies developed by mainland companies, making it the perfect test-bed for tools such as data analytics and artificial intelligence systems.
Hong Kong is one of AXA's largest markets in Asia, accounting for about a fifth of its total revenues in the region. In the first three quarters of 2019, AXA reported total revenues of around $1.77 billion. The company still managed to report better-than-expected revenues in the city despite the ongoing economic slump and domestic unrest.
To further drive its revenues up, AXA is launching several measures to change its overall business mindset. Krishnan explained that other companies simply pay their customer's claims but AXA aims to become a "health partner" to its customers. Through its planned tools, the company hopes to help its customers stay healthy. This will essentially be a win-win situation for both parties.
Just this month, AXA held its first health-related event in Hong Kong with aims to find new ideas and talents for its new digital strategy. The company managed to attract more than 100 participants in the event, with most being students and startup entrepreneurs in the medical, software, and data science field.
A total of 19 teams competed to come up with ideas and prototypes for the company. The winning team built a prototype mobile app specifically made for patients with chronic medical conditions. The app essentially connected doctors with their patients, allowing the former to check their medication intake in real-time.
