Designing a safer driver experience

In the midst of the accelerating digitalization of society, E.design Insurance Co., Ltd. redefined the company’s mission, vision and values to become an insurtech company that combines insurance and technology to support the safety and security of customers. To meet this goal, E.design, in collaboration with Accenture, developed and built &e (Andy)—an automobile insurance service that incorporates customer experience and data.

Prevention better than cure

Digitalization is accelerating everywhere at a rapid pace. Customers are no longer satisified with merely transactional purchases online. They’re want meaningful services and new experiences. The insurance industry is no exception to this trend. E.design Insurance wanted to adapt to the customer's point of view and co-create services that immediately respond to their needs and surroundings.

In collaboration with Accenture, E.design Insurance sought to incorporate customer experience in a new way and redefine the company’s mission, vision and values. While the consumer’s conventional view of automobile insurance is "emergency preparedness," the Accenture and E.design Insurance team realized what customers really want is to "prevent accidents from happening." Based on the redefined objective of "co-creating with customers not only peace of mind in the event of an accident but also a world without accidents,” the team used digital technologies to develop services that enable a safer and more secure car experience.

&e to the rescue

With the digital native generation as its main target, the team launched the new automobile insurance service, &e (Andy), in November 2021. Using publicly available consumer and road safety data, &e stays close to customers to provide customized support for everyone. To support safe driving, E.design Insurance provides a compact IoT car sensor free of charge for all its policyholders to use along with a mobile app.

The system captures and monitors driving data, diagnoses the driving route and driving behavior, and supports safe driving. It also provides discount coupons for refreshments, such as coffee, to encourage drivers to take a break from driving. In addition, in the event of an accident, the system automatically detects the impact and can summarize the accident situation with location data. Drivers can then report the accident with a single tap on their smartphones or request assistance at a repair shop on the spot.

Steering drivers in a safe direction

Accenture assisted E.design Insurance in all aspects of the project, including structuring the mission, vision and values; designing the customer experience; reforming the business process; designing the &e service; and designing the UI/UX.

To quickly introduce innovative and competitive digital services to meet the ever-changing needs of customers, the team used a cloud-first approach deploying AWS and Salesforce—as well as Accenture Connected Technology Solutions (ACTS), which has been widely implemented in Japanese financial institutions and other industries.

E.design Insurance considers &e as an important step forward as an insurtech company, and it plans to provide even more attractive customer experiences by continuously using the data accumulated in &e. For example, by using IoT sensors to detect changes in judgment due to aging and providing safe-driving advice to each customer, it hopes to contribute to solving social issues, such as reducing the number of accidents involving elderly drivers.

“Accenture will continue to support &e in improving its service quality, system maintenance and operation, as well as help the company make even greater strides as an insurtech to accelerate growth.”

Akiko Horie, Managing Executive Officer, Senior Managing Director, Financial Services Division, Head of Inclusion & Diversity Japan, Accenture