Metlife Asia launches blockchain-powered insurance app for pregnant women

LumenLab, Metlife Asia’s innovation centre in Singapore, is testing the world’s first blockchain-based automated insurance solution that will allow pregnant women access to financial aid without requiring a claim if they suffer gestational diabetes.

This was developed within Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) regulatory sandbox. “Experimentation is crucial to invent and create the future,” says MAS Chief FinTech Officer Sopnendu Mohanty. “We’re glad that the sandbox has enabled LumenLab to jumpstart an innovative experiment within safe boundaries, to understand if it could effectively address existing pain points of both the insured and insurer, before rolling it out on a broader scale.”

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The product is called Vitana, and it’s reportedly Singapore’s first dedicated insurance tool for gestational diabetes. This condition affects about one in five expectant mothers in the Asian country.

No claim required

Blockchain-powered Vitana securely connects to customers’ electronic medical records through their mobile devices to issue a policy within minutes, and it authorises automatic payout upon diagnosis. No claim is required.

“Vitana embodies MetLife’s commitment to its customers,” says Zia Zaman, MetLife’s Chief Innovation Officer in Asia and LumenLab’s CEO. “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.”

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Vitana also offers customers better data security because it carries out the parametric underwriting on their mobile devices. This means insurance firms don’t need to access the underlying medical information to confirm insurability.

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Users receive up to $1,830 (£1,420) for medical expenses related to gestational diabetes.

Testing period

Lumenlab will test Vitana for six months by offering the solution to Singapore-based patients in their first 23 weeks of pregnancy. The Singapore Medical Group Women’s Health as well as other select clinics are participating in the trial period.