Realizing Innovation across various industries
SOMPO Holdings
At Plug and Play Japan, we will be welcoming ORIX Corporation, MACNICA, Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc., as new partner companies that will join our Batch 2 (3-month program) which will start at the end of November, together with 17 partners.
This time, Sompo Holdings, Inc. who participate in our Insurtech, IoT, Mobility programs as an elite partner since Batch 1, talked about their efforts and priority areas for innovation.
Saori: I see SOMPO has established the business creation platform “D-STUDIO” and is promoting innovation with considerable effort. SOMPO has participated in programs in multiple fields (Insurtech, IoT, Mobility) during Batch 1 as an elite partner. What fields are you currently looking at?
Kunio: Japanese Insurance and the financial industry have been having a very analog culture, such as managing customer data by paper and are overwhelmingly behind the time compared to overseas firms in terms of usability. With the entry of overseas firms, there is a possibility that the domestic can collapse easily and we need to survive this time period with digital innovation. Hence, we are now focusing on innovation from two perspectives. ① Expansion of existing business, ② creation of new business. For ①, our focuses are Mobility, Smart home, and Health. SOMPO has operated automobile insurance as a major business so far, but from now on, we will need to focus not only on individual car owners risks but also manufacturer risks that are potentially hidden in car sharing etc. In addition, we are looking at the prevention of diseases such as sensing and IoT technology in case of fire insurance, and wearable devices in case of life insurance. We are also working to expand services to deal with risks arising from social and environmental changes in other industries.
Ayaka: Regarding ②, the new business field, two departments were established last year: the Strategic Business Design Department and the Business Creation Department, with the aim of evolving the existing business. The Strategic Business Design Department carries out a market-driven insurance business using a new platform and makes efforts to create new businesses other than insurance. At the Business Creation Department, we collaborate with universities and research institutes in the field of advanced science and technology and are committed to making ideas into services.
Saori: Your company is also our Silicon Valley’s partner, but what encouraged you to join our Japan program?
Kunio: It is often said in many companies recently, we also have limitations in creating innovation by ourselves. Although we are also selecting startups independently, we have confidence in the information provided by Plug and Play, a company who has been working with many startups for a long time. Knowing that Plug and Play had established an entity in Japan, we thought we should keep partnership in Japan as well as in Silicon Valley. The reason for participating in programs across fields (Insurtech, IoT, Mobility etc), is that we believe all industries that require risk management should be taken into account and it is necessary for us to obtain the latest information in each field, to keep up with the rate of change in technology. Risk management is becoming increasingly necessary for many industries such as the automotive industry and the healthcare industry using IoT, as every product and service starts to become connected to data.
Ayaka: We need to start seeing not only the same industry but also other industries as competitors. In the future, companies that have “data” will become powerful in every industry. I think that it would be necessary to engage in such a way as to brush-up existing business by considering other industries as competitors or to create new things together through collaboration.
Saori: What kind of startups do you want to collaborate with?
Ayaka: We want to collaborate with startups that have services and products related to Mobility, Smart Home, Health or startups that have strengths in risk management and prevention. We would also love to work with a unique startup that has products, services, and technologies that stand out. We are especially attracted to startups that have the potential to create a new business together.
Saori: Are there any challenges regarding innovation creation and collaboration with startups?
Kunio: First of all, from the viewpoint of Insurtech ‘s innovation creation, the constraints of laws and regulations exist. For example, it is difficult for overseas startups to deploy in Japan even though they have great ideas and technologies, as regulations are not deregulated. It is difficult to change the regulation only by our own efforts. In terms of collaboration with startups, as it is said in many companies, the difference in cultures between large companies and startups can sometimes become a barrier for collaboration. In this regard, however, we are making efforts to reform our work styles such as approving telework internally and improving the office environment to boost ideas, so that we can approach the way of working with startups. In addition, some of the members of our Digital Strategy Planning Department and the Strategic Business Design Department that promotes innovation, are deployed in business divisions dealing with insurance products and so on, and share information on startups and new technologies. We are trying to improve the speed of decision making by increasing the communication with business divisions. Originally, due to the nature of the insurance industry, we’ve taken the style of “look before you leap” in terms of decision making, but the speed that startups have is completely different, and we are afraid that we cannot survive if we do not adopt their way. As we have also taken various initiatives using the agile methodology, I think that our company has started to feel a similar sense of speed to that of startups.
Ayaka: On the other hand, we aim to have a business partnership when we collaborate with startups, so in the case of startups whose services are incomplete or are not ready for mass-production, realizing collaboration is sometimes difficult. Even though we’d like to convert the idea into a service within this fiscal year, it may be difficult if the products or services are not completed on the startups’ side. Since it is decided how much to secure the budget every year, if it cannot be realized within this fiscal year, it may be delayed until next year. The adjustment of the service conversion still remains as our challenge.
Saori: What progress did you have during Batch 1?
Kunio: We were able to meet many startups and conducted quite a few interviews. It was also very helpful to connect with corporate partners. There are not many opportunities to share what kind of troubles each company has among large corporates. In the future, we would like to create new business not only with startups but also with large corporate companies.
Ayaka: Regarding changes within the company, each department has participated positively in meetings with the startups and a lot of people started to visit Plug and Play Shibuya. At the Strategic Business Design Department and Business Creation Department, the number of members has increased drastically compared to last year, exceeding 100 people! I feel that the attention and expectation for innovation promotion is increasing more and more.
Saori: Please tell us your enthusiasm for Batch 2, which starts the end of November!
Kunio: While continuing to focus on priority areas, we would like to create new businesses with startups who have products and technologies and partners from other industries. We absolutely cannot realize innovation only by ourselves. Even though there is a difference in culture with startups, we’d like to talk with them fairly to realize collaboration!
(From the right)
Kunio Higashida (SOMPO Holdings, Inc., Digital Strategy Planning Department, Senior Deputy Manager)
Kunio joined Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc. on April 2005. After joining the company, he took charge of retail sales at the Fukuoka central branch for 6 years, then transferred to the Osaka sales department, mainly responsible for global manufacturers for 7 years. He arranged comprehensive risk consulting as well as insurance business. Since April 2018, he has been in charge of promoting the digital shift of the group at the current Digital Strategy Planning Department.
Ayaka Matsuzaki (Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance, Inc., Strategic Business Design Department, Deputy Manager)
Ayaka joined Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc. on April 2012. After joining the company, she had been in charge of distributor sales at Yokohama Central Branch and transferred to the Retail Product Division after 3 years after she started working for Sompo. Ayaka was in charge of car insurance product development and was responsible for planning and public relations of digital services such as “SMILING ROAD”, “PORTABLE SMILING ROAD”, and “DRIVING!”. Since April 2018, she is in charge of creating new businesses outside the insurance field at the Strategic Business Design Department.
Plug and Play Japan holds three month programs to support matching between startups and promote innovation of large companies.
Please feel free to contact us for if you have any questions or inquiries regarding participation in the program!
