ZEP-RE partners with CIO East Africa to host insuretech hackathon

ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company)  has partnered with CIO East Africa to host a 2 day insuretech hackathon in a bid to automate their internal claims system. The hackathon dubbed, “TechMeetsInsurance” started on the 25^th of October at ZEP-RE place, Nairobi, Kenya.

The hackathon features  four teams (mainly comprised of young innovators) competing to come up with a proper system for the company. There are currently many systems that handle claim management. Systems that capture claim information while managing and uploading data securely while in transit. With the hackathon ZEP-RE aims to build an online system that manages claims interaction between insurance companies and re-insurer to ease the claims management process.

“In doing this hackathon we want the industry to develop technical capacity, and we have identified the claims process as one which we would like to have digitized.” Said, Ronald Kasapatu, Operations Director, ZEP-RE.

“We have partnered with Zep-re for this hackathon event in a bid to allow insurance industry players a rare opportunity to engage with hackers who are showcasing their ingenuity in developing elaborate claims systems.” Said, Laura Chite, CEO, CIO East Africa.

Ahead of the winner being announced, Zep-re, CIO, Alexio Manyonde, said that a major aim of the hackathon was to bring the young innovators together with other industry players in a bid to foster interactions and thus promote the culture of using technology within the industry.

“This hackathon will help us solve an internal business problem that we have, which is the automation of our claims process. We decided to do a hackathon because we have a mandate to develop the insurance industry. In that breath we, thought it would be a good idea to get insurance companies and insurance students to work on this problem and be able to come up with a solution that would help the industry,” said Manyonde.

“We are hoping to get a prototype of a solution we can then be able to use. The product should be able to link the broker, the claimant and the re-insurer,” he added.

The hackathon winner will receive kshs. 100,000 and will have the opportunity to develop their product further and help Zep-Re make the solution accepted in the industry.

ABOUT ZEP-RE

ZEP-RE is a regional organisation charged with the task of promoting trade, development and integration within the COMESA region through trade of insurance and reinsurance business. ZEP-RE was created by an Agreement of Heads of State and Government of the COMESA region on 21st November 1990 in Mbabane, Swaziland.

The Company has been in operation since 1993 and is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. ZEP-RE also operates regional offices in Harare, Zimbabwe; Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire; Douala, Cameroon; Lusaka, Zambia and a Retakaful Window in Khartoum, Sudan.

ZEP-RE’s operational activities are driven by the desire to provide excellent technical services to all our clients and to actively participate in and support the development of the region’s insurance and reinsurance industry.